ASCB Newsletter - January 2003

Despite storms that hit the West Coast, participation in the ASCB Annual Meeting set a new record for a regular Annual Meeting. 9,767 registrants attended the meeting, where 3,461 scientific abstracts, nine major symposia, 32 minisymposia and a wide variety of awards, lectures, special events, committee activities and exhibits were presented. Following are some meeting highlights:

CBE Reception
Cell Biology Education, published by the ASCB, hosted a welcome reception attended by over 100 people who came to learn about the journal from editorial board members including Editors-in-Chief A. Malcolm Campbell and Sarah C.R. Elgin. The quarterly Cell Biology Education was launched in 2002 and quickly attracted significant attention in the life science teaching–research community. The journal publishes peer-reviewed articles on life science education at the K–12, undergraduate and graduate levels. The journal was established to include teaching and learning in fields ranging from math, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, and the interdisciplinary intersections of biology. Within biology, CBE is particularly interested in how students are introduced to the study of life sciences, as well as approaches to cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and proteomics.

Congress 101/CLC Meeting
Two public policy events featured national biomedical research leaders and overflow crowds. The informative panel at “Congress 101” described how the community can influence and shape public policy in Washington, DC. The standing-room-only event featured distinguished ASCB members Paul Berg, J. Michael Bishop, Elizabeth Blackburn, Lawrence Goldstein and Harold Varmus, and Congressional Education Liaison Peter Kyros.

The Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy held its annual reception for Congressional Liaison Committee members. This year’s event, Stepping Up to the Plate: Why You Need to be a Science Advocate, featured Thomas Pollard and Harold Varmus. They gave an overview of the current political climate on Capitol Hill in relation to stem cells, cloning and federal funding, and encouraged scientists to engage in science policy advocacy.

MAC Mentoring Symposium
Over 200 faculty members and students attended Climbing the Career Ladder. Three keynote addresses took attendees from undergraduate student to full professor. Enrique De La Cruz of Yale University described learning and relearning to succeed, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and the need to express oneself in one’s own voice. JoAnn Trejo of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, addressed decisionmaking on the career climb, and immunologist Richard Goldsby of Amherst College gave a scientific lecture on Synthesis of human antibody by cloned, human artificial chromosomes transgenic cattle. Participants enjoyed a panel discussion and participated in round-table discussions.

The program was presented by Scott Fraser of CalTech on Seeing Is Believing: Watching the Cellular Dynamics that Build Embryos. Over 300 students and teachers from all over the Bay Area attended.

Fraser compared various aspects of imaging to playing football, including a picture of how looking into an embryo can be like watching a football game that is played in a stadium full of milk. The theoretical background gave way to an animated fly-by of a 3Drendered picture of a mouse embryo that elicited awe from the students. After Fraser’s presentation, several exhibitors hosted students at their booths.

Student Program
The ASCB student program was presented by Helen Blau of Stanford. Her timely topic, Stem Cells: Prospects for Therapy, was presented to a standing-room-only audience of undergraduates and other students. Blau briefly presented the research that has reversed our thinking on the permanence of the differentiated state, then went on to discuss the different origins of adult and embryonic stem cells, as well as current understanding of their abilities to replace damaged cells in the body. While issuing repeated cautions against attempts to create a human embryo, the vast potential of stem cells to address human disease was underscored. Students and teachers showed extreme interest and closed the session with many thoughtful questions.

Education Initiative Forum
Sessions highlighting undergraduate and graduate education activities were held each morning between symposia. Angela and George Shiflet discussed use of computer modeling in undergraduate cell biology and computational science at Wofford College; Victoria May described Washington University’s use of inquiry methods for elementary and middle school teachers, and Triscia Hendrickson described teaching and research through the Emory University Fellowships in Research and Science Teaching (FIRST) program.

WICB/Education Networking Career Lunch
The ASCB WICB and Education Committees’ co-sponsored Career Lunch continues to be a special event at the ASCB Annual Meeting for hundreds of attendees. At the two-hour event, 50 tables were organized around career issues and topics. This year, over 500 faculty, post-docs, and students participated. Topics included Bioinformatics, Primary & High School Science Education, The Importance of Being Mentored, Setting Up Your First Laboratory, Industry & Biotech, Obtaining a Good Postdoc Position, and Job Application Strategies for Academic Positions.

Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire, the data from which will be analyzed by Lunch organizers and used to improve future programs.

Comments may be directed to WICB Career This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sandra Masur, Mary Ann Stepp, Julie Theriot, and Roger Sloboda.

ASCB Zeiss Run
Despite a storm that tumbled trees and ripped power lines throughout the Bay Area the night before, the 5K/10K ASCB Zeiss Run was held at Crissy Field in the Marina District under sporadic patches of blue sky and views of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco.

Minorities Poster Session Winners
The MAC Poster Session provides opportunities for minority scientists to network with interested senior scientists and to provide guidance and reinforcement to young minority scientists. Posters are also presented during regularly scheduled poster sessions.

Undergraduates
Jamaal Snell, Florida A & M University. Honorable Mention: Brent Elliott, NIH/NIDDK/ LDCB, Mario Fernandez, Minnesota State University, Morehead, Shazia Saleem, Southwest Texas State University.

Graduate Students
Tiana Garrett, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Honorable Mention: Luis Rodriguez, Cornell University, Miriam SeguraTotten, Johns Hopkins University, Melanie Van Stry, Boston University School of Medicine.

Postdocs
Triscia Hendrickson, Emory University School of Medicine. Honorable Mention: Sidney Cambridge, Max-Planck Institute for Neurobiology, Tracie Gibson , University of Wisconsin Medical School, Annette

The Society Council met before the ASCB Annual Meeting last month in San Francisco. Members in attendance conducted the regular Council business of admitting candidates to membership (see page 39), reviewing the financial performance of the Society (as presented in the November 2002 issue of the ASCB Newsletter) and receiving reports and discussing the programs of Society committees (see pages 4-24).

The elected body also discussed several new proposals and issues that impact ongoing and potentially new Society activities:

Incorporation of Commercial Activities in Society Programs
It was recognized that there is increasing opportunity for the Society to include in its activities science from commercial laboratories. Various forums already exist specifically to disseminate commercial research through the Society, such as Annual Meeting Exhibit programs. Council expressed the desirability of incorporating the work of colleagues in industry more broadly, including through Society publications, Annual Meeting participation, education activities and public policy advocacy, in ways that reinforce the integrity, credibility and independence of a nonprofit, professional organization. A subcommittee will consider these issues and make recommendations to Council.

Inclusion of the Membership in the Affairs of the Society
ASCB Councilor John Pringle led a discussion about how to best include a wider geographic and scientific range of ASCB members into Society leadership positions. Modifications to the nominating process were suggested in order to allow more time for consultation and membership input. Inclusiveness was also recognized as one of the factors that should be considered in the selection of chairs and speakers for the Annual Meeting. A subcommittee of current and former Program Committee chairs,Vivek Malhotra, John Cooper, Joan Brugge and Jean Schwarzbauer, was appointed to develop guidelines to assist future Program Committee chairs with this and other issues related to the organization of the Scientific Program.

Methods in Cell Biology
A report by Methods in Cell Biology co-Editors Paul Matsudaira and Leslie Wilson was discussed. The Council considered various mechanisms to strengthen the series and the collaboration between the ASCB and the series editors and publisher. Council notified the publisher of Society policy on electronic access to the scientific literature, and is working with Methods representatives to ensure access in the near future.

Proposed Membership Modifications to the Society Bylaws Council developed two recommendations to the Constitution & Bylaws Committee for proposed changes to membership policy as specified in the Society Bylaws. They are to:

• Require that candidates for Emeritus membership have been Regular ASCB members for at least ten years.
• Create a new category of “Citizen Member” for exceptional, extraordinary individuals who are dedicated to basic biomedical research but who do not otherwise qualify for ASCB membership. The Council also determined to eliminate “First-Time, Partial-Year Membership” in favor of advancing membership benefits— including member abstract sponsorship privileges and registration discount— to first-time, full-year applicants.

Molecular Biology of the Cell Editorial Board Meeting
Molecular Biology of the Cell Editor-in-Chief Keith Yamamoto reported on an extraordinary 2002 for MBC, as indicated by the 33% increase in manuscript submissions over 2001, the popularity of MBC in Press, and the 38% reduction over the prior year for time from manuscript submission to first decision. Yamamoto noted that time to first decision for submitted manuscripts has fallen from an average of 45 days to 28 days since the introduction of the online manuscript submission system.

Yamamoto emphasized the importance of continued vigilance by Associate Editors and the Editorial Board to shepherd manuscripts through the peer review system in a thorough, prompt and fair way. He announced the appointments of nine new Associate Editors and nine new Editorial Board members, effective 2003.

MBC Managing Editor Stephanie Dean acknowledged the extraordinary contributions of MBC staff Rebecca Wason and Liz Haberkorn. Dean noted that the upward trend in manuscript submissions is projected to increase journal issue size by 10% in 2003. She also noted that the two-month reduction in publication lag enabled by MBC in Press allows the publication of manuscripts within weeks after final decision.

Dean reported that institutional subscriptions rose 16% due mostly to consortial sales to developing countries. She announced that MBC, in partnership with the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central, will archive MBC backissue content since the journal’s inception, when it was titled Cell Regulation. This project will enable free public access to all MBC back-issue content electronically at the PubMed Central site. MBC is also developing the capacity to enable authors to receive page proofs for their accepted manuscripts electronically, to speed production time, particularly for authors outside the U.S.

Cell Biology Education Editorial Board Meeting
A. Malcolm Campbell and Sarah C.R. Elgin, Editors-in-Chief of Cell Biology Education, announced the appointments of new Editorial Board members Eric Chudler of the University of Washington, Douglas Fambrough of the Johns Hopkins University, James Gentile of Hope College, Robert Goldberg of the University of California, Los Angeles, Jeff Hardin of the University of Wisconsin, Raquell Holmes of Boston University, Leroy Hood of The Institute for Systems Biology, Mary Lee Ledbetter of the College of the Holy Cross, Nancy Moreno of Baylor College of Medicine, and Gordon Uno of the University of Oklahoma.

Elgin remarked that manuscripts with longitudinal assessment are the central focus of CBE, but noted that assessment can take different forms. She underscored that the journal covers all life science research, not just cell biology, and emphasized that content should reflect topics of greatest interest to faculty and teachers of life sciences at the K-25 levels.

Campbell noted that CBE has already attracted over 1,200 subscribers who have registered to receive alerts when new content is posted on the CBE website. Campbell discussed other electronic features of CBE and reported that capacity is being developed to publish content containing Chime and other online media.

Elgin and Campbell proposed adding a “Points of View” feature to CBE, which was endorsed by the Board. The column will include point/counterpoint opinion pieces on current trends in life science teaching and research.

Education Committee
Chair Ken Miller and Committee members Bob Bloodgood, Bob Blystone, Manuela Martins-Green (ad hoc WICB Committee liaison), Vicki May, James Nelson, Pat Pukkila, Linda Silveira, Roger Sloboda, Elisa Stone and Chris Watters attended the meeting. Gary Borisy, Dot Doyle, Sally Elgin, Elizabeth Marincola, Kim Paul and Tom Sweitzer also participated.

The goals of the K-12 Lunch are to entice scientists to learn how to become involved in classrooms, to bring members of the community, especially teachers, to the ASCB meeting, and to provide a networking opportunity for those already engaged. Gary Borisy commented that he had heard from ASCB members who are primarily intested in education that they feel that there is a “place for them” in the ASCB and at the Annual Meeting. The Committee will focus next year on practical approaches to the classroom for scientists inexperienced with K-12 students. The Lunch will be held on Sunday to encourage participation of local teachers.

Tom Sweitzer and Kim Paul reported on the first meeting of the Subcommittee on Postdoctoral Training. The Subcommittee is dedicated to expansion and enhancement of the ASCB postdoc webpage; development of articles on postdoc issues for the ASCB Newsletter; and implementation of postdoc travel awards. The Subcommittee recognized improvements by the Society for postdocs, including the new Job Board and Career Center, online program scheduling for the Annual Meeting, publication of Career Advice for Life Sciences and Life Sciences Research and Teaching: Strategies for the Successful Job Hunt, and the launch of Cell Biology Education. The Subcommittee asked that the ASCB notify COSEPUP of its advances in support of postdocs. Richard Rodewald of the NIH Center for Scientific Review addressed a general postdoc session.

The Education Initiative Forum featured selected speakers from education abstracts. Attendance at and interest in the Forum continues to be great and increasing.

The Committee determined to display education posters in the EdComm/MAC Information Booth in addition to their scheduled poster sessions.

Elgin reported on Cell Biology Education. She noted that new electronic resources for publishing animations, 3-D visualizations and Chime tutorials are being developed.

The Bio 2010 Workshop sold out at 140 people. Elgin reported that participant evaluation indicated that attendees were very satisfied with the session. The Committee recommended that in lieu of printed material, a CD be provided and that Workshop participants be invited to bring laptops.

A new reception for undergraduate student poster authors was well-attended. The Committee resolved to continue to cultivate interest of undergraduate students in the ASCB.

Miller reported on the ASCB Symposium presentations of Robert Brackenbury and Nancy Ratner of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine at the National Association of Biology Teachers Meeting last year. They discussed the history and availability of green fluorescent proteins and the interaction of research and treatment in neurofibromatosis.

Vicki May and Ken Miller agreed to develop a proposal for a new “Cell Biology Explorations” publication for teachers.

Public Policy Committee
The Committee met for a full day. In attendance were Paul Berg, Larry Goldstein, Florence Haseltine, Richard Hynes, Marc Kirschner, Doug Koshland, Eric Olson, Bob Palazzo, Tom Pollard, Daphne Preuss and Randy Schekman. Also present was ASCB staff Michelle Grifka, Peter Kyros, Elizabeth Marincola, Kevin Wilson and Matt Zonarich. The Committee discussed :

Post-Election Political Outlook
The 2002 Congressional elections and their impact on science policy of the new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate was reviewed, including a change in leadership on several key Senate committees. Kevin Wilson urged Committee members from states with new Senators and Representatives to educate the legislators about the importance of biomedical research and the need for the federal government to continue to fund it. Senators-elects Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) were identified as key new contacts.

Federal Budget
Congressional Education Liaison Peter Kyros reported that the House of Representatives budget provides $27.17 billion for the NIH and $5.4 billion for the NSF.

The Senate budget provides $27.19 billion for the NIH and $5.3 billion for the NSF. For the first time in years, Congress did not complete its work on the annual budget before adjourning last year, approving just two of 13 appropriations bills. As in past years, the huge Labor, Health and Human Services & Education Appropriations bill that provides funding for the National Institutes of Health is a major point of controversy.

President Bush has insisted that discretionary spending for the entire federal budget not exceed $759 billion. That figure would require the Senate Appropriations Committee to reduce total spending on the remaining appropriations bills. Kyros reported that Congressional leaders had in early December reached a deal to reduce the Senate version of the Labor, Health and Human Services & Education Appropriations bill by $2.8 billion. The Senate bill is $4.4 billion larger than the President’s request and the House version of the same bill. Even with the lower Senate figure, Kyros calculated that it would still be possible to complete the doubling of the NIH budget in FY2003.

Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy
Kyros reviewed anticipated JSC activities for 2003. The JSC continues to work closely with the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, with membership of over 100 Representatives and 10 Senators, to host 10-12 briefings on Capitol Hill on a wide range of scientific topics. The Committee discussed Caucus leadership following the defeat of Co-Chair George Gekas (R-PA) as well as the defeat or retirement of three other co-chairs. JSC Chair Harold Varmus is actively recruiting new leadership.

Tom Pollard reported on the monthly Hill Days bringing together members of the Congressional Liaison Committee with members of the House and Senate and Congressional staff. He noted the particular success of meetings between members of the scientific community and members of Congress in their home district offices. As of November, CLC membership was over 3,500 scientists.

The Society for Neuroscience became a member of the JSC in 2002. Matt Zonarich reported on current efforts to recruit SFN members to the CLC. Tom Pollard and Michelle Grifka reported on the expansion of outreach into selected west coast states.

Paul Berg, Tom Pollard and Elizabeth Marincola reported on the meeting of JSC representatives with NIH Director Elias Zerhouni the prior month.

Stem Cells
The Committee continued its ongoing discussion about facilitating stem cell research within the constraints of the August 2001 decision by President Bush to only allow federal funding on a limited number of stem cell lines. Larry Goldstein reported the results of a revealing ASCB survey of owners of the stem cell lines approved by the President, indicating that very few of those lines are truly accessible to the scientific community. Kevin Wilson noted that the NIH Embryonic Stem Cell site had recently been adjusted to reflect the much lower number of available cell lines: nine, compared to the 78 the President had believed to be available. The Committee expressed its skepticism that even nine lines are accessible.

Goldstein briefed the Committee on the process leading to the passage of legislation in California to enable stem cell research in the state and of a mechanism to fund the research there.

Berg noted the appointment of the NIH Stem Cell Research Task Force by NIH Director Elias Zerhouni. The goal of the Task Force is to facilitate stem cell research within the limits of existing policy.

Cloning
Paul Berg and Larry Goldstein reviewed the outcome of the 2002 cloning debate in Congress and potential legislative strategies for 2003. The ASCB, in conjunction with the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), led the fight to prevent legislation by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) from being passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President. Kevin Wilson noted that when education efforts began in the Senate in January of 2002, therapeutic cloning was supported by only seven Senators, but by December, 57 Senators were on record in support.

Indications are that Brownback and Weldon would, with the support of the President, again propose legislation to enforce a moratorium on nuclear transplantation research. The duration of the moratorium remains uncertain.

Scientific Secrecy
Marc Kirschner led a lengthy discussion about efforts by the Bush Administration to increase restrictions on the publication of biomedical research in the name of national security. Recent proposals call for the creation of a special category of protected research that would be considered “Not Classified but Sensitive.”

Genetically Modified Foods
Daphne Preuss reported on technological advances and political hurdles regarding the development of genetically modified foods. She underscored the limitations imposed by European nations to making these foods available to third world countries.

GenBank Submission Policy
Preuss raised concern that new policy may result in the restriction of DNA sequence data submitted to GenBank. The Committee endorsed the continued requirement to submit sequence data promptly and without restriction, while calling for appropriate attribution of sequence originators.

Public Information Committee
A seminar organized by the Public Information Committee for the 2003 AAAS meeting in February on The ‘New’ Nucleus: Mothership of the Human Genome will showcase emerging fields in cell biology before an audience of more than 1,500 journalists.

PIC Chair Kathy Wilson developed a proposal and the ASCB agreed to finance the symposium. The panel of six ASCB speakers—Wilson, Andrew Belmont, Howard Worman, Brian Burke, Bob Goldman, and Douglass Forbes— will update science reporters on February 17 on the new research that has transformed our view of the eukaryotic cell nucleus from a passive “DNA basket” into a dynamic organelle that exercises critical control over cell fate. Broadcast-quality, color video of the ‘new’ nucleus in live action is being created by Timothy Richardson of the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, to illustrate the Denver talks.

In anticipation of the success of the 2003 symposium, the ASCB agreed to extend funding for a seminar at the AAAS meeting in 2004, to be held in Seattle. The 2004 symposium, tentatively titled, Seeing Life in New Ways, will use a visual approach to grab journalistic attention.

ASCB President Gary Borisy praised the PIC’s newly-retitled press book, Cell Biology 2002, (available at www.ascb.org/ pressbook/ pressbook02.html.) Borisy also conveyed the request of the ASCB Council to analyze a proposal from a New York-based photojournalist and film producer to work with the Society to create real data-based animations of basic cell processes. The proposal calls for ASCB help in producing a commercial TV documentary series and an illustrated book.

PIC members discussed recent efforts to change the State of Ohio’s secondary school science requirements to allow “Intelligent Design” to be taught as an alternative to Evolution. The Intelligent Design initiative was successfully defeated, thanks in part to a joint letter to state education officials and lawmakers from the PIC’s Tom Egelhoff and the Public Policy Committee’s Paul Berg, urging Ohio to reject “I.D.” as a euphamism for the religious doctrine of “Creationism,” with no place in the state’s required biology curriculum. But wellfunded Creationist organizations are expected to target other state or local school boards. The PIC asked Egelhoff and Bob Palazzo to coordinate efforts to defeat the “Intelligent Design” movement with the Society’s Public Policy and Education committees.

Minorities Affairs Committee
The Minorities Affairs Committee met to evaluate current programs and development of its 2004 competitive MARC grant renewal. Attending were MAC members Donella Wilson (Chair), J. K. Haynes (Vice-chair), Virginetta Cannon, Wilfred Denetclaw, Anthony DePass, William Eckberg, Pearl Fernandes, Sandra Murray and Alex Rodriguez. Guests Jerry Bryant, Tracie Gibson, Sabrice Guerrier, Adolphus Toliver and Maria Elena Zavala also attended.

Wilson announced the creation of the position of ASCB Director of Minorities Affairs to become a member of the Society’s senior staff. There was a lively discussion of the potential role and evaluation of the new Director. The goals and direction of the NIH-MARC grant were also revisited. Tracking and evaluation will be a necessary part of the renewal and may require the assistance of a consultant.

The 2003 Mentoring Symposium organizer, Sabrice Guerrier, will work with the 2002 and 1997 organizers, Alex Rodriguez, and Tracie Gibson, respectively. The Committee renewed its commitment to current MAC Annual Meeting activities, which were all reported to be successful, and determined to seek funding for activities that are not supported by the MARC grant. The Committee hoped to broaden eligibility for MAC travel awards to include non-poster presenting faculty and undergraduate students from Minority Serving Institutions, as well as to continue to enhance and promote its activities via the MAC website and the JustGarciaHill National Minority Scientist website.

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science President Maria Elena Zavala reported on the successful Cell Biology Symposium at the SACNAS meeting, which drew the greatest attendance among all concurrent scientific sessions at the meeting. The MAC renewed its support of the Symposium and of grants for two SACNAS students to attend the ASCB Annual Meeting. Similar participation in the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students was discussed, starting with a MAC-designated symposium speaker for the 2003 ABRCMS meeting.

Jerry Bryant reported that eligibility for Merck/United Negro College Fund fellowships has been expanded from “African Americans of non-Hispanic descent” to the more inclusive “African Americans”.

WICB Committee
The Committee reviewed and discussed WICB programs, including the Evening Program on How to Negotiate Your Job Hunt and How to Navigate Promotion, the Career Lunch, the Resource Bureau, and a WICB Saturday Workshop being planned for 2003.

WICB’s two new publications, Career Advice for Life Scientists and Life Sciences Research & Teaching: Strategies for the Successful Job Hunt, were reported to be well received by ASCB members and others.

ASCB President Suzanne Pfeffer has announced the appointment of Chairs of the Society’s Nominating and Local Arrangement Committees.

2000 ASCB President Richard Hynes of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will chair the Nominating Committee, which will recruit candidates to run for Society leadership positions in 2004.

Matthew Welch of the University of California, Berkeley, will serve as Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee. The LAC organizes Annual Meeting events including the Social, the High School and Student programs, the ASCB-Zeiss Run and the Restaurant Guide.

Hynes and Welch begin their one-year terms this month.

Morris J. Birnbaum of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, an ASCB member since 1992, received the School’s 2002 Stanley N. Cohen Biomedical Research Award for basic science research.

Aaron DiAntonio of the Washington University School of Medicine, an ASCB member since 2002, was among five scientists named 2002 W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research.

Stanley Falkow of Stanford University, an ASCB member since 1997, will receive the National Academy of Science’s 2003 Selman A. Waksman Award in recognition of excellence in the field of microbiology.

Sarah Gibbs, Emerita professor at McGill University and an ASCB member since 1965, will receive the National Academy of Science’s Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal for excellence in published research on marine or freshwater algae.

Joseph Goldstein of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, an ASCB member since 1980, has been elected a trustee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Craig Thompson of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, an ASCB member since 1997, has been named to succeed Goldstein as Chair of the HHMI Medical Advisory Board.

Carol Greider of the Johns Hopkins University, an ASCB member since1996, will receive the National Academy of Science’s Richard Lounsbery Award in recognition of extraordinary scientific achievement in biology and medicine.

Nancy Jones of Wake Forest University Health Sciences, an ASCB member since 1989, has been named to serve on the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections. The Committee replaces the former National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee.

Richard Lifton of Yale University School of Medicine, an ASCB member since 1998, will receive the 2003 Roy O. Greep Award from the Endocrine Society for outstanding contributions to research in endocrinology.Vivian Siegel, former Editor-in-Chief of Cell and an ASCB member since 1988, has been named Executive Director of Public Library of Science Publications.

Axel Ullrich of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, an ASCB member since 1984, received the 2002 King Faisal International Prize in Medicine for breast cancer research.

The Society is grateful to the following donors to the ASCBMerton Bernfield Memorial Award Fund.

• $500-$999 John McPherson
• $200-$499 Ofer And Joelle Reizes Jeremiah & Cynthia Silbert
• $100-$199 Andre & Paula Bensadoun Jeffrey Esko Bob & Anne Goldman Jordan Kreidberg Peter Kyros Rodney Levine Carla Shatz
• Up To $99 Helen Blau Ishan & Priya Capila John & Judy Gallagher Sandra Masur

The ASCB is grateful to the following members who have recently given gifts to support Society activities:

David Asai
Barbara Birshtein
Gary Borisy
Christa Brown
Eric Brown
Michael Brown
Jeanette Bulinski
William Chirico
Laura Cisar
Mary Clutter
Stanley Cohn
Douglas Cotanche
Ann Cowan
Caroline Damsky
Elliot Elson
Harrison Farber
Clara Franzini-Armstrong
G. Ian Gallicano
Cara Gottardi
Karen Greer
Patricia Harris-Noyes
Ching Ho
Vincent Hollis
Richard Hynes
Jacqueline Jordan
Margaret Kenna
Harold Lane
William Leach
Martin Linke
Frank Longo
Karen Magnus
Francesco Marincola
Michael Marks
Lenore Pereira
David Piston
David Polk
Thomas Pollard
John Pringle
Evelyn Ralston
Michael Reedy
Linda Runft
Hitoshi Sakakibara
W. Sue Shafer
Tetuso Shimamura
John Sisson
Susan Strome
Julie Theriot
Lydia Villa-Komaroff
Michael Watkins
Elizabeth Wayner
Keith Yamamoto

2003 Cooperative Grants Program. The U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), invites teams of U.S. and former Soviet Union (FSU) scientists and engineers to apply for oneto twoyear grants. One application may be submitted every twelve months.

NIGMS Grants. RFAs are being accepted for Exploratory Center Grants for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Deadline for Letter of Intent: February 13, 2003; deadline for application: March 13, 2003.

NIGMS Administrative Supplements. Human Embryonic stem cell research funding opportunities. Deadline is May 5, 2003.

Assistant Professor, Molecular Cell Biology. The Department of Biological Sciences at Ohio University seeks to fill a full-time, tenure track position at the Assistant Professor level in molecular cell biology beginning fall, 2003. We seek candidates who use molecular approaches to address fundamental questions in cell biology. A Doctorate in cell biology or a related area, postdoctoral research experience, and evidence of scholarly research achievement are required. Candidates are expected to develop an independent, fundable research program. Strong institutional research support includes a new, 70,000 sq. ft. Life Sciences building, a transgenic mouse facility, scanning and transmission electron microscopes, a confocal microscope, NMR and mass spectrometers, and a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The successful applicant will teach undergraduate cell biology and an upper level course, preferably in immunology or virology. Salary, benefits, and start-up funds are competitive.

Further information about these positions can be found online. Please submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, summaries of research program and teaching interests/philosophy, and the names, postal addresses, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of three references to Dr. Ellengene Peterson, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Irvine Hall, Athens, OH 45701-2979. Review of applications will begin on December 3, 2002. Ohio University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply.