iBioSeminars and iBioMagazine: Free, Online Biology Seminars and Short Talks by Leading Scientists

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2012 — Learn biology from a Nobel Laureate. Find out how major discoveries were made. Watch as scientists discuss career options, science policy, education, and research in other countries. The iBioSeminars and iBioMagazine video series offer all of these possibilities online, on-demand, and for free.

iBioSeminars is a collection of over 75 biology seminars given by the world’s leading researchers. The seminars range in topics from chemical and molecular biology to ecology and evolution. The lectures are typically 90 minutes and are divided into several, stand-alone parts. The first part of the talk is an extended introduction to the field and is suitable for students and non-experts, while the other parts are more detailed research lectures. Currently the speaker list includes 5 Nobel Laureates and 42 National Academy of Sciences members.

While iBioSeminars are full-length seminars, iBioMagazine presents ~10 minute talks that go behind the science. iBioMagazine videos feature topics as diverse as science policy, careers, education, advice, science and society, how major scientific discoveries were made, and a series on “how I became a scientist.” iBioMagazine is released in quarterly issues, each consisting of 10 talks. Currently, there are 6 issues available and these include talks by 8 Nobel Laureates and 24 National Academy of Sciences members.

iBioSeminars was founded by Dr. Ron Vale (University of California, San Francisco and Howard Hughes Medical Institute) in response to his realization that, due to time and money constraints, only elite universities were able to attract the top seminar speakers. Vale recognized that the Internet presented an opportunity to provide seminars by outstanding scientists to individuals and institutions anywhere. The project began in 2007 with a handful of seminars and viewers and has grown to over 125 talks with 2.2 million views in 175 countries.

iBioSeminars and iBioMagazines are open access and educators are strongly encouraged to download and use seminars and talks in their courses. As an ongoing project, education resources are being improved and developed specifically to help teachers utilize content. This includes breaking the seminars into shorter clips, providing learning materials including notes and discussion questions, and creating English and Spanish subtitled talks.

iBioSeminars and iBioMagazine are funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute and are supported by the American Society for Cell Biology.

In addition to the website, iBioSeminars and iBioMagazines can be viewed on YouTube and iTunes U. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on facebook, twitter, or LinkedIn for updates about new talks.

For more information, contact:

Sarah Goodwin, Ph.D.
Director of iBioSeminars/iBioMagazine
The American Society for Cell Biology
+1 415-735-4246
sgoodwin@ascb.org

www.ibioseminars.org
www.ibiomagazine.org
www.facebook.com/iBioSeminars
@iBioSeminars