Science is under attack and that is not OK
As I write this, events are changing quickly and we are filled with anxiety and stress due to a high level of uncertainty about what’s next or what these changes may do to science. I can’t predict what will happen and it’s the not knowing that causes deep concerns for the future, for each of us individually in our own careers, but also for future generations of scientists from many different backgrounds. This uncertainly comes in addition to already tight funding paylines, and increasingly competitive career prospects in academia.

The current impacts and attacks on employees of our federal agencies, our grant funding, and our efforts to inclusively support scientists from diverse backgrounds has begun to be felt by many of us and is highly likely to lead to widespread and long-term damage. More broadly, we fear for the future of science and medicine in the U.S. and repercussions for forthcoming therapeutics for our patients.

My heart cries out in pain now due to so many concerns, including:

• junior scientists who may no longer be able to establish and thrive in their own labs
• aspiring scientists who will leave to find other careers
• millions whose lives are at risk from preventable infectious diseases and future pandemics, and from lack of innovative cures whose development is stalled
• staff at universities and federal agencies, including nurses, physicians, technical staff, administrative staff, etc., who work tirelessly to enable our scientific enterprise to thrive
• the loss of the amazing world-wide leadership that the U.S. has shown in science and technology, and its standing as the place where future generations of scientists would desire to be trained
• the exodus of our brightest scientists as they seek positions in countries with more science-friendly policies
• the attacks on diversity and thus the loss of different perspectives, innovations, approaches, and discoveries, which result from having a diverse group of scientists working together to address problems

My passion for cell biology and ASCB
I fondly remember my first ASCB Annual Meeting. It was in 1998, and I was a postdoc; before that I mainly had presented at protein biochemistry-related conferences. My goal was to use my protein biochemistry and structural biology expertise to elucidate molecular mechanisms of membrane trafficking. At the Cell Bio meeting, I was like a kid in an amazing cell biology candy store, overwhelmed by all the exciting talks across a wide variety of topics. I wanted to attend every talk and learn about all the newest discoveries and technologies from the cell biology community—and what a warm and welcoming community it was! I was reunited with old friends and met dozens of new colleagues. There were networking opportunities to engage with top cell biologists across a wide range of topics, some even came to my poster! In addition, I attended educational and professional development sessions in which I learned more about publishing, grant writing, and the academic job market. I also heard about challenges faced by women in cell biology (often highlighted by the use of funny skits) and was inspired by stories of their successes.

I was hooked, and I’ve been a member of ASCB ever since. Going to the ASCB (now ASCB|EMBO Cell Bio) Annual Meeting over the years has led to life-long friendships and collaborations, as well as wonderful new ideas and technologies, which propelled my research forward. The networks and connections that I formed impacted my career trajectory, leading to my independent faculty position in 2001. My colleagues in the membrane trafficking field helped me take my primarily NIH-funded research program (continuously funded for over 20 years) in powerful new and impactful directions. Moreover, my interactions with many terrific colleagues, the programming at the annual meeting, and the ASCB newsletters and blogs, opened my eyes to reveal inequities that are built into the fabric of how we do research, teaching, and service, and how scientists from different backgrounds are disproportionately affected.

In 2012, I joined the Women in Cell Biology Committee (WICB), where I found an incredibly engaged and supportive community of women and men. At that time, I was one of three tenured/tenure-track women faculty in my department (out of ~22 total), and WICB was the community that I needed. WICB helped set me on my leadership journey, which included serving on several important subcommittees and task forces and acting as liaison to the impressive ASCB Public Policy Committee. I also became a co-PI on ASCB’s MOSAIC UE5 cooperative NIH grant to support MOSAIC K99/R00 scholars in 2020. Together, these roles helped prepare and inspire me to assume additional leadership positions on my campus, in addition to taking on the role as chair of WICB in 2019. WICB was thrilled to celebrate its 50^th anniversary during this time—we’ve come a long way since 1971, but we still have more to do. I can’t imagine what my career and research trajectory would have been without ASCB, and it is now my honor to serve as the President of ASCB for 2025.

There are reasons for hope
I never imagined that 2025 would unfold in the way that it has. Fortunately, the networks and friendships that I built over the years help to sustain and inspire me every day. As I sat down to write this column, I pondered what has made ASCB, and cell biologists, so special. Here are a few of my thoughts about what motivates us: curiosity; the thrill of discovery; being able to do research that delves deep into mechanisms of how cells work; the opportunity to serve the public through a deeper understanding of diseases and pathogens; enabling the development of the next therapeutics; the joy of training the next generations of scientists; and engaging, mentoring and inspiring junior scientists from diverse backgrounds, countries and abilities.

These passions are combined with our resilience (dare I say stubbornness?), a strong sense of collegiality, collaboration, and teamwork, and dedication to revealing the scientific bases underlying the mysteries of biological processes. We value being constructively critical, helping others, being authentic, and embracing our humanity. Scientifically, our fundamental research of how cells work provides the critical foundations for diverse fields such as cancer biology, immunology, and neuroscience. We are an amazing international community that has made strong progress towards gender and racial equity. We have pushed against policies that do not make scientific sense, or that damage the scientific community. Together we are strong.

What can we do?
We need to celebrate, communicate, value, and protect the qualities that make us so special. I had the privilege of attending the recent Stand Up for Science event in Boston, with numerous colleagues and folks from my lab who inspire me every day. These events were held across the U.S., and internationally, which powerfully demonstrates the strength of the scientific and medical communities when we come together as one. We all need to stand up and push hard against funding cuts. We need to advocate to our elected leaders to fight for supportive policies. We should speak out against the firing of scientists, and of the staff who support the research enterprise, especially those at critical federal agencies. We need to share our science and communicate its benefits such that everyone can understand and appreciate our mission. Moreover, we need to continue eliminating biases from our scientific environments, and increasing our support of scientists from every background and country. Everyone who is interested in science should have a path forward to become a scientist.