Early Career Network

The Behavior Genetics Association Early Career Network (BGA ECN) serves a growing and diverse community of scholars navigating the early stages of their careers in behavior genetics. As the field expands and becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, early career scholars encounter growing needs for resources related to collaboration and mentorship. Creating spaces for support, belonging, and skill-building helps promote a thriving future for the field.

The BGA ECN is dedicated to fostering a supportive and welcoming community by promoting professional development, increasing engagement within the Association, facilitating mentorship across career stages and research interests, and creating opportunities for peer connection and mutual support. These goals are supported through several initiatives, including: 1) a conference buddy system to help new members navigate the annual meeting, 2) dedicated Slack channels to facilitate communication, and 3) a mentoring program that matches members across career stages based on shared professional interests. Starting in 2026, the BGA ECN will sponsor the Mentoring Roundtables Lunch and organize New Attendees and Early Career Researchers Reception at the BGA annual meeting. Beyond the annual meeting, we are exploring webinars in collaboration with other committees on topics relevant to early career scholars, including career development, publishing, and funding.

To contact the Early Career Network, please reach out to us at ecn@bga.org.

Current committee members include the Member at Large for Associate members, who serves as the Chair (Emma Johnson), Stephanie Zellers (secretary), Fiona Hagenbeek (programming officer), Li (Hazel) Yu (programming officer), Amy Loviska, Emma Bartley, LiChen Dong, Sarah Lynn Carroll, Sophie Bell. The current mentor is Past President Chandra Reynolds.