ASCB M A R C H 2 0 1 1 NEWSLETTER VOLUME 34, NUMBER 2 Scientists NIH Budget: A Moving Target Adapting to $1.629 billion: Amount Republicans in the biomedical research. To join, go to www.ascb. Change U.S. House of Representatives want to cut from org/Project50. Page 3 the U.S. National Institutes of n Become a member of the Health (NIH) FY11 budget Coalition for the Life Sciences’ (compared with FY10) Congressional Liaison Committee Finding the $745 million: Amount U.S. (CLC). Receive alerts on President Obama wants to add important science policy issues, Right Academic to the NIH budget for FY12 help build local support for Career (compared with FY10) biological research, and visit your Page 11 No matter how you look at it, Representative in the House and the news could be better for the Senators. To become a member, NIH budget. While the budget’s go to www.coalitionforlifesciences. Genomics future is uncertain, one thing org/be-an-advocate/about-the-clc/ Revolutionizes isn’t—Congress needs to hear join-the-clc. from you. n Stay informed about science policy by Cell Biology What can you do? Become more involved in reading the ASCB Newsletter’s Public Policy science policy advocacy. Briefings. Page 22 n Join Project 50, the ASCB Public Policy n Stay up-to-date on current advocacy alerts by Advocacy Team. Receive special briefings visiting http://capwiz.com/jscpp/home. n Inside and organize your colleagues in support of —Kevin M. Wilson 2011 Congressional Biomedical Don’t Miss President’s Column 3 Public Policy Briefing 7 Research Caucus Topics iBioMagazine Call for Nominations 9 Each year the Coalition for the Life Sciences (CLS) plans a Issue 3 Dear Labby 10 series of caucuses on Capitol Hill that are designed to foster Join MAC 10 an appreciation for and understanding of biomedical research. For fascinating perspectives WICB Column 11 (ASCB is a founding CLS member.) Thanks to a generous on science and being grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the caucuses a scientist, visit www. Highlights from MBoC 14 provide a forum where congressional Members and staff can ibiomagazine.org for the ASCB Profile 17 interact directly with preeminent researchers responsible for following: International Affairs 20 important scientific research. Most of the researchers are Genomics 22 funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the n Discovering caucuses showcase the impact of those funds. Programmed Cell Death Online Job Board 24 Following are some of the 2011 topics and speakers: n High Tech and Low Member Gifts 24 n March 30—“Are There Pharmaceutical Drugs That Can Tech Research 2011 Half-Century Fund Donors 24 Treat Autistic Patients?” Mark Bear, Massachusetts Institute n Freelance Science Members in the News 24 of Technology Writing and Editing n n Encouraging Scientific CBE-LSE TOC 26 April 13—“Suspended Animation: Control of Respiration during Trauma,” Mark Roth, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Curiosity Letter to the Editor 27 Center n Changing the Way We Calendar 29 n May 4—“Leptin and the Biologic Basis of Obesity,” Jeff Publish Grants & Opportunities 30 Friedman, Rockefeller University n And more…. Caucus Topics, continued on p. 5 The Cell 32 FEI Life Sciences The premier provider of 3D ultrastructural imaging solutions for the life sciences. 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Nerve bioposy from a patient with a peripheral neuropathy. See Beyond at FEI.com/LifeSciences © 2009 FEI Company. Photo credit (left) sample courtesy of Cynthia Goldsmith, Center for Disease Control, Altanta, USA. Photo credit (right) sample courtesy of Dr. Wayne Moore and Ms. Susan Shinn, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. 09-305_ASCBNewsletter_Ad_FIN.indd 1 8/11/09 10:45 AM The American Society PRESIDENT’S Column for Cell Biology 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750 Bethesda, MD 20814-2762, USA Tel: 301-347-9300 Selective Pressures on the Evolving Fax: 301-347-9310 [email protected], www.ascb.org Scientist Joan R. Goldberg Executive Director Earlier this year I had the wonderful They are so tightly bound to the microcosm Officers experience of spending 10 days touring the of their own island that they are dangerously Galapagos Islands on a small ship with a vulnerable to change. Like the once untouched Sandra L. Schmid President dozen distinguished scientists and friends. islands of the Galapagos, our scientific climate Ronald Vale President-Elect I was amazed that although each island was is changing rapidly—presenting both enormous Timothy J. Mitchison Past President Thoru Pederson Treasurer formed the same way—undersea volcanic challenges and exciting opportunities Jean E. Schwarzbauer Secretary activity has been pushing these In thinking about these islands to the surface for over changes, our adaptations to Council five million years—the flora them, and the consequences David Botstein and fauna of this archipelago of these adaptations, there are Raymond J. Deshaies varies immensely from island many possible examples. These Joan R. Goldberg, ex officio to island, making each tiny three come first to mind. Akihiro Kusumi land mass entirely unique. The Inke Näthke Scientists Become James H. Sabry individual islands have emerged David L. Spector at different times, with different Wired Elizabeth Sztul topographies, to different Computers were not a part of JoAnn Trejo wind patterns and ocean my environment as a graduate Fiona M. Watt Susan M. Wick currents, resulting in differing student. In 1984 I wrote my Virginia A. Zakian microclimates and differing thesis with pen and paper Yixian Zheng vegetation, etc. Consequently, Sandra Schmid and then transcribed it on a The ASCB Newsletter the animals on each island dedicated word processor the is published 11 times per year (not only the famous Darwin finches, but also size of a desk. As a student, I would sit for by The American Society mockingbirds, marine iguanas, tortoises, owls, hours at my desk transferring and plotting for Cell Biology. flamingos, penguins, and crabs) have evolved individual data points, which a scintillation Joan R. Goldberg Editor to be ideally suited for their unique situations. counter (we used to work with radioactivity) W. Mark Leader Editor Although many of these animals are thriving on had spit out on a long, narrow slip of paper. Elizabeth M. Rich Production Manager their own islands, they would likely not survive This slow process gave me time to contemplate Kevin Wilson Public Policy Director on each other’s islands. the merits of each data point and the John Fleischman Science Writer Thea Clarke Editorial Manager As our guide informed us of the selective implications of the emerging relationships pressures under which different animal and between them. The quiet time allowed me to Advertising plant species have evolved, I began to consider think about what the next experiment might the environment and selective pressures that an be. Without PubMed, I would frequently The deadline for advertising is the first day of the month preceding the emerging scientist experiences today, compared browse the major journals in my field. cover date. For information contact with those I had experienced three decades ago. Invariably I’d stumble across an unrelated Advertising Manager Ed Newman, An awareness of these changes might help junior article that would capture my interest, exposing [email protected]. scientists to be more proactive in “evolving” me to something new and unexpected. There ASCB Newsletter into the next, hearty generation of scientists. were no Boolean searches or Google, so to ISSN 1060-8982 For senior scientists and mentors, perhaps there find specific information I sought out and Volume 34, Number 2 March 2011 is value in considering these changes so that asked colleagues. I went to their labs, I called we might better help our students adapt and them on the phone, and I made sure to attend © 2011 The American Society for Cell thrive in a constantly evolving environment. seminars regularly to hear about new research Biology. Copyright to the articles is held by the author or, for staff-written articles, Moreover, as senior scientists and leaders, we and to make contacts that might be helpful in by the ASCB. The content of the ASCB have the power to influence the environmental the future. I wasn’t “LinkedIn” to old friends, Newsletter is available to the public under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike forces confronting our young scientists. We can couldn’t follow the latest news events online, Unported Creative Commons License also change those that we perceive as deleterious and didn’t have an iPod. Consequently, I talked (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ to the survival of the species—in this sense, we to my labmates—all the time. On average, this by-nc-sa/3.0). can will the formation of our own archipelago. meant that we discussed what wasn’t working Postmaster: Send change of address to: ASCB Newsletter Yet we must encourage a species of scientist that and what might work.