Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Call for Volunteer Mentors for Undergraduate Awardees at SMBE2026 Dear SMBE Members, We are currently looking for volunteer mentors to support the undergraduate awardees attending SMBE026 in Copenhagen. For many of these students, this will be their first conference, and we hope to match them with mentors who can offer a welcoming point of contact and help them make the most of the meeting. Mentors would be expected to help students organise their schedule, prepare for their poster presentation, introduce them to other attendees, and generally help them find their way around the conference so that they feel more connected and confident during the event. To serve as a mentor, you should have previously attended at least two SMBE meetings and be at least a 3rd-year PhD student. You must also be registered for SMBE2026, but you do not need to be giving a talk or presenting a poster yourself. If you are interested in participating, please sign up via our application form. Mentor Sign-Up Please note that not everyone who volunteers will necessarily be matched, as we will aim to match mentors and mentees, where possible, based on research interests and other relevant factors. However, the more volunteers we have, the better supported the students will be, so we warmly encourage you to sign up. We would be very grateful if you could complete the form by the end of April, so that we can maximise the chances of arranging suitable mentor-mentee matches. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to either Aya Takahashi or Ravinder Kanda (ayat@tmu.ac.jp, rkanda@brookes.ac.uk). Thank you in advance for helping to make SMBE a welcoming place for newcomers. Your support can make a real difference in helping undergraduate awardees feel welcome at SMBE2026 and in introducing the next generation of scientists to the society. Best wishes, Aya & Ravinder (on behalf of SMBE Council) Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution +1.785.289.2056 smbe@am.kwglobal.com https://www.smbe.org https://bsky.app/profile/official-smbe.bsky.social Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution at smbe@am.kwglobal.com. Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)