Membership Matters

The Society for In Vitro Biology has established several initiatives to support the professional development of our student members.  These initiatives include: free registration at the annual meeting with an accepted abstract, travel awards, research presentation competitions, direct involvement with committees and program planning, and the inclusion of sessions at our annual meeting that promote student professional development.  In the next several issues of the In Vitro Report we will include testimonials from students who have benefited from the student initiatives.  Please remember that these student initiatives are possible due to the generous financial support of our membership.  If you would like to help support the professional development of our student members, please click on the “donate now” button to make a donation..

Ahmad Omar

When I was a PhD student at University of Florida (Gainesville, FL), I just started my research program at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida in 2002. I heard that there was a big meeting in Orlando about Plant Biotechnology 2002 and Beyond by IAPTCB and SIVB which started in a few days. I really wanted to attend this meeting but it was too late to submit anything.  One of my colleagues told me that they had an opportunity for the students to attend the meeting. I called the meeting secretariat and I asked her if there is any way to help me attend this meeting. She said “Yes, if you are willing to volunteer for the meeting 8-12 hours, we will waive your registration fee,” which I agreed to immediately. This was my start with the SIVB.

Since that time, I always do my best to attend every meeting. At the 2004 meeting, I started to feel that this was my home society, everybody is so friendly and encouraging the young students to get involved in the society and build their future. We started to give ideas and suggestions for the upcoming meeting during the social events. At the 2005 meeting, I was so surprised that some of my ideas were in place already, which confirmed to me that, yes, this is my home society. Somebody here is listening to us even if we are young students. I am so glad to see one of my suggestions still in place even at the 2016 meeting, which is the oral competition for the student and post-Doctoral Researchers.

At the 2006 meeting, I applied for the SIVB awards and I couldn’t believe the day I opened my email and saw a congratulations email that I was awarded the Wilton R. Earle Award and SIVB Student Travel Award. This was the first award I got from an international organization which meant a lot to me. In addition, the free student registration also made it possible for me to attend the meeting with limited travel funds during my PhD program. I enjoyed participating with the student events at the meeting and I even gained some leadership experience by doing that. After graduating, I kept my membership active and still do today. I always encourage the students to take advantage of the many opportunities at the Society for In Vitro Biology. Interestingly, my wife started her PhD program three years after me and in 2008, she was awarded the Wilton R. Earle Award and SIVB Student Travel Awards too.

Submitted by Ahmad Omar