ASCB OCTOBER 2006 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 29, NUMBER 10 Women in Science: A ASCB Launches Disappearing Image & Video Library Act? A New Electronic Resource Page 2 Frustrated in their search for images or videos to (IVL). As part of its mission to teach cell illustrate cell organelles and functions, many to a broad range of science students Pope Questions biology educators, researchers, around the world, the ASCB has and students have given up. The created a new educational tool Role of Science process has often been extremely that illustrates the cell in a variety Page 15 difficult, if not impossible, for of multimedia formats. The IVL’s both historical micrographs and easy-to-use digital library format cutting-edge discoveries. And offers a growing collection of Take the Time when such visual representations items, all freely accessible on the cannot be obtained from credible Internet at http://cellimages.ascb. to Smell the sources, science education org. suffers. After all, cell biology is a Farquhar MG, Palade GE. The IVL is governed by two Roses? Epithelial cells from the proxi- foundation science, a cornerstone mal tubule of rat kidney dem- boards. A Scientific Advisory Page 24 for students and researchers in all onstrating tight junction seal Board (SAB), composed of biological professions. prominent academic scientists, Now ASCB offers an antidote for frustration, works closely with Curator David Ennist and Inside and a source for peer-reviewed, high-quality Assistant Curator Cindy Boeke, to develop the visual and written resources from cell biology scientific content of the site. The SAB functions innovators: the newly launched American much like the editorial board of a journal and President’s Column 2 Society for Cell Biology Image & Video Library includes Kathryn Howell (Chair), Dorothy See IVL, page 20 Annual Meeting Program 8 In Memoriam 10 The NCSE: Promoting Annual Dear Labby 11 Meeting Public Policy Briefing 15 Science Education Housing The stunning victory for science in Don’t be left without a room NIH Funding 16 Judge John Jones’ federal court in for the ASCB Annual Meeting. Members in the News 18 Dover, Pennsylvania, late last year was Rooms begin at $59 per night and not easily achieved. The plaintiffs took are filling quickly. All attendees Meeting Poster Guidelines 21 and exhibitors are encouraged great personal risks. Their attorneys to book within the block and Attention: Undergrads 21 were brilliant in strategy and execution. make their hotel reservations Ken Miller (ASCB), Kevin Padian, and by November 8, at www.ascb. InCytes from MBC 22 Eugenie Scott Barbara Forrest—among other scholars— org or call SAN DIEGO... eloquently testified about the nature of accommodating YOU at (800) Letter to the Editor 23 science, science teaching, and the facts of evolution. At the core 967-4590 (U.S./Canada). International participants may WICB Column 24 of all these activities was a huge effort by the National Center call (847) 282-2529. Preferences for Science Education (NCSE) under the leadership of Eugenie are honored on a first-come, first- Member Gifts 26 C. Scott. ASCB members will remember Scott because she served basis. Why book within the Grants & Opportunities 26 received the Award for Science Education from block? See, http://www.ascb.org/ ASCB in 1999. meetings/am2006/housingblock. Calendar 28 See NCSE, page 12 cfm for the answer. ■ The American Society for Cell Biology PRESIDENT’S Column 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750 Bethesda, MD 20814-2762 Tel: (301) 347-9300 Fax: (301) 347-9310 [email protected], www.ascb.org Women in Science: Joan R. Goldberg A Disappearing Act? Executive Director It is widely publicized that women are entering ed that the majority of female students polled at Officers professional training in biology and medicine in an Ivy League college indicated that when they Mary Beckerle President record numbers, but they seem to disappear. An had children, they planned to cut back on work Bruce Alberts President-Elect analysis of gender representa- or stop working entirely. (Story, Past-President tion at different career levels in 2005). The conclusions in the Gary Ward Treasurer 50 high-profile research univer- front page article were widely Jean Schwarzbauer Secretary sities shows clearly that in the criticized as being based on an- biological sciences nearly 50% ecdotal reports rather than sci- Council of Ph.D.s are earned by women. entific data. In any case, the Kerry Bloom Yet women represent only 30%, story sure got people talking. Juan Bonifacino 25%, and 15% of Assistant, Are women voluntarily David Burgess Associate, and Full Professors opting out of scientific careers John Condeelis Peter Devreotes (Handelsman et al., 2005). in order to raise children? Linda Hicke What is happening to all of the Or do the demands of our Caroline Kane women who complete doctoral profession—the long hours, Sandra Masur training? Where do they go? the travel—simply make it Barbara Meyer Clearly there are many untenable for many women to Erin O'Shea attractive options outside of have children and their careers? Daphne Preuss Mary Beckerle Anne Ridley academia for Ph.D.s in science, Analysis of longitudinal data including law, policy, education, collected on recipients of life ASCB Newsletter publishing, etc. However, it is curious that science doctoral degrees in the United States, is published twelve times per women are disproportionately disappearing the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, provides year by The American Society from the tenure track. Many explanations have some sobering insight into why women are for Cell Biology. been put forward to explain underrepresented in tenure- the loss of women from the track faculty ranks. The tenure Joan R. Goldberg Editor pipeline. Some issues, such Are women rate for men and women who John L. Saville Production Manager voluntarily opting Nancy Moulding Production Assistant as gender bias, are obviously had at least one child under Kevin Wilson Public Policy Briefing relevant for all women (Barres, out of scientific six years of age within five Ed Newman Advertising Manager 2006; Hopkins, 2006). careers in order to years after earning a Ph.D. John Fleischman Science Writer Others, such as the impact of raise children? Or do was compared. Seventy-seven Thea Clarke EducationWriter childbirth and childrearing the demands of our percent of the men with so- on career only affects women profession … simply called “early babies” were Deadlines for submission of scientists who have chosen to awarded tenure, compared articles and advertising have children. Each of these make it untenable with only 56% of women in materials: factors is important and worthy for many women to similar circumstances (Mason Issue Deadline of analysis. However, space have children and and Goulden, 2004). Tenure- December November 1 constraints impose the need their careers? track women at the University January 2007 December 1 for focus. Here I will address of California report spending February January 1 the challenges of balancing significantly more hours per work and family for women in science. Although week on childcare and household chores than ASCB Newsletter this column will concentrate on women, clearly their male counterparts (Mason and Goulden, ISSN 1060-8982 many of these issues also have an impact on 2004), perhaps providing part of the explanation Volume 29, Number 10 men in science, who increasingly have partners for their lower tenure rate. October 2006 employed outside the home and who also wish to © 2006 participate actively in family life. The Mommy Track or The American Society for Cell Biology the Mommy Trap? Postmaster: Send change of address to Opting Out or Bailing Out? Women seeking careers in academia may ASCB Newsletter The American Society for Cell Biology A story in The New York Times last fall report- disproportionately gravitate toward research 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750 Bethesda, MD 20814-2762

2 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006 faculty positions rather than tenure-track Balancing Act: Help to Stay on the slots, thinking they will be able to pursue their High Wire scientific interests with greater flexibility as If young women are to be encouraged to con- faculty. Almost twice as many women with early tribute to scientific discovery, our systems and babies are in research positions, nontenure-track structures need to support their participation. slots, and part-time appointments than men A number of actions can be taken to support with early babies. These positions may involve young faculty trying to balance the demands of less responsibility in the areas of administration work and family. If young women are and education. However, they are typically to be encouraged “soft-money” slots in which the investigators 1. Automatic Parental Leave: The implemen- to contribute to are reliant on receipt of extramural grants to tation of automatic paid leave for new parents scientific discovery, cover their salaries. In times of tight funding, would be a huge step. Many European coun- our systems and these situations are anything but low pressure. tries provide 16 weeks of fully paid leave for Moreover, research-track positions typically new mothers. In Sweden, new parents have structures need have lower salaries and less advancement 16 MONTHS’ leave at 80% of salary, with to support their opportunity compared with tenure-track slots. the primary parent’s partner required to take participation. With higher salaries, there is the ability to “buy at least three months. In the U.S., most aca- time” by hiring support for housekeeping, yard demic institutions have policies that require maintenance, and reliable childcare. Some the faculty member to request leave for child- colleagues I know have hired cooks so they can bearing or rearing. This is awkward and puts spend time with family when they get home women in the position of appearing to need from the lab, rather than racing to the stove. special treatment. Policies that require the Given the stress associated with complete new parent to ask for leave could easily put reliance on grant funds for personal salary those who ask at a disadvantage in the eyes support, and their relatively low compensation of colleagues compared with those who don’t level, research faculty positions are, in some ask. Although policies allowing family leave ways, more demanding than the tenure track. are common in academic institutions, I be- lieve that many women are reluctant to ask. Life and Work: A Collision Course As pointed out recently in The Chronicle of The years in which scientists are completing Higher Education (Williams, 2006), women their training, beginning their independent currently need negotiation training prior to careers, and approaching tenure evaluation approaching a chair about family leave. overlap substantially with the period when women can bear children. As was recently 2. Automatic Stop of the Tenure Clock: When reported by the National Research Council, a young faculty member has a child, the ten- the median age of a Ph.D. researcher’s first ure clock should be automatically extended, independent grant is 42. At the same time that for example, by one year, for each new child. it is a disadvantage for women scientists who The faculty member should have the option are developing a career and seeking tenure to of requesting an early tenure consideration have children early, it is often untenable to if productivity is very strong. This is a much delay childbearing until the fourth decade of better scenario than the more common alter- life. Declining fertility works against women native approach in which a woman is allowed who try to get pregnant in their 40s. Still, it to request delayed consideration for tenure. appears that many female faculty are having Such a request can be interpreted as an indi- their first children much later than their male cation that she or the chair doesn’t feel she is counterparts (Mason and Goulden, 2004), and ready. that is not without consequences. A survey of 3. Onsite Childcare: Businesses learned long University of California faculty revealed that ago that happy, relaxed employees are highly 40% of women faculty aged 40–60 wished they productive. Women who are in constant had more children, whereas only 20% of male conflict in their efforts to balance work and faculty indicated they had fewer children than family experience high stress. Onsite, quality they wanted (Mason and Goulden, 2004). childcare is one way to simplify a parent’s

OCTOBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 3 life and place work and parenting in greater will take a toll, there is also a relatively harmony. large part of the curve in which more work does yield more productivity. Success 4. Emergency Care for Sick Children: One of should be pegged to reasonable standards of the most stressful situations I experienced as productivity, not a bar that is attainable only a mother of a young child was having a class by someone living a uni-dimensional life. lecture scheduled on a day when my son woke up with a high fever. If my husband True Gender Equity hadn’t had a flexible work schedule, I don’t As pointed out by Mason and Goulden (2004), know what I would have done. It is nearly when we think about gender equity, we tend If … men can have impossible to find childcare on short notice, to think about equal access to professional op- children without particularly on a workday. And there was no portunities, lack of discrimination in the work compromising way I could find a substitute lecturer on such place, salary equity, and fair promotion process- their careers, short notice. It would be terrific if our insti- es. If we achieve all of the above and men can while women must tutions could provide a central resource for have children without compromising their ca- reers, while women must sacrifice their person- sacrifice their urgent childcare. For those of us in academic medical centers, this would be a big plus for al lives to secure professional success, then we re- personal lives to clinical faculty and staff as well. main a long way from true gender equity. ■ secure professional success, then 5. Salary Support: If at least 50% salary sup- References Barres, B., 2006. Does gender matter? Nature 442:133– we remain a long port is provided by the home institution, a young faculty member can secure the bal- 136. way from true ance and support a small research operation Handelsman, J. et al., 2005. More women in science. gender equity. with a single extramural grant. In contrast, Science 309: 1190–1191. if a young faculty member needs multiple Hopkins, N., 2006. Diversification of a university fac- grants to survive—e.g., to get paid—then ulty: observations on hiring women faculty in the schools of science and engineering at MIT. MIT Faculty it will be very hard to have balance during Newsletter 18:4:1, 16–19. childbearing and rearing years. Mason, M.A., and Goulden, M., 2004. Marriage and 6. More Female Colleagues: It is reassuring the baby blues: redefining gender equity in the Academy. for young women to see successful and Annals AAPSS 596: 86–103. happy senior women in their departments. Story, L., 2005. Many women at elite colleges set career The number of women on the faculty and path to motherhood. The New York Times, September on search committees will have an impact 20, 2005. on the number of women recruited in the Williams, J.C., 2006. It’s in their interest, too. The future. The recent example of the NIH Chronicle of Higher Education, August 31, 2006. Pioneer Awards shows a strong correlation Note: After this article was submitted, a National between the diversity of the selection Academies report, Beyond Bias and Barriers: committee and the diversity of the award Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic recipients. People tend to gravitate toward Science and Engineering, was released that explores people like themselves, so the greatest way this issue further. The report concludes “that any- to promote gender diversity is to make sure one lacking the work and family support tradition- search committees have gender diversity. ally provided by a wife is at a serious disadvantage,” Learning to recognize gender bias by men and “It is not lack of talent but unintentional bias- and women, and how to counter it, is es and outmoded institutional structures that are hin- important too. dering the access and advancement of women.” [The National Academies Press is publishing the report.] 7. A Reasonable Job Description. Finally, to retain women with children in academic Comments are welcome and should be sent to life, the job cannot be incompatible with [email protected]. central life goals. For many women—and men—these include marriage or relationship and family. Although there is a point of diminishing returns, where stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, and lack of life outside work

4 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

6 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

The ASCB 46th Annual Meeting December 9–13, San Diego, CA Mary Beckerle, President ■ Anthony Bretscher, Program Chair ■ Arshad Desai, Local Arrangements Chair

Keynote Symposium Minisymposia

Saturday, December 9 Sunday, December 10 Tuesday, December 12 Frontiers in Cell Biology—6:00 pm Cell Migration Apoptosis Bruce Alberts, University of California, San Francisco Diane L. Barber, University of California, San Francisco Eileen White, Rutgers University Thomas R. Cech, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gregg G. Gundersen, Columbia University College of Junying Yuan, Harvard Medical School Physicians & Surgeons Applications of Biosensors Computational Applications in Cell Biology Atsushi Miyawaki, RIKEN Brain Science Institute Douglas A. Lauffenburger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alice Ting, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Symposia Alex Mogilner, University of California, Davis Cytoskeleton, Adhesion and Disease Sunday, December 10 Epigenetics and Chromatin Remodeling Kathleen J. Green, Northwestern University Feinberg Coordination of Adhesion and Migration— Peggy Farnham, University of California, Davis School of Medicine 8:00 am Andrew Feinberg, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Alpha S.K. Yap, University of Queensland Denise Montell, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Epithelial Organization and Morphogenesis Host Pathogen Interactions Clare Waterman-Storer, The Scripps Research Institute Andrea I. McClatchey, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Jorge Galan, School of Medicine Kenneth Yamada, National Institute of Dental & Center Francoise Gisou van der Goot, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Craniofacial Research/NIH Ulrich Tepass, University of Toronto Lausanne

Deciphering Evolution—10:30 am Immune Cell Adhesion and Recognition Kinetochores and Sean Carroll, University of Wisconsin–Madison/HHMI Andrey Shaw, Washington University School of Medicine Michel L. F. Bornens, Institute Curie, Paris Erich Jarvis, Duke University Medical Center Colin Watts, University of Dundee Peter Todd Stukenberg, University of Virginia School of Medicine David Kingsley, Stanford University School of Motile and Sensory Cilia Medicine/HHMI Kathryn Anderson, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Mechanisms of Actin Dynamics Elizabeth F. Smith, Dartmouth College Bruce Lane Goode, Brandeis University Monday, December 11 Dorit Hanein, The Burnham Institute Mechanisms in —8:00 am Organelle Inheritance and Maintenance Rebecca Heald, University of California, Berkeley Liza A. Pon, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons Membrane Traffic in Disease Lucille Shapiro, Stanford University School of Medicine Michael Schrader, University of Marburg Esteban Carlos Dell’Angelica, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine Ronald D. Vale, University of California, Signaling in Development Daniel Klionsky, University of Michigan San Francisco/HHMI Marcos González-Gaitán, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology & Genetics Nuclear Pore and Traffic Developmental Decisions—10:30 am Alexandra Joyner, New York University School of Medicine/HHMI Michael P. Rout, Hans Clevers, Netherlands Institute for Katharine S. Ullman, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University Monday, December 11 of Utah Elliot Meyerowitz, California Institute of Technology Cancer Mechanisms Susan Strome, Indiana University Lisa Maria Coussens, University of California, San Francisco Wednesday, December 13 Mary J. C. Hendrix, Children’s Memorial Research Center/ Endo- and Exocytosis Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Todd Graham, Vanderbilt University Tuesday, December 12 Margaret Scott Robinson, Membrane Assembly and Dynamics—8:00 am Gillian Griffiths, University of Oxford Mary Dasso, National Institute of Child Health & Human Imaging Janet Shaw, University of Utah Development/NIH J. Richard McIntosh, University of Colorado Marino Zerial, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Jonathon Pines, The Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Eva Nogales, University of California, Berkeley/HHMI Biology & Genetics ECM and Cell Signaling Intermediate Filaments and Disease

Jean E. Schwarzbauer, Princeton University Don W. Cleveland, University of California, San Diego From Cellular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Christopher Turner, SUNY Upstate Medical University Colin Stewart, National Cancer Institute–Frederick Intervention—10:30 am , Whitehead Institute for GTPases in Cellular Traffic Life at the Microtubule Plus End Biomedical Research Francis Barr, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Anna Akhmanova, Erasmus Medical Center Christine Seidman, Harvard Medical School/HHMI Shou-ou Shan, California Institute of Technology Kevin Vaughan, University of Notre Dame Xiaodong Wang, University of Texas Microtubule Motors Mechanisms of Cell Polarity Southwestern Medical Center/HHMI Erika L. F. Holzbaur, University of Pennsylvania Patrick Brennwald, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Claire E. Walczak, Indiana University Chris Q. Doe, University of Oregon/HHMI Wednesday, December 13 Functional Networks—8:00 am Regulation of the Cytoskeleton Myosin-based Movement Susan Mango, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University Keith W. T. Burridge, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Folma Buss, Cambridge University of Utah Anne J. Ridley, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Arturo DeLozanne, University of Texas, Austin Kevan Shokat, University of California, San Francisco RNA and Development Neural Degeneration and Regeneration Tian Xu, Yale University School of Medicine/HHMI Oliver Hobert, Columbia University College of Physicians & Zhigang He, Harvard University Surgeons/HHMI Stephen Strittmatter, Yale University School of Medicine Stem Cell Biology—10:30 am Roy Parker, University of Arizona/HHMI George Q. Daley, Children’s Hospital Boston Stem Cells , Rockefeller University/HHMI Synapse Assembly and Plasticity M. Kathryn Barton, Carnegie Institution of Washington Margaret Fuller, Stanford University School of Medicine Ann Marie Craig, University of British Columbia Nancy Y. Ip, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

For more information, contact the ASCB at (301) 347-9300, [email protected], or www.ascb.org.

8 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

IN Memoriam Ronald Reed Cowden

ASCB member Ronald Reed Cowden, professor Cowden spent his career pursuing his passion emeritus of Biophysics, James H. Quillen- for researching and teaching biological and Dischner College of Medicine, East Tennessee medical sciences. He served as assistant professor State University, died on March 17, 2006, in of Biology at The Johns Hopkins University in Mobile, AL. He was 74. Cowden was renowned 1957–1960; assistant member of the Cell Biology for his work in fluorescence cytochemistry as well team, Institute of Muscular Disease, NYC, 1960– as noted for his research of marine invertebrate 1961; assistant professor of , University embryos, and in the quantitative cytochemistry of of Florida, Gainesville, in the JH Midler Health nuclei. Center, 1962–1966; and later as associate Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he attended professor of Anatomy at LSU Medical Center, Monroe, Louisiana, public schools, graduating New Orleans, LA, 1966–1968. from Neville High School in 1948. After a year at He was a full professor and chair of the the University of Mississippi studying Biology and Department of Biological Sciences at the German, and a semester at the University of New University of Denver, 1968–1972. In 1972– Mexico, he graduated in 1953 from Louisiana 1975, he served as professor and chair of Anatomy State University, Baton Rouge, LA, with a B.S. at Albany (NY) Medical College. In 1975, he in Zoology and German. Cowden received his became associate dean of basic sciences at the Ph.D. from the University of Vienna, Austria, in proposed College of Medicine at East Tennessee 1956, with a major in Zoology. While studying in State University. He was a member of the original Europe, he was invited for a summer of research organizing team, and received the largest grant at the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden). Returning awarded by the VA for Basic Science Development to the U.S., he completed his postdoctoral at the East Tennessee State University and the work in the Biology Division at Oak Ridge College of Medicine. He was the initial research National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, as a USPH investigator in the Graduate Programs of the postdoctoral fellow (where Alan D. Conger was his Biomedical Sciences. mentor). Cowden retired in 1986 as professor emeritus of Biophysics, Department of Cellular Biophysics, from the Medical College department he had established in 1980. At the time of his death, Cowden was working to establish his own Coastal Biomedical Research Laboratory in Mobile, Alabama. Cowden was an ASCB member since 1961, a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society, and a recipient of a USPHS Career Development Award (1962–1966). A prolific scientific author, he contributed over 120 articles to professional journals throughout the world. He served on the editorial boards of 11 international scientific journals, often as an editor, and was a member of the Special Detail for the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1950s and 1960s. His interests included opera, tracking wild game, camping, canoeing, and football. As his good friend and colleague Robert Rasch said, “He was a beloved colleague who always had a story or joke to share with others. His brilliance in creative ideas for research, phenomenal memory for scientific citations, and willingness to undertake daunting challenges will be sorely missed. His mind, like his interests, had no boundaries.” ■

10 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006 DEAR Labby

Dear Labby,

What do you advise when a postdoc feels it is time to apply for assistant professor positions but his or her mentor disagrees? I had not anticipated this would arise. I did a three- year postdoc and was very productive, with four first-authored papers in journals with high impact factors. For personal reasons, I then moved to a second postdoc at another institution. After one year, I have a paper in press in an excellent journal, and I would like to start looking for a faculty position now. However, when I asked my lab head if she would write me letters of recommendation, she refused, saying I am not ready and would not be competitive. I certainly won’t have a chance if there is no letter from her, so I feel trapped. I am not acutely unhappy in this lab. And the way my work is going, I’m sure I’ll have another paper after one more year. But Labby, I just feel ready to get going on my own. What do you advise? —Trapped

Dear Trapped,

This situation is actually quite frequent and can reflect hidden issues for the postdoc and the lab head. The fact that you feel confident about being ready for an assistant professor position is, of course, good to hear; but it is possible that your lab head knows better. However, it doesn’t sound like she tried to convey her reasons. Certainly, on the productivity front you are in good shape. While, unfortunately, some postdocs these days are really technicians, it seems pretty clear that you have functioned at the level of a junior scientist. You have produced high-quality work with the degree of scientific independence and intellectual talent expected of faculty candidates. What about other factors? Sometimes a lab head’s anxiety about losing a particular postdoc, with an ensuing lag in a project’s momentum, may shade a lab head’s perceptions. Actually, this is probably the most frequent basis for tension in these situations. A good mentor wants her or his postdocs to bloom, and this means moving on. But it is only human nature to feel a sense of genuine loss when a talented postdoc leaves. On the other hand, to tell postdocs falsely that they are not competitive just to block them from leaving is highly inappropriate and, frankly, unethical. Labby cannot dissect what is really going on and suggests that you politely ask your lab head to explain why she feels you would not be competitive on the job market. As you know, numerous criteria are involved in hiring decisions (seminar, chalk talk, “collegial demeanor,” chewing food while talking, etc). Your lab head may think that you still need more development in skills beyond the bench— ones that are critical for assistant professors—such as writing, for example. Ask her for honest feedback about your presentation skills, how you work with others, what could make you more competitive. It seems likely that continued discussion will help both of you see one another’s perspectives more clearly and constructively. ■ —Labby

Direct your questions to [email protected]. Authors of questions chosen for publication may indicate whether they wish to be identified. Submissions may be edited for space and style.

OCTOBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 11 NCSE, continued from page 1

The NCSE is a unique organization dedicated to advancing the teaching of evolution in U.S. schools and colleges. Its roots are in the Committees of Correspondence. These were inspired and coordinated starting in about 1980 by Stan Weinberg, a retired biology teacher then living in Iowa. Weinberg was among the first to recognize that the U.S.-wide argument about teaching evolution was a political issue and the relevant politics primarily local. The Committees were formed in individual states to monitor and counter the efforts of what were then called creation science proponents. Weinberg himself kept the Committees informed of the activities around the country. By 1986, when the NCSE was established as an umbrella organization for the network of Committees, most states—and five provinces in Canada—had Committees, though they varied greatly in the level of activity and effect. Substantial changes in the organization began when Scott became the NCSE director in 1986. The activities of the Committees had substantially diminished, and Scott introduced a truly U.S.-wide agenda of education and action. Still, the NCSE continues to recognize that the struggle to ensure sound biology teaching must be sustained in the approximately 17,000 local U.S. school districts. Thus, a part of NCSE’s informative publication, called Reports, is devoted to communications from local observers about activities related to the teaching of evolution. Other articles describe events of U.S.-wide significance, developments in evolutionary biology and related science, and the activities and publications of organizations, like the Discovery Institute, that promote creationism and its derivatives, such as intelligent design. There are also frequent reviews of relevant books. The governing board of the NCSE includes distinguished biologists, and its list of supporters includes several ASCB members, among them, ASCB President-elect Bruce Alberts. Membership dues, contributions, and foundation grants support the activities of the NCSE. A major expense in 2005 was maintaining NCSE staff onsite in Pennsylvania throughout the Dover proceedings as a resource for the witnesses, plaintiffs, and their attorneys. The organization is ready to promote sound scientific education when and where needed. You can learn more and access a variety of excellent sources of information, including the Dover decision, at the NCSE website: www.natcenscied.org. The site also describes how you can become a member and supporter of this important organization. ■ —Maxine Singer Editor’s Note: The ASCB Council voted to support the NCSE with a $10,000 contribution this year, and the ASCB will encourage sister societies to do the same. Individuals wanting to contribute to the NCSE should visit its website at www.natcenscied.org/.

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PUBLIC POLICY Briefing Pope Questions Role of Science Reports from the weekend-long Vatican the relationship among faith, reason, and symposium on evolution indicate that science. Pope Benedict also urged participants intelligent design was not part of the discussion. to publish the papers and discussions connected The seminar, an annual event attended by with the meeting to allow for a wider Pope Benedict XVI’s former theology students, understanding of the topics discussed. discusses a different topic each year. About 30 Only a few days later, however, the Pope people—including students, guests, and invited issued a strong criticism of evolution, calling it speakers—attend the weekend-long sessions. “unreasonable.” In remarks to over 300,000 in U.S. Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, who Regensburg, Germany, the Pope said, “From the attended the weekend session, told the Catholic Enlightenment on, science, at least in part, has News Service that nothing was discussed that applied itself to seeking an explanation of the “would break new ground or that lays the world in which God would be unnecessary.” Pope Benedict XVI foundation for a new position.” The Pope last spoke about science in April, Father Fessio said that “the whole American when he said, “Science supports a reliable, debate on intelligent design did not occur at all intelligent structure of matter, the design of here.” Instead, he said, the attendees discussed creation.” ■ JSC Capitol Hill Day Last month, the Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy (JSC) held a Capitol Hill Day. Twelve JSC- member scientists traveled to Washington, DC, and met with Members of Congress or their staff to discuss the importance of U.S. funding for biomedical research.

Left to right: Vladimir Parpura, University of California, Left to right: Lynn Marquis, JSC National Coordinator; Robert Riverside; Rep. David Price (D-NC); Matthew Higgins, University Clark, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; and Scott Boyle, of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Rose Szabady, University Yale University of Wisconsin–Madison

Above, left to right: Andrea Giuffrida, University of Texas Health Left to right: Tara Lauriat, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine; Ian Science Center at San Antonio; Scott Boyle, Yale University; Berke, Cornell University; and Vladimir Parpura, University of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); and Matthew Higgins, University of California, Riverside North Carolina at Chapel Hill

OCTOBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 15 Congress Goes Home without Funding NIH What’s worse than flat funding for the campaigns, moderate Republicans in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)? No House refused to vote for the bill unless it appropriations bill at all. With the U.S. House included a Democratic amendment to increase of Representatives and Senate adjourned at the the minimum wage to $7.25, over two years. end of September, and no completed Fiscal At the same time, many conservative House Year 2007 federal budget, Republicans refused to the NIH will likely need to support the bill if it included a freeze disbursements at FY06 The House bill minimum wage increase. The levels temporarily, while provides the NIH spending bill will most Representatives and many NIH with $28.2 likely be combined with other Senators go home to campaign billion for FY07 unfinished spending bills and for reelection. … This includes approved after the November The FY07 appropriations bill no increase elections. for the Departments of Labor, Currently, the House Health & Human Services, for the NIH. bill provides the NIH with and Education, which includes $28.2 billion for FY07, the funding for the NIH, has same amount President Bush been stalled in recent weeks in the House. The requested. This includes no increase for the primary reason? Efforts to increase the federal NIH. The Senate version of the bill provides minimum wage, a controversial element in the $28.5 billion, $300 million more for the NIH House appropriations bill. than the House bill, the President’s request, and Because of the pressures of heated reelection actual FY06 funding level. ■

Creationism Monitor

Ohio—The Ohio State School Board is considering a proposal to expand science standards for the tenth grade to require students to demonstrate an ability to describe the vital role debate and critical thinking play in certain areas of science. In particular, the proposal specifies “global warming; evolutionary theory; emerging technologies and how they may impact society, e.g. cloning or stem-cell [sic] research.”

Washington, DC— The removal of ✩ “evolutionary biology” from a list of college majors eligible for federal funding through the SMART Grant program was “inadvertent,” according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education. The spokesperson went on to speculate that the removal of the major was “a clerical consolidation of some kind.” A blank line appears in the list of majors where evolutionary biology would normally appear. The error was corrected after several news organizations reported the story.

Source: Various media reports

16 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

MEMBERS in the News Lasker Awards NIH Pioneer Awards Lila Gierasch of the University of of the University Massachusetts, Amherst, an ASCB of California, San member since 1993; Rebecca Heald Francisco, an ASCB of the University of California, member since 1978 Berkeley, an ASCB member since and Society President 1996; Karla Kirkegaard of Stanford Elizabeth Carol Joseph in 1997–1998, and Lila Rebecca University School of Medicine, an ASCB Blackburn Greider Gall Gierasch Heald

Carol Greider of Johns Donna Coveney member since 1998; and James Hopkins University Sherley of the Massachusetts Institute School of Medicine, an ASCB member since 1996, are among the of Technology, an ASCB member since recipients of the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. 1998, are among the recipients of the Joseph Gall from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, an ASCB 2006 NIH Pioneer Awards. member since 1961 and Society President in 1967–1968, received an award for special achievement in medical science. Karla James Kirkegaard Sherley

Lawrence Goldstein of the University of California, San Lynn Riddiford of the University of Washington, Diego/HHMI, an ASCB member since 1984 and chair an ASCB member since 1982, will be honored by of the Public Policy Committee, has been appointed to the Entomological Foundation for her outstanding the new position of director of the University's Stem Cell contributions to the field of entomology. Program.

Catherine Lewis of the National Institute of General Mitsutoshi Setou of the National Institute of Medical Sciences/NIH, an ASCB member since 2006, Physiological Sciences in Japan, an ASCB member has been appointed the new director of the since 1997, has been awarded the 2006 Sakaki-Prize Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics of NIGMS. in the field of Biomolecular Imaging.

18 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006

IVL, continued from page 1 structure and function,” says Howell. “Included ASCB IVL are the earliest images from the founders of F. Bainton, Anthony P. Bretscher, Pietro De our Society through the most recent images, Call for Camilli, Joseph G. Gall, Jennifer Lippincott- recording the history of cell biology.” Schwartz, Harvey F. Lodish, J. Richard McIntosh, The IVL also contains analyses of significant Submissions Richard Rodewald, and Greenfield Sluder. The published research papers in cell biology. The IVL invites all ASCB External Advisory Board (EAB), comprising Digitized commentaries from Gall and members to submit both academic scientists and biotechnology McIntosh’s Landmark Papers in Cell Biology annotated visual resources. leaders, advises the IVL on business issues such provide scrutiny of, and direct links to, more To submit, go to the IVL as the development of business, marketing, and than 40 seminal discoveries spanning four website, http://cellimages. fundraising plans. The EAB includes Lodish decades. ascb.org and follow the links (Chair), Joe Beechem, Joan S. Brugge, Howell, under “submit images.” Douglas E. Koshland, Paul T. Matsudaira, James Easy Open Access & Use The IVL also seeks H. Sabry, James A. Sharp, and D. Lansing Taylor. The IVL contains JPEG2000 images and videos members’ proposals to in QuickTime format that are easy to view and organize a series of up to A Resource for Educators download. Users can discover the resources they 50 images and videos on “As a teacher of undergraduate cell biology need by using keyword or advanced searching a topic of their choice. courses, I am acutely aware of the difficulty of or simply browsing through the collections. The proposals should be finding the perfect micrograph to illustrate the Items can be saved to a personal “my favorites” submitted to the Curator structure of a particular cell type or organelle, or space for future use and/or comparison. The ([email protected]) videos that demonstrate an important aspect of detailed metadata and annotations provide a and include a paragraph , cell movement, and a host of other rich source of information associated with each describing the scope of the key cell functions,” explains item that can be used as teaching topic and a descriptive list Lodish, former ASCB President. and/or study aids. And the of the images and videos the “The ASCB Image & Video IVL supports the Open Access author hopes to include. Library has already been a great concept: All images, videos, and To volunteer as a resource to my own teaching.” text items are freely and easily reviewer, contact the IVL at The IVL already contains available for educational and [email protected]. dozens of pages of annotated, research purposes. peer-reviewed images, videos, Readers can look for and other items covering cell the IVL at the Ed/MAC/ biology. These pages comprise a IVL Booth at the San Diego rich set of resources. The IVL’s Annual Meeting—Ennist and ultimate goal? To represent all Boeke will be showing ASCB

cell components and behaviors. Fawcett DW. Electron micrograph of members how to use the IVL All IVL items undergo a vascular smooth muscle and how to submit images. rigorous review process similar “This collection will to reviews performed by journals. As a result, continuously expand, adding new images [and users of IVL resources can be confident of the resources],” says Howell. “This is especially authenticity and importance to cell biology exciting as new technologies expand our of the images, videos, and annotations on the horizons.” website. “I am certain that teachers of cell “The amount of information available, biology at all levels will be able to find images, quality of the images and annotations, and ease Porter KR, Franzini-Armstrong C. videos, and analysis they can use in class and of navigating the site and finding items make Sacroplasmatic reticulum and triads trust,” says Lodish, “thanks to the rigorous peer this digital library a key resource for anyone in a fish muscle review conducted by leading ASCB members.” interested in cell biology,” notes IVL Curator Many IVL resources have profound historical and cell biologist Dave Ennist. value; others represent current depictions of “But equally important,” he continues, “is myriad cell processes clearly and innovatively. the ongoing need for new pictures, videos, Pioneers Marilyn Farquhar, Don Fawcett, and commentaries describing and depicting George Palade, and Keith Porter (through the important cell biology research. We are Keith Porter Foundation) have provided images constantly augmenting the collection, and that represent core developments in the field. look forward to receiving the latest visual Cell biology “directors” have contributed videos discoveries from our members. We encourage all depicting cell division and all phases of mitosis. ASCB members to submit images, videos, and “The ASCB Image & Video Library presents commentaries and to volunteer as reviewers.” ■ images that allow an understanding of cell

20 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006 Annual Meeting Poster Presentation Guidelines ■ Presenters should ensure their posters are placed on the appropriate poster board for the duration of their assigned poster sessions (the full 24-hour period). In cases of emergency, poster presenters who are unable to present should contact the ASCB at [email protected] to withdraw their abstract(s) before the Annual Meeting. In the case of withdrawn posters, a “WITHDRAWN” sign will be posted, along with the author’s contact information, on the poster board.

■ Poster presenters should stand at their poster locations during the appropriate 90-minute time slot— 12 noon–1:30 pm, or 1:30 pm–3:00 pm. (The specific information is included in the original poster notification e-mails sent in September.) If presenters have to leave early, they should post a note on their boards stating when they will be available to answer attendee questions.

Attention: Undergrads Want to practice presenting your poster in a stress- free setting? Or be part of the audience? To do so, plan to participate in the ASCB Annual Meeting Undergraduate/Graduate Student Program on Saturday, December 9. And bring your mentors! 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Set up posters

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Presentation on Microscopes, Microbiomachines, and Motility, by Clare Waterman- Storer, Scripps Research Institute, including a question-and-answer period

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Undergraduate poster presentations and light refreshments

5:30 pm – 6:00 pm Take down posters

For details, email Thea Clarke ([email protected]).

OCTOBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 21 INCYTES from MBC October, Vol. 17, No. 10 AgSwe1p Regulates Mitosis in Response to Morphogenesis and Nutrients in Multinucleated Ashbya gossypii Cells Hanspeter Helfer and Amy S. Gladfelter The branched hyphae of the multinucleated fungus Ashbya gossypii are connected by a common , but different regions of this hyphal network must be able to respond to spatially distinct environmental conditions. The authors show that A. gossypii uses conserved components of the morphogenesis checkpoint from the distantly related uninucleated yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to enhance nuclear division at branch points. The data suggest that specialized ring-like structures formed at branch points by septins function as a scaffold that may recruit and negatively regulate the AgSwe1p kinase that inhibits mitosis. Interestingly, AgSwe1p is also inactivated in response to nutrients. Thus nutrient availability, septins, and mitosis at branch points are potentialy linked. Spatially controlled down-regulation of the AgSwe1p kinase would allow these cells to produce new nuclei in one region, near a septin ring and nutrients, while nuclei in the same cytoplasm but further away do not divide. These experiments point to a conserved role for this pathway in coordinating morphogenesis with nuclear division even across cells with very different growth forms and lifestyles.

Yeast-to-Hyphal Transition Triggers Formin-dependent Golgi Localization to the Growing Tip in Candida albicans Padmashree C. G. Rida, Akiko Nishikawa, Gena Y. Won, and Neta Dean The pathogenic yeast Candida albicans rapidly switches from an ovoid yeast form to a highly elongated hyphal form, providing an excellent model for the establishment and maintenance of polarized growth. Here it is shown that the Golgi apparatus specifically redistributes from the cell body to the hyphal tip upon induction of hyphal formation. This redistribution occurs independently of microtubules but is dependent on the actin cytoskeleton and on Bni1p, a formin that nucleates actin cables in response to signaling from Rho-family GTPases. In BNI1-deleted cells or in cells treated with the actin-disrupting agent cytochalasin A, the Golgi not only becomes randomly distributed throughout the cell body and hypha but is also fragmented, as detected by dispersal of fluorescently labeled Golgi markers and confirmed by velocity sedimentation. Interestingly, Golgi fragmentation in response to cytochalasin A was also observed in both ovoid C. albicans yeast cells and in the nonfilamentous yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting a general role for actin filaments in maintaining Golgi structure in yeast.

Activity-dependent Reversible Inactivation of the General Amino Acid Permease April L. Risinger, Natalie E. Cain, Esther J. Chen, and Chris A. Kaiser The general amino acid permease, Gap1p, is responsible for the high-capacity transport of amino acids across the plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. High levels of intracellular amino acids repress Gap1p surface expression both by transcriptional regulation and post-translationally through a -mediated sorting process in the late secretory pathway. A constitutively expressed surface-restricted mutant, Gap1pK9R,K16R, which cannot be ubiquitinylated, is no longer down-regulated by elevated intracellular amino acids; however, the authors found that Gap1pK9R,K16R was nonetheless inactivated by excess extracellular amino acids, revealing a third and novel mechanism for Gap1p regulation. Inactivation of surface Gap1p requires 10–30 min, is reversible, and is dependent on Gap1p activity, suggesting that it requires a reversible modification or conformation change during its catalytic cycle. Interestingly, cells expressing Gap1pK9R,K16R, but not those expressing the wild- type protein, are sensitive to high concentrations of individual amino acids but not to mixtures of them, suggesting that ubiquitination and intracellular sorting of Gap1p might rapidly regulate surface expression to prevent the uptake of toxic levels of individual amino acids.

A Single Common Portal for Clathrin-mediated Endocytosis of Distinct Cargo Governed by Cargo-selective Adaptors Peter A. Keyel, Sanjay K. Mishra, Robyn Roth, John E. Heuser, Simon C. Watkins, and Linton M. Traub Multiple adaptors exist for the recognition and sorting of distinct cargo receptors into endocytic clathrin-coated pits. For example, the canonical clathrin adaptor and assembly protein, AP-2, recognizes transferrin receptors (TfRs) bearing a YXRF endocytic motif, while two adaptors, Dab2 and ARH, recognize low-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLRs) bearing an unrelated FXNPXY motif. Do these distinct adaptors operate within the same forming coated pit, or are distinct endocytic coated vesicles formed to internalize distinct cargo molecules? Here the authors present compelling evidence and arguments that at least for TfRs and LDLRs, their distinct adaptors can operate together within all endocytic clathrin- coated pits. Importantly, using siRNA knock-down the authors also show that Dab2 and ARH function redundantly in LDLR uptake and that while Dab2 can function independently of AP-2 adaptors, ARH requires AP-2 to mediate efficient LDLR uptake. The relative abundance of Dab2 and ARH varies among commonly used cell types and in tissues, perhaps explaining cell type–specific differences in the requirement for AP-2 in LDLR uptake. ■

22 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006 LETTER to the Editor NIH Hard Times To the Editor: Drs. Bishop and Varmus present an excellent commentary [ASCB Newsletter, August 2006] on blame for NIH’s hard times. They mention that we should understand the rationale for restricting the size of awarded grants. I would go one step further because the careers of so many, especially junior faculty, are at stake. I would urge NIH to attempt to substantially increase the number of awards by substantially decreasing the size of the awards, if additional funds are not forthcoming. Many folks will cringe when they read this. But our experience suggests that to get a grant, even if it is reduced by, say, 30% or more, saves careers by the boatload. Our colleagues are remarkably adaptable. I can say that when grant size was substantially cut on my campus and numbers of grants were increased, 100% of the awardees were ecstatic, simply because they got their grants. And their work quality did not suffer. They met the challenge of doing more with less. Let’s say 100 $200,000-per-year grants are awarded, instead of 200 $100,000-per-year grants. A worst-case scenario of this policy might be that 100 scientists whose education has been nurtured by the U.S. to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars each, could be denied tenure and cast out of their faculty positions. From another standpoint, larger numbers are also better. My experience suggests that one cannot be sure by reading grant appplications which investigators will turn out best. Slightly poorer priority scores may turn out to be the most successful projects. —Steve Oppenheimer

OCTOBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 23 WOMEN in Cell Biology Take the Time to Smell the Roses?

Her grandmother had died. She would have We need to take time for ourselves, time to to travel abroad for the funeral, missing nearly think, time for recreation.3 a week of lab in the middle of her second year of graduate school. When asked, her very Smell-the-Roses Outcomes accomplished (and not very sympathetic) thesis But you too may wonder, Will my institution advisor emphasized that she would need to get and other scientists really take me seriously 4 serious about science if she ever intended to if I incorporate time to smell the roses? Yes, complete her degree, let alone build a career. especially when you bring “smell-the-roses” She went to the funeral. She switched outcomes to your science! laboratories. She completed her Ph.D. and • The intangible insight: These often come started her own career. However, she still when you’re focused upon something other wonders if scientists really lack seriousness about than science. Remember, Archimedes was in science when they take time to love, to grieve, to his bathtub when he suddenly had his insight enjoy interests outside science, to share life with explaining the physics of water displacement. others … to smell the roses. (See Bowden et al., 2005, Trends in Cognitive … the simple Science 9, 322–328, about the “aha” effect.) mental and What Roses, Exactly? One colleague, a dedicated runner, physical As a cell biologist you are intent on building explains that, while running several years ago, she suddenly had an insight about how the rest of even a full-time professional career using your science.1,2 But maybe... many pieces of her confusing data fit together brief forays • You want to have a child, or maybe three. to explain transcription promoter escape. She away from • Your family needs you right now to be a ran home fast to write it down before losing science can caregiver, just at the time when you need the unexpected vision! She has been testing recharge your to focus on getting tenure (or establishing that model and has included many correct professional yourself as a team leader in industry). features of it in her recent papers.5 batteries … • You feel like you need time for playing your • Management and teamwork skills: My violin, or writing poetry. interest in theater pays off when I lecture.6 You • You need time to read and reflect, or to climb can oftentimes enrich your research efficiency Mount Everest, or to give back to those who by improving how you work with others. helped you make it this far. One venue is in activities outside science. • Or... And by sharing your professional interests with your non-science comrades, you can Taking the Time improve your communication skills about Maybe you think you have no time for roses. your science too! Yet, the simple mental and physical rest of even • Risk taking: One author of this article brief forays away from science can recharge your (CK) remembers how she learned to take professional batteries; renewed energies allow scientific risks from white water boating more efficient efforts. experiences: Frightened in the turbulent All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. waters but confident in her skills to survive, The same is true for Jill. You know it’s important she realized that pushing the envelope in to feel like a whole person, and you will hypothesis testing was not only acceptable probably be more effective in all you do if you and exhilarating, it was essential to making are not too narrow in your perspective. new discoveries. I think that taking the time to relax and • Coordination, concentration: I believe the to recreate always pays off in science. high level of coordination required for playing We are too competitive, and we tend to musical instruments [viola and piano] helped measure accomplishments with the length me master microinjection of cells. In addition, of our CVs and the size of our labs (sound you have to concentrate really hard when familiar?). Instead we should measure practicing—which is really important for science success by creative contributions, and I don’t (listening, writing, doing experiments). Also, think we can be creative or take risks if we bringing up children teaches you to multi- are stressed or playing the numbers game. task—very important as a group leader.7

24 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006 Smelling the Roses What “roses” do active successful scientists “smell?” A wide variety. With enthusiasm! They make time for these roses: • Family: I have a family and two small children—twin boys, 5- 1/2-year-olds. I take time to “raise them”—I mean, play with them, read to them, teach them, cook with them, go to their school, and read stories or do experiments with them.8 • Travel: whether for a daytrip or an extended vacation planned months ahead of time • Sing • Ride motorcycles: It’s the only thing I do where all other thoughts are displaced and I focus on the ride.9 • Ride horses: Show my horse in dressage.10 • Play golf • Meditate • Fly • Volunteer: Work with the American Indian community.11 • Read • Write • Attend the theater, concerts • Garden We take the scientists interviewed very seriously. They take their roses seriously. So work hard, play hard. And in the meantime, put roses in your office and take the time to smell them.12 ■ —Caroline Kane and Sue Shafer References 1 Academia, industry, federal lab, intellectual property lawyer, YOU name it! 2 Equally desirable, but sufficiently different to be the subject of a separate discussion is the cell biologist who chooses to defer her (or his) career progression to devote all, or a substantial portion of, her (or his) time to a different cause. 3 Sandra Schmid, Scripps Research Institute, WICB member, and Editor in Chief, Molecular Biology of the Cell 4 Insert your own favorite smell-the-roses vision when working on this question. 5 Lilian Hsu, Mt. Holyoke College 6 Susan Forsburg, University of Southern California, and WICB member 7 Anne Ridley, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, London, and ASCB Council member 8 Cory Abate-Shen, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey– Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and WICB Junior Award Winner 9 Kerry Bloom, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and ASCB Council member 10Pat Leake, University of California, San Francisco 11David Burgess, Boston University, and ASCB Council member 12The authors would like to thank the many ASCB members who responded to questions for this article and Richard L. Shafer for valuable comments and editorial assistance.

OCTOBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 25 MEMBER Gifts GRANTS & OPPORTUNITIES NIAID Biodefense Fellowships. The NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases The ASCB is grateful to the following members who have solicits applications from biodefense training and development researchers of prevention, recently given a gift to support Society activities: detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases caused by potential bioterrorism agents. Grants, fellowships, and career development awards. Multiple deadlines. www.niaid.nih.gov/biodefense/ Josephine Clare Adams Carole M. Liedtke research/funding.htm. Carl F. Blackman Monica M. Lurtz Richard L. Blanton Alastair Mackay NIH Re-entry Program. The NIH and Offi ce of Research on Women’s Health announce a Juan S. Bonifacino Mark W. Majesky continuing program for faculty who have taken time out for family responsibilities. Deadline: July 9, Robert G. Bristow Terry G. Newcomb 2007. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-fi les/PA-04-126.html. Eric Brown Berl R. Oakley Shu Chien Yukio Okano NIH Grants. Ann E. Cowan Chi Won Pak • Large-Scale Collaborative Project Awards. Deadline: June 21, 2007. http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/ Susan M. DiBartolomeis Kimberly S. Paul guide/pa-fi les/PAR-04-128.html. Dennis Discher Alicia F. Paulson • Predoctoral Research Training in Biostatistics. Deadline: October 12, 2007. Christine M. Field Andrew S. Pekosz http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-fi les/PAR-04-132.html. Noel T. Florendo Stephen Howard Pilder NRSA Awards. The NIH Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is accepting applications for Kathy Foltz David W. Piston the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards. The predoctoral fellowships promote Joseph Gall Richard A. Rachubinski diversity in health-related research. Application deadlines are May 1 and November 15 through Ursula W. Goodenough Mary K. Rundell 2009. Cara J. Gottardi James H. Sabry http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-fi les/PA-06-481.html#SectionI. Robert Michael Gould Ansgar H. Santel Krisztina Hegyi Jill Marie Schumacher SCORE Awards. The NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences is accepting applications Jean S. Hugon Paul Anthony Steimle for its Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) developmental awards designed to increase Tsuneo Imanaka Masatoshi Takeichi faculty research competitiveness at minority-serving institutions. The program announcement, as Jonathan C.R. Jones Jeremy W. Thorner well as three other program announcements (PAR-06-491, PAR-06-492, PAR-06-493), can be David L. Kirk Zena Werb found at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-fi les/PAR-06-490.html#PartI. ■ Yohko Kohno Carmen J. Williams Gordon W. Laurie Saul L. Zackson William M. Leach Gregory M. Zinkl Wayne I. Lencer

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26 ASCB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2006 Faculty Position Department of Cell Biology & Physiology Molecular Oncology Program

The Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at Washington University School of Medicine invites applications for a tenure track appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor. The successful candidate will join the Molecular Oncology Program, a joint program between the Departments of Cell Biology and Internal Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. The Molecular Oncology program is comprised of a vibrant group of interactive investigators studying cell cycle control, checkpoint control, cell death, G- protein signaling, telomere biology, HIV pathogenesis, metastasis, oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Outstanding individuals investigating fundamental problems in molecular oncology are encouraged to apply. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to develop an independent research program and a commitment to excellence in graduate education. Applicants must have a Ph.D. and/or M.D. and postdoctoral experience. Please send curriculum vitae, a summary of current and proposed research programs, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to: Helen Piwnica-Worms, M.D., Chair Cell Biology and Physiology Search Committee Washington University School of Medicine 660 South Euclid Ave.—Campus Box 8228 St. Louis, MO 63110 [email protected] Applications should be received by March 1, 2007.

Washington University is committed to increasing representation of women and members of minority groups on its faculty and particularly encourages applications from such candidates.

SEPTEMBER 2006 ASCB NEWSLETTER 27 MEETINGS Calendar

November 1–4. Nashville, TN June 2007. Cancun, Mexico American Society for Matrix Biology Biennial National Meeting 2007 Pan-American Society of Developmental Biologists 2006. www.asmb.net/nationalmeeting. Congress—A joint meeting between the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology and the International ASCB November 5–8. San Diego, CA Society for Cell Biology. Annual Meetings 4th International Congress on Electron Tomography. www.niob.knaw.nl/isdb/meetings.htm. http://4icet.org; www.burnham.org/hybridmethods2006/. 2006 July 1–6, 2007. New London, NH San Diego December 4–5. Arlington, VA Colby Sawyer College. Gordon Research Conference enti- December 9–13 The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. tled “Cell-Cell Fusion.” Contemporary Diagnosis and Treatment of Vitamin D- www.grc.uri.edu/programs/2007/cellcell.htm. 2007 Related Disorders. www.asbmr.org. Washington, DC July 8–12, 2007. Glasgow, UK December 1–5 January 9–14, 2007. Goldegg, Austria Life Sciences 2007, incorporating BioScience2007, EMBO Workshop on Membrane Traffic in the Secretory the British Pharmacological Society, the Physiological 2008 Pathway. http://cwp.embo.org/w07-17. Society at the SECC, Glasgow. San Francisco www.lifesciences2007.org. December 13–17 January 21–28, 2007. Brisbane & Heron Island, Australia July 15–20, 2007. Cairns, Queensland, Australia 2009 Workshop on the Cell Biology of the Coral-Dinoflagellate GLYCO-19—XIX International Symposium on San Diego Symbiosis. Glycoconjugates. www.glyco19.org. December 5–9 [email protected] or [email protected]. September 1–4, 2007. Dresden, Germany 2010 May 23–25, 2007. Charlottesville, VA European Life Scientist Organization Annual Meeting. Washington, DC Morphogenesis and Regenerative Medicine Symposium at www.elso.org. ■ December 11–15 the University of Virginia. www.morphogenesis.virginia.edu/index.htm. 2011 Denver December 3–7

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