18 Sep AAS Call for New Trainee Committee Membership
Dear AAS Members!
I hope you are doing well. My name is Pouya Mehr, and I am the incoming co-chair for the American Autonomic Society Trainee Committee along with Dr. Erin Williams. As we approach the AAS Annual Meeting this November in San Diego, we are looking for new trainees interested in joining the committee.
The goal of the Trainee Committee is to establish support for AAS trainees and lead initiatives that enrich trainee experience within the larger organization. Over the past several years, we have hosted various webinars and virtual panels with faculty providing insight about topics critical to trainee development, e.g. manuscript drafting and scientific communication, hosted events at the annual AAS meeting, and developed an ongoing mentorship program, with the goal of fostering active collaboration between trainees and faculty.
For those interested in joining, we have attached a list of subcommittee roles that you may be interested in taking a lead on. The committee meets once monthly to discuss continuing and new programming and initiatives, while specific subcommittees may meet more frequently if/when needed. We accept members on a rolling basis and are always keen to embrace new perspectives – all trainees are welcome to join, irrespective of whether they regularly attend the annual meeting.
Beyond the committee, we are looking for trainees who are interested in taking the role of room monitor or session co-chair alongside a faculty at the presentation sessions for the upcoming AAS conference. If you are a trainee who is attending this year, it will be a wonderful opportunity to gain experience co-facilitating and moderating discussions. You can find the role descriptions and tentative conference schedule attached.
If you are interested in joining the trainee committee or helping with the conference positions, please fill out the interest form linked here by October 1st, 2026. Conference attendance is not required to join the trainee committee. If you are a Principal Investigator or faculty, we would greatly appreciate it if you forwarded this message to the trainees in your lab and encouraged them to join the committee. Please do not hesitate to contact Erin or me with any questions or concerns. We are looking forward to welcoming you to the committee soon. Thank you.
Warm regards,
Pouya E. Mehr
AAS trainee recuitment_JDA.pptx
AAS 2026 Conference Room Monitor and Session Co-chair Description