2018 SRBR meeting... & Aschoff's Rule!!

The lab just got back from an amazing meeting for the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms in Amelia Island, FL. Aside from the gorgeous sunrises, we are still revved up from the great talks and exciting advances in our field. I ran a symposium on Timekeeping in Cellular Biology with great talks from Pal Westermark, Deb Bell-Pedersen, Charo Robles, Katja Lamia, and Gad Asher. Sabrina and Carlo both gave talks in a slide session jam-packed with amazing talks on circadian post-translational regulation, Jenny participated in the Data Blitz, and both Jenny and Jeff presented posters. All in all, it was a fantastic meeting!

In one other very unexpected turn, I awarded the 2018 Aschoff's Rule Award from its current holder, Luis Larrondo (P. Catholic University of Chile). This award, initiated by Till Roenneberg in 1991, is handed down each year to a chronobiologist. The brass plaque pictured below (credit: Carolyn Lagattuta, UCSC) holds Jurgen Aschoff's actual ruler, used to measure behavioral changes in response to light to set in place the foundation of circadian biology.

There are some fun rules in place for selecting a successor--they should work in a different country and on a different model organism from the current holder of the prize. It is a real honor and I can't wait to pass it on next year at the 2019 Gordon Research Conference on Chronobiology in Barcelona.