The “Inspiring Scientific Curiosity and Discovery” webinar series is back for 2023 and better than ever, with new content and topics, as well as a new producing partner.

Jason Organ, the new Editor-in-Chief for AAA’s Anatomical Sciences Education will join Paul Trainor, Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Dynamics and Heather Smith, Editor-in-Chief of The Anatomical Record in producing the webinar series.

“I’m looking forward to showcasing exciting new initiatives for the journal including a broadening of scope while maintaining our reputation for rigor in educational research,” Organ said about the partnership and plans for 2023. 

The monthly webinar series has been popular among AAA members and the scientific community since it was launched two years ago. All of the webinars, which are usually held the first week of the month are recorded and available to AAA members on demand.

For Trainor, the highlight of the series so far has been the breadth and diversity of topics covered, including the webinar on the genetics of dogs and what that teaches scientists about human development and disease. Trainor also had high praise for the webinar on Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, “which turned out to be the most common disease we’ve never heard of,” Trainor said.

“I’d agree with Paul that the session on Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) was extremely interesting and probably our most well-attended session,” Smith said. “I also appreciated that the presenters included a team of a senior Principal Investigator (Dr. Chip Norris) with a postdoctoral scholar (Dr. Cortney Gensemer) who both studies and personally has EDS, so their combination of presenting scientific information about the syndrome alongside personal experience as a patient was powerful and captivating.”

Another highlight for Smith was the session featuring new research on crocodilian morphology and evolution by Drs. Casey Holliday and Emma Schachner. “Drs. Holliday and Schachner were the guest editors of the recent October special issue of The Anatomical Record, and they were able to highlight some of the interesting research in the volume, before focusing on their own fascinating research on crocodilian anatomy. It was a fun part of our #Croctober promotional efforts for the special issue,” Smith said.

While 2022 was an exciting year for the webinar, 2023 promises to be an even better year with all three journals working on the webinar. “For 2023, I’m most looking forward to the incorporation of educational topics into the series through the new partnership with ASE,” said Smith. “A large percentage of AAA members consider themselves to be primarily educators, and even those of us who consider ourselves basic scientists can benefit from new insights into pedagogy. I hope the addition of educational topics will allow the webinar series to provide something of interest and relevance for everyone in AAA.”

“Having Jason on board will allow us to cover research education and teaching in concert with scientific research,” said Trainor.

The “Inspiring Scientific Curiosity and Discovery” webinars move to Wednesdays in 2023 beginning February 1st. Stay tuned for the topic! Members: log in to the view the webinar archives on demand.