A Matter of Degree We Ask Experts What Steers So Many Black Scientists Toward Earning a Master’S Before a Ph.D
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Vol. 19 / No. 2 / February 2020 THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY A matter of degree We ask experts what steers so many black scientists toward earning a master’s before a Ph.D. Don’t wait a lifetime for a decision. C. elegans daf-2 mutants can live up to 40 days. JBC takes only 17 days on average to reach a fi rst decision about your paper. Learn more about fast, rigorous review at jbc.org. www.jbc.org NEWS FEATURES PERSPECTIVES 2 24 52 EDITOR’S NOTE A MATTER OF DEGREE A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MINORITY Picking up the slack What steers so many black scientists toward PROFESSOR HIRES 3 earning a master’s before a Ph.D.? NEWS FROM THE HILL 34 Acting to protect research integrity MEYERHOFF SCHOLARS A model for increasing diversity in STEM ANNUAL 4 MEETING MEMBER UPDATE 36 INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE 7 36 A goal of lasting change NEWS 39 Program at Northeastern aims to fix the Honoring undergrads who promote diversity institution 8 40 RETROSPECTIVE FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, Kensal E. van Holde (1928 – 2019) THE THORNY ETHICS OF GENETIC DATA COLLECTION 10 44 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT JBC/TABOR AWARDS Understanding how arsenic changes 44 chromatin and causes cancer Award winners to speak at annual 13 24 meeting 45 NEWS Lavrsen finds endless possibilities Don’t wait a lifetime for a decision. Nan-Shan Chang has made WWOX in PTMs his life’s work 46 Varghese roams from forests to C. elegans daf-2 mutants can live up to 40 days. 15 enzymes JBC takes only 17 days on average to reach a fi rst LIPID NEWS 47 A cyclooxygenase inhibition hotspot Yang follows the science where it decision about your paper. takes her 16 48 Learn more about fast, rigorous review at jbc.org. Selenium led Zhao from icy JOURNAL NEWS hometown to German hospitality 16 Early immune response may improve cancer immunotherapies 49 17 The proteome of the cave bear Dagar dissects a prostate cancer driver 18 Quantifying bacteria-borne bile 19 From the journals 50 ATTENDING A CONFERENCE WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE 52 THE BUDGET www.jbc.org FEBRUARY 2020 ASBMB TODAY 1 EDITOR’S NOTE THE MEMBER MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY Picking up the slack OFFICERS COUNCIL MEMBERS Gerald Hart Suzanne Barbour By Comfort Dorn President Joan Broderick Matt Gentry Toni M. Antalis Blake Hill President-elect Audrey Lamb came to work at the American Wei Yang James M. Ntambi Society for Biochemistry and Mo- Secretary Takita Felder Sumter Kelly Ten–Hagen Ilecular Biology about 16 months Joan Conaway JoAnn Trejo Treasurer after Marion Sewer died. When I ASBMB TODAY EDITORIAL first heard her name, in connection EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS ADVISORY BOARD with an undergraduate scholarship Robert S. Haltiwanger Rajini Rao program, I assumed she was a long- Carla Koehler Chair Co-chairs, 2020 Annual Ana Maria Barral gone figure in the society’s history. Meeting Program Committee Natasha Brooks She came into focus when I was Kelly Chacón Cheryl Bailey putting together an article about the Chair, Education and Beronda Montgomery Professional Development Bill Sullivan winners of that scholarship and I first Committee Melissa Vaught Marion Sewer Binks Wattenberg saw the photo of her smiling in front Daniel Raben of a shelf of heavy books. The photo Chair, Meetings Committee ASBMB TODAY Sonia Flores accompanied Squire Booker’s re- in desperate need of role models to Angela Hopp Chair, Minority Affairs Executive Editor membrance of Sewer, which is where affirm that their dreams and aspira- Committee [email protected] I learned that she died suddenly, so tions are indeed achievable.” Nicole Woitowich Comfort Dorn suddenly that her last article for this Sewer was a black woman in sci- Chair, Science Outreach and Managing Editor Communication Committee [email protected] magazine was published days after ence. In an essay about imposter syn- Terri Goss Kinzy Lisa Schnabel her death, and that she was only 43 drome, she wrote about teachers and Chair, Public Affairs Graphic Designer Advisory Committee when she died. She remains forever mentors disparaging her accomplish- [email protected] Ed Eisenstein John Arnst that unlined face with the broad, ments, causing her to doubt herself. Chair, Membership Committee Science Writer arresting smile. I didn’t know her, so I can’t speak to Susan Baserga [email protected] Sewer crammed more into her her motivations, but I imagine her Chair, Women in Biochemistry Laurel Oldach and Molecular Biology Science Writter life than most of us can hope to do work on behalf of minority students Committee [email protected] in twice the time. She was a profes- was inspired by a desire to counter Sandra Weller Ed Marklin Chair, Publications Web Editor sor at the Skaggs School of Phar- such experiences. Committee [email protected] macy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Members of underrepresented Lila M. Gierasch Allison Frick Editor-in-chief, JBC Multimedia and Social Media at the University of California, San minority groups are often at the A. L. Burlingame Content Manager Diego. She published more than 44 helm of efforts to level the playing [email protected] Editor, MCP papers and reviews, 30 of those as field. Their experiences inspire them Barbara Gordon Nicholas O. Davidson Executive Director an independent investigator, on her to this work, but these responsibili- Editor-in-chief, JLR [email protected] work in lipid metabolism and steroid ties are piled on top of the need to, Kerry-Anne Rye Editor-in-chief, JLR hormone biosynthesis. as Sewer wrote, “work twice as hard” Sewer worked hard at her sci- as their non-URM colleagues. For information on advertising, contact Pharmaceutical Media Inc. at 212-904-0374 or [email protected]. ence, but she found time to advocate That’s a heavy load. I’ll leave it for a diverse workforce, most notably at that. (to us) as a leader of the ASBMB Minority Affairs Committee. She led research projects in increasing Comfort Dorn www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday participation among underrepresent- ([email protected]) is the PRINT ISSN 2372-0409 managing editor of ASBMB ed minorities and furthering student Today. Follow her on Twitter @cdorn56. Articles published in ASBMB Today reflect solely the authors’ views and not training. She was, as Booker wrote, the official positions of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular “a mover and a shaker and a champi- Biology or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated. Mentions of products or services are not endorsements. on of those young scientists who are 2 ASBMB TODAY FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS FROM THE HILL Acting to protect research integrity By Benjamin Corb he U.S. House of Representatives Science and Tech- since the Scientific Revolution has there been a more im- nology Committee approved the Scientific Research portant moment to stand for the basic ideas that inquiry TIntegrity Act in October with an overwhelmingly must be free and facts and evidence matter.” bipartisan vote. The American Society for Bio- If you get most of your information chemistry and Molecular Biology from television news or newspapers, you Public Affairs Advisory Committee might not have heard about this. You applauds Tonko for this important might think Congress did little in the legislation, which would create bar- final quarter of 2019 beyond debating riers to political pressure on federal the impeachment of President Donald scientists and the politicization of Trump and passing federal spending scientific findings. We are encouraged bills. My job is monitoring Congress, to see that the legislation has biparti- and sometimes even those of us who do san support. The majority of ASBMB this for a living have trouble finding re- members are not federal scientists, porting — outside our science policy-fo- but some are — and we think they cused news sources — about any activity should be trusted to serve as reliable unrelated to impeachment on Capitol and unbiased experts in the scientific Hill. My job is monitoring enterprise. That said, here is an example of what Congress, and sometimes This legislation is not likely to Congress is doing. Introduced by Rep. become federal law. Some of our Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., the Scientific Re- even those of us who analytical tools, supplied by the search Integrity Act, or H.R. 1709, aims do this for a living have media company Politico, estimate a to codify protections for federally funded less than 5% chance of enactment. science and federally funded scientific trouble finding reporting In the past 10 Congresses, or 20 researchers and to put the brakes on pol- — outside our science years, an average of only 3.1% of bills icymakers’ and administration officials’ introduced have been enacted into efforts to politicize science funding. policy-focused news law. While passage of the bill may Specifically, the bill allows federal sources — about any not be likely, it is not uncommon for agencies and government-employed popular, noncontroversial proposals activity unrelated to scientists to review data for technical in legislation to be included in other accuracy and provides a mechanism for impeachment on related bills that are on track for scientists to review and revise official Capitol Hill. passage. statements about their findings. Further, We will continue to support it allows federal scientists to present passage of this bill, and we findings at scientific conferences, sit on will encourage our partners on councils and participate in peer review Capitol Hill to view this legislation (subject to conflict-of-interest review). Under as an important way to support the scientific the proposal, federal scientists would be authorized to enterprise.