ASCB J U L Y 2 0 1 2 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 35, NUMBER 6 Student/Postdoc- Led Local Meetings NIH Working Group Proposes Page 3 Training Changes More ASCB Award The recommendations of a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Working Group on the Announcements biomedical research workforce include changes in the programs offered by academic institutions, Page 8 limits on NIH support for graduate students, and changes in the way graduate students and postdocs are supported. The Working Group, a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee to An Innovative the NIH Director, was formed in January 2011 by NIH Director Francis Collins to examine Approach to Dual- the state of the biomedical research workforce and make recommendations to ensure the future Career Support competitiveness of the U.S. biomedical research enterprise. Page 11 The Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group was co-chaired by Shirley Tilghman and Sally Rockey, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, and included ASCB members Leemor Joshua-Tor and Keith Yamamoto. In June 2012, the Working Group sent its report, with a series of recommendations, to Collins for his review and consideration. Inside Despite low unemployment for biomedical PhDs, the percentage of PhDs who move into President’s Column 3 tenured or tenure-track positions has declined by 8% since 1993. In contrast, science-related Did You Know? 6 occupations that do not involve the conduct of research or do not require graduate training WICB Junior, Senior Awards 8 are seeing increases in employment. According to the Working Group’s report, “Despite these Public Service Award 8 changes, graduate training continues to be aimed almost exclusively at preparing people for Early Career Awards 9 academic research positions.” MBoC Paper of the Year 9 NIH Working Group, continued on page 15 WICB Column 11 CV Review 13 Public Policy Briefing 14 Annual Meeting Travel ASCB Profile 17 PIC Needs Associates 20 and Childcare Awards Celldance 2012 21 Celldance Winner Donates Prize 21 Join the Data Stream 21 Available Annual Meeting Program 22 Highlights from MBoC 24 An MBoC Favorite 26 THE 2012 ASCB ANNUAL MEETING • DECEMBER 15-19 Call for Nominations 27 Need help with travel or childcare costs associated with the Annual Meeting? The ASCB Interesting Uses of The Cell 27 offers an array of awards for students, postdocs, and junior faculty. Information and online Grants and Opportunities 28 applications are now available at www.ascb.org/meetings; click on “Travel/Childcare Awards.” Members in the News 28 Meetings Calendar 29 Cell Biology Postdoctoral Travel Awards—Up to $300 to cover transportation expenses for Member Gifts 29 cell biology postdocs (ASCB members or member applicants only) at any stage of training and In Memoriam 29 from any country Half-Century Fund Donors 29 Biotech Postdoctoral Travel Awards—Up to $300 to cover transportation expenses for Books by Members 29 postdocs in biotechnology Dear Labby 30 Physical Sciences Postdoctoral Travel Awards—Up to $300 to cover transportation expenses Join the Conversation: for postdocs in the physical sciences Predoctoral Travel Awards—Up to $400 to cover transportation expenses for doctoral students (ASCB members or member applicants only) at any stage of study and from any country Awards, continued on page 6 AmerSocCellBio The American Society PRESIDENT’S Column for Cell Biology 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750 Bethesda, MD 20814-2762, USA Tel: 301-347-9300 Not Just Your PI’s Society Anymore: Fax: 301-347-9310 ASCB Supports Student/Postdoc-Led [email protected], www.ascb.org Local Meetings Officers Two of ASCB’s most that student/postdoc-organized local Ronald Vale President important missions are meetings are great activities and that Don W. Cleveland President-Elect Sandra L. Schmid Past President to promote scientific ASCB will continue to support and further promote them. This President’s Thoru Pederson Treasurer communication and mentor Kathleen J. Green Secretary young scientists. This year, Column is intended to make our the Society has launched membership aware of this new direction Council and to encourage young scientists to two new initiatives that will Sue Biggins further both goals and provide think of ideas for meetings that you David Botstein more leadership opportunities would like to see happen in your local A. Malcolm Campbell Raymond J. Deshaies for students and postdocs: a communities. ASCB is not just your PI’s Society anymore! Benjamin S. Glick graduate student/postdoc– Ron Vale Akihiro Kusumi initiated Minisymposium Inke Näthke at the Annual Meeting and graduate student/ Student/Postdoc-Led Meetings: Mark Peifer postdoc–led local meetings. Sending the Right Message James H. Sabry David L. Spector The ASCB Annual Meeting has long served ASCB views our student and postdoc members Jo Ann Trejo as a centerpiece for both communication and as being central to the future of our Society; we Yixian Zheng mentoring. Continuing this tradition, this need to encourage their initiative and harness year’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco will their energy. Having students and postdocs The ASCB Newsletter feature a fabulous smorgasbord of scientific talks take the lead in planning meetings helps them is published 11 times per year and posters as well as opportunities for young to learn leadership and organization, skills that by The American Society for Cell Biology. scientists to obtain career and scientific advice are critical for their future careers in science through panel discussions and career discussion or related occupations. They are ready to do W. Mark Leader Editor and mentoring roundtables with leading more work than pipetting and to make more Johnny Chang Production Coordinator contributions than producing papers. Kevin Wilson Public Policy Director scientists. And for the first time this year, we John Fleischman Science Writer also solicited ideas for a Minisymposium to be Senior scientists often do not provide Thea Clarke Director, Communications chaired and organized by students/postdocs. enough leadership opportunities for the young and Education Rachel Roberts-Galbraith from the University of scientists working in their labs. Sadly, some PIs Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Curtis Thorne even discourage activities within the scientific Advertising from the University of Texas Southwestern community, believing that they take too much The deadline for advertising is the Medical Center, Dallas, were chosen to lead time away from the bench. In reality, however, first day of the month preceding the a Minisymposium on the Cell Biology of running a local meeting is a very manageable cover date. For information contact Regeneration. We received many applications time commitment, and the time spent is more Advertising Manager Ed Newman, for this opportunity, so ASCB plans to have than compensated for by the great learning [email protected]. more student/postdoc-chaired Minisymposia at experience of starting with an idea and bringing ASCB Newsletter the 2013 Annual Meeting. it to fruition. There are other tangible benefits ISSN 1060-8982 The second new initiative by ASCB is for the organizers. Organizing a meeting Volume 35, Number 6 July 2012 to fund one-day local meetings organized brings peer recognition, is a nice addition to a by students and postdocs. In May ASCB resume, and, perhaps most important, offers the © 2012 The American Society for Cell announced a competition for such meetings. tremendous personal satisfaction of knowing Biology. Copyright to the articles is held by the author or, for staff-written articles, We received excellent applications and decided that one has made an important contribution to by the ASCB. The content of the ASCB to support eight of them. These upcoming local one’s local scientific community. Newsletter is available to the public under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike meetings encompass considerable diversity with Unported Creative Commons License regard to both topic and geography (topics, Why Local Meetings? Why ASCB? (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ locations, and organizers are listed at the end Local one-day meetings certainly are not a new by-nc-sa/3.0). Postmaster: Send change of address to: of this column). And at its recent meeting and invention, and many of them are organized ASCB Newsletter leadership retreat, the ASCB Council decided by students and postdocs. Local meetings The American Society for Cell Biology 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750 Bethesda, MD 20814-2762, USA JULY 2012 ASCB NEWSLETTER 3 have a great track record of promoting a local meetings are a low-cost model for scientific sense of local scientific community, fostering communication, since air travel and hotel costs camaraderie, providing students and postdocs are minimal. As a result, ASCB can sponsor additional opportunities to present their work, many student/postdoc-organized meetings for getting people from different local institutions less than the cost of one Society-sponsored Having students together, and stimulating new contacts and regional meeting. collaborations. and postdocs So what can ASCB offer beyond what is More Local Meetings Coming take the lead in already taking place? First, we hope to stimulate We intend to have two submission deadlines more such meetings. By providing funds and each year for local meetings—one in the spring planning meetings announcing application deadlines, we hope (in May this year) and another in the fall (the helps them to learn to plant seeds for students and postdocs to next will be announced in late summer 2012). think about ideas for meetings and reduce the leadership and Meetings proposed in the spring would typically activation barrier for getting started. The magic take place in the fall, while fall submissions organization, skills sauce of these local meeting is the energy of the would be for meetings to be held in the fall or that are critical for organizers. following winter/spring (although this is not a Second, ASCB can offer funds to assist the strict criterion).