The annual Quebec/Ontario Mini-Symposium for Synthetic and Bioorganic Chemistry (QOMSBOC) will be held at the U of T for the first time since 2008.
“QOMSBOC is a wonderful meeting that centers around graduate student research,” said Department of Chemistry Professor Sophie Rousseaux, who is chairing the conference organizing committee, along with students Katie Scotchburn and Alex Gabbey. “It’s an opportunity to build community amongst synthetic and bioorganic chemistry researchers across Ontario and Québec.”
The conference will take place from November 8-10 at the Myhal Center for Engineering, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is currently accepting student abstracts for 15–20 minute oral presentations, as well as poster presentations. (The deadline for submitting abstracts is October 15th).
Katie Scotchburn said she first attended QOMSBOC as an undergraduate when it was hosted at uOttawa, where she was studying, in 2019.
“Most of the presentations went over my head, but I was impressed by the breadth of chemistry on display. At the time I was undecided on applying to graduate school, but it was inspiring to see how much I still had to learn, and that probably played a role in my deciding to pursue a PhD. I even met some people from Toronto who would become my lab mates when I joined U of T two years later!”
Scotchburn participated in two further QOMSBOC conferences and came away with many ideas about ways to make the conference a memorable experience for everyone involved. "When Sophie told me that she was involved in QOMSBOC 2024, I volunteered to take a leadership role in organizing it."
The QOMSBOC conference was initially created by Department of Chemistry Chair Mark Lautens, who oversaw its launch 34 years ago in 1990. “When I arrived, the department was very strong in physical and biological chemistry. Those most active in synthetic organic chemistry were scheduled to retire,” he explained. “I wanted to reach out and build connections with those in my area at other institutions in Ontario.”
“There was an existing Quebec-Ontario Symposium in Physical Organic Chemistry so I thought I should replicate the meeting, but with a different focus,” said Lautens. “In addition, I wanted to establish links with the pharmaceutical industry in Quebec and put U of T on their radar so they would hire our students.”
Lautens envisioned a gathering that moved back and forth between the two provinces, while including speakers from industry and academia. The focus was on student and early career researchers. “Initially there were no invited speakers, only submitted talks. That gradually morphed into the current format, which helps bring in a larger crowd.”
Plenary speakers this November will be:
- Professor Hans Renata, Rice University
- Professor Tianning Diao, New York University
- Dr. Rebecca Green, Bristol Myers Squib
The 2024 edition of the conference has taken an additional dimension by reaching out to partner with the eastern chapter of Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC) (https://ewochem.org/) to organize various conference events. These include a career panel highlighting the diverse talent in the chemical community and a CV writing workshop for students looking for positions in the pharmaceutical industry. EWOC is also involved in funding travel grants to help people afford to come to QOMSBOC, with the support of an Acceleration Consortium EDI Initiate Grant (https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/news/acceleration-consortium-announces-...).
“One of the major advantages to QOMSBOC is that we have consistently attracted incredible plenary speakers and industrial representatives from around the world,” said Scotchburn.
“This combination of global/local talent is a unique opportunity for students from Ontario and Quebec to present work in a relatively small, single-session conference, as opposed to a major chemical society meeting, where there may be thousands of people and multiple simultaneous presentations. Participants also get to network with leaders in the field. This is especially impactful for students from universities that have smaller chemistry departments, who may not have the opportunity to attend international conferences.”
Scotchburn acknowledges that the appeal of the conference extends beyond students who chose to study in Quebec or Ontario and says there has been increased interest from students in other parts of the country and even the USA. "Considering that Toronto is a major city, and it's easy to get here from almost anywhere in North America, it makes sense that people from further away are interested in joining us this year.”
QOMSBOC enthusiastically welcomes participation from students who come from further afield. Even so, Scotchburn says, “The main focus of the conference will always be to showcase the local talent of Quebec and Ontario universities.”
As a result, most of the approximately 200 anticipated participants will be graduate students from Eastern Canada. QOMSBOC’s site notes that many attendees go on to high-profile positions in academia and industry. It says many fondly remember the event as one of their first experiences with public speaking. And, of course, there will be opportunities for collegial interactions at social events interspersed throughout the three-day event, as well as the plenary lectures, talks and poster sessions.
“Personally, I benefited tremendously from QOMSBOC when I was a graduate student,” said Prof. Rousseaux, “and I’m happy to be continuing this tradition for the next generation of chemists.”
Scotchburn echoed her enthusiasm: “This is a really great opportunity to showcase U of T to our community and we're working hard to make sure this conference is a success!”
This combination of global/local talent is a unique opportunity for students from Ontario and Quebec to present work in a relatively small, single-session conference.
Katie Scotchburn, QOMSBOC Marketing & Content Co-Chair