October 2012 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology contents OCTOBER 2012 On the cover: In this issue, we complete our preview coverage of the news ASBMB annual meeting. 12 2 President’s Message Being clear about transparency 5 News from the Hill Presidential science debate responses 6 Washington Update 7 Member Update 2013 annual meeting 8 Tabor awards In this issue and the previous one, we’ve featured the thematic programming planned 9 On the scene: Hill Day for the ASBMB annual meeting to be held April 20-24 in Boston. essay September: Overview 10 Tribute to Bob Hill Catalytic Mechanisms RNA Function & Protein Synthesis features Lipids & Membranes Chemical & Systems Biology 18 The evolving molecular view of bone Mechanisms of Gene Transcription & Regulation 22 Biologically inspired innovation Protein Modication, Trafcking & Degradation departments In the October issue: 27 Lipid News 12 Genome Replication & Repair FIT and fat 13 Glycobiology 13 Education: Transitions 28 Journal News 14 Minority Affairs: Triple-Negative 28 JBC: Prion and other amyloid diseases: Breast Cancer Reed Wickner shares lessons from yeast cells 15 Computational Tools for Assigning 29 JBC: Everything is illuminated: ‘Reections’ Enzymatic Functions (workshop) on light and life by Lubert Stryer 15 Outreach: From the Lab to the Kitchen 30 JLR: Late Swedish lipidologist Olofsson Table – Communicating Science to a remembered by colleagues Lay Audience 31 MCP: Secretions of bone-forming cells 17 Signal Transduction Mechanisms October 2012 ASBMB Today 1 president’s A monthly publication of ag The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Transparency is particularly important for Being clear about a taxpayer-funded enterprise. Aspects of this Officers were formalized in the NIH Reform Act of 2006, After months of effort, I turned Jeremy M. Berg President transparency Suzanne R. Pfeffer Past President which established the Scientific Management Mark A. Lemmon Secretary BY JEREMY BERG Review Board “to advise the NIH Director … to another vehicle for promoting Toni Antalis Treasurer on the use of … organizational authorities” Council Members transparency in government (for example, adding, removing or transferring Karen N. Allen Levi Garraway David Sabatini Melissa Starovasnik hortly after I became a graduate student in the chemistry department at offices, centers and institutes) and to “identify operations, the Freedom of Wesley I. Sundquist Jonathan S. Weissman Harvard University, the great biochemist Jeremy Knowles assumed the the reasons underlying the recommendations” Natalie Ahn Anjana Rao S Information Act. Daniel Leahy department chairmanship. He instituted semiannual town-hall-style meet- (5). When advising on “specific contemplated Ex-Officio Members ings with graduate students at which we could raise issues of concern and organization changes,” the SMRB is charged Carol Fierke Patrick Sung Knowles could describe ongoing and planned activities within the department. with consulting with stakeholder groups both Co-chairs, 2013 Annual Meeting Program Committee Peter J. Kennelly, Chair, Education and Professional He attended to the issues that were easy to fix and at least acknowledged inside and outside the NIH. This was reinforced in the first months before. Shortly after the translational medicine and Development Committee the harder problems. These meetings had a substantial positive effect on report produced by the SMRB, “Deliberating Organiza- therapeutics report (8) was presented to the full SMRB Daniel Raben, Chair, Meetings Committee Fred Maxfield, Chair, Mentorship Committee my morale and that of my colleagues. Although I was only slightly aware of it tional Change and Effectiveness,” which highlighted the and approved by a 12−1 margin (I was the sole vote Terri Kinzy, Chair, Membership Committee at the time, this practice made a big impression on my view of the power of importance of transparency and communication when against), the NIH director sent a memo to the secretary Squire J. Booker, Chair, Minority Affairs Committee transparency in leadership. considering substantial reorganizations (6). of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Bettie Sue Masters, Chair, Public Affairs Advisory Committee A decade later, I found myself in the unexpected position of being a depart- The SMRB embraced this approach in considering the urging her to recommend to Congress both that a new Charles Brenner, Chair, Publications Committee ment chairman. I remembered Knowles’ lesson and met with the faculty, staff, potential merger of the National Institute on Alcohol and translational center be established and that the NCRR be Martha J. Fedor, Editor-in-chief, JBC Herbert Tabor, Co-editor, JBC postdocs and students regularly and encouraged them to bring their concerns Alcohol Abuse and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. abolished, as the secretary subsequently did. Ralph A. Bradshaw to me. I also revealed as much as was reasonable about our department’s The SMRB and its working group evaluating this reorgani- Despite several attempts, I was unable to learn of A. L. Burlingame Co-editors, MCP finances so that the faculty and staff could understand both our capabilities zation consulted extensively with stakeholders, including any clear rationale for the abolishment of NCRR or what Edward A. Dennis and our limitations and help shape our priorities. Should we provide more the advisory councils of the two institutes, scientific and alternatives had been considered. After months of effort, Joseph L. Witztum Co-editors, JLR resources to our departmental facilities or use the funds to hire new faculty or patient-advocacy groups, and the public. Their compre- I turned to another vehicle for promoting transparency in ASBMB Today Editorial Advisory Board staff members? Without this information, staff participation in such decisions hensive efforts culminated in the report “Substance Use, government operations, the Freedom of Information Act Alex Toker (Chair) would have been difficult, and the potential level of frustration about why we Abuse, and Addiction Research at NIH” (7). Not everyone (9). In April 2011, I filed a FOIA request with Health and Mike Bradley Craig E. Cameron were pursuing some actions and not others likely would have been higher. agreed with the final recommendation to create a new, Human Services requesting information about the NCRR A. Stephen Dahms Alex C. Drohat Ben Ellington Irwin Fridovich Yet another decade later, I became director of the National Institute of merged institute, but the SMRB and NIH leadership took abolishment decision. After receiving an initial acknowl- Richard W. Hanson Gerald Hart General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health. NIGMS is a sub- into account considerable information and feedback, and edgment of my request, I waited a full year until I received Peter Kennelly Carol C. Shoulders ASBMB Today stantially more complex organization than a basic science department, with all stakeholders had ample opportunity to provide input the first materials. The emails and other communications Angela Hopp Editor more, and more diverse, stakeholders. Furthermore, I knew from my experi- before the decision to pursue the merger was made. were substantially redacted, and I have yet to receive all [email protected] ence as an applicant, a grantee and a department chairman that NIH policies The next major reorganization for which the SMRB was materials responsive to my request. The materials pro- Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay Sr. Science Writer / Editor and procedures can be opaque. Why would a given percentile score result in enlisted involved making “recommendations for organizing vided to date have not shed much light on the rationale [email protected] funding in one year but not the next? Why had my budget been cut despite the agency’s existing components to optimize a transla- for abolishing the NCRR. I did learn that the secretary of Marnay Harris Designer an outstanding score and a clear justification that I needed the full budget to tional medicine and therapeutics program.” In the course Health and Human Services and her staff were briefed by [email protected] Andrew Harmon Science and Technology complete the aims? Once I felt that I had mastered at least some aspects of of its deliberations, the assigned working group decided the NIH leadership about the likely SMRB working group Publishing Manager, [email protected] the NIH’s workings, I sought to share these insights with the scientific com- to recommend the transfer of the Clinical and Transla- recommendation, including the abolishment of the NCRR, Nancy J. Rodnan Director of Publications [email protected] munity, initially through periodic emails and later through a blog, the NIGMS tional Science Award program from the National Center before the SMRB had even met to discuss it and that Barbara Gordon Executive Director Feedback Loop (1). These efforts were well received by the community, for Research Resources to a new center focused on legal staff at the NIH had objections to even attributing the [email protected] particularly posts that included data curves showing the probability of being translational science. The CTSA program accounted for recommendation for the creation of the new translational For information on advertising, funded as a function of percentile score and analyses of scientific output as a about 40 percent of the NCRR budget, with the remain- center to the SMRB. These discoveries further contact Fox Associates