ABRF: Publish Like a Pro, Strategies for Writing a Technical Paper
2026-01-15 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Publish Like a Pro: Strategies for Writing a Technical Paper
Guide to Writing a Technical Scientific Paper: How to get started and what is involved

January 15, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Register here

Are you interested in publishing your work, including the methods and techniques used in your shared resource/facility, but don’t know where to start or where to get help?

Could you benefit from expert assistance to advance your ideas to a final publication?

Join us in January for this valuable session to learn more about how to raise your profile and advance your career by publishing in ABRF’s Journal of Biomolecular Techniques (JBT).

Preliminary Agenda and takeaways: A scientific paper is a structured argument based on evidence, designed to contribute new knowledge and advancement to a field. A well-organized manuscript facilitates understanding, evaluation, and potential replication by peer reviewers and subsequent researchers, engaging them through a logical narrative from the research question and methodology to the findings and their significance. Publishing serves to disseminate knowledge and establish expertise, connects individuals with peers in their field, and fosters collaboration and professional development. This webinar will address the following topics:

What is needed (data) to publish
The key components of a scientific paper and what information to include in each
How to start writing
Selecting a target journal (each reflects content based on its readership)
General Writing Principles

For more than 25 years, JBT has offered ABRF members the opportunity to share their work with the broader research community, without page charges or color charges. All JBT content is indexed and referenced in PubMed Central, providing wider visibility and citations for your valuable research.

Applications for CFAC Core Travel Awards Due
2026-01-31 08:00 - 17:00
Travel Award Details
Applications are open through January 31, 2026, with funding decisions expected within the first week of February. These grants are available to core directors and staff for conference travel occurring through July 2026.
We strongly encourage those interested in attending the Association for Biomedical Resource Facilities (ABRF) annual meeting on March 28-31 to apply. This conference offers high-value opportunities for our community, including:

Pre-Meeting Workshops: Focused on Lean Management, Data Analysis/Visualization, and Nextflow for bioinformatics.

Core Management & Technology Sessions: Daily agendas tailored to both leadership and technical specialties and “mini workshops” hosted throughout the meeting

Networking: Poster sessions, lightning talks, and opportunities to connect with the broader core community.

Register for ABRF 2026 and check out the full schedule here: ABRF Annual Meeting Registration

Relational Leadership Institute Training
We are also continuing our partnership with the Relational Leadership Institute. Through the Travel Award program, we are offering a select number of core directors and managers the opportunity to attend spring or early summer training sessions at no cost.
These sessions are held in person. We ask that you review the program dates and apply only if you are confident you can attend the full schedule. If you are interested but unsure if this training is the right fit, please reach out. Several of your peers participated in a pilot of this program last year and this past fall and can offer perspective on the value it provided.
How to Apply
For full application instructions and program details, please visit the official program page:
CFAC Travel Award Program Website

ABRF Operations Management Software Discussion
2026-02-03 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-03 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-07 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-05 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-02 16:00 - 17:00
ABRF Lab Operations Management Software Discussion

4:00 – 5:00 pm ET
Register here

Join us for the monthly ABRF Lab Operations Management Software Discussion, a recurring forum held on the first Tuesday of each month, bringing together lab operations professionals to explore software tools and best practices. Join us in January for our next topic:

Using Forms to Automate SRR Workflows- 2 case studies:
1. Roxann Ashworth with Johns Hopkins University will present on how forms and related questions automate invoicing and support downstream needs for efficiency.
2. Aaron Larson with Seattle Children’s Research Institute will review how PowerBI automations improve internal workflows and downstream advanced data analytics.

Following a brief recap of these updates, the session will open up for Q&A and discussion, giving attendees the opportunity to share feedback, ask questions, and connect with peers.

Don’t miss this chance to stay informed and engaged with the latest in lab operations software.

CFAC Spring RFA Applications Due
2026-02-20
The Core Facilities Advocacy Committee (CFAC) is excited to announce the opening of the Spring 2026 RFA for core facilities. Please read all the information below.

This request can be used for general core needs, equipment requests, and method development requests. Please visit the Spring RFA website and see below for details.

CFAC encourages submissions of requests of around $30,000 or less. Additionally, equipment requests that can be purchased and installed quickly (<6 weeks) will be prioritized to ensure funds are spent by the end of the fiscal year when necessary.

CFAC requests that core directors who intend to submit an NIH S10 Shared Instrumentation Grant or High End Instrumentation Grant later this year and who plan to request matching funds from CFAC should submit a request for matching funds during this RFA cycle.

Applications are due: February 20, 2026 at 11:59 pm

Important Information

Decisions regarding matching fund requests for the NIH S10 program will be made ahead of the internal submission deadline through the Office of Research Development. All other funding decisions will be made and announced mid-March

ORT and the OVCR Research Core Development team will identify any equipment requests that may be a good fit for requesting funding through the OVCR Equipment fund. This is identified by owning School of the core and breadth and depth of user base of the core across multiple fields, Schools, and Departments. If your application is selected, further information about applying through the OVCR portal will be provided.

If a laboratory currently obtaining services from an entity outside of a UNC Chapel Hill core facility is interested in bringing their business to an appropriate core on campus but would like to apply for funding to ensure the core facility’s protocols, equipment, and data quality meet or exceed their current vendor, the PI and the core facility can co-develop a method development application. This application can request up to 50% of the total cost of the quote from the core facility to validate the method for an appropriate number of the lab’s samples to verify data quality. For questions about eligibility please reach out to Kara Clissold at kara_clissold@med.unc.edu. Please see the attached memo for additional information. We request all core facilities to distribute the attached memo to their mailing list to reach faculty it may be applicable to.

If you request funding for equipment, please ask the vendor to indicate the lead time to delivery on the quote.

Word templates to aid in the completion of the application are provided and are on our website, but submissions must be entered through the online forms. If you are unsure which form to utilize or have questions about the submission process, please reach out to Kara Clissold at kara_clissold@med.unc.edu.

Website link: https://www.med.unc.edu/corefacilities/spring-rfa/
