April 1-June 30, 2021

Every day FASEB brings real value to its members. Here are just a few recent initiatives that demonstrate our dedication to you and your society members. Spread the word and share this information with your leadership and staff. 

Giving Voice to Your Early-Career Members

Two early-career scientists joined the FASEB Board and FASEB Science Policy Committee, Vijay Kale and Nele Haelterman, respectively. As Early-Career Representatives, Kale and Haelterman will bring the informed voice of early-stage investigators to the Board and Science Policy Committee. 

The FASEB Board created the Early-Career Representative positions for the FASEB Board and the FASEB Science Policy Committee to incorporate early-career researchers’ unique insights and foster dialogue between current and future generations of researchers. Any FASEB Full Member society may nominate individuals for Early-Career Representative positions. The Society of Toxicology nominated Kale and Genetics Society of America nominated Haelterman. Nominations for 2022 appointments will open in Spring 2022. Learn more

Enabling a Culture of Data Sharing and Reuse for Your Members

Many of your members want to share or reuse data but cannot easily access data-sharing tools and resources. To accommodate their need, FASEB is investing in a new program to support data reuse and, ultimately, drive FASEB's mission of improving health. Planning has begun for a data reuse initiative, which will launch as a series of collaborative pilots, including a Data Salon and Fellows program, Data Help Desk, and a data reuse opportunity for a grand challenge prize for research teams. Learn more

Helping to Maximize Shared Research Resources

Despite widespread recognition of the contributions shared research resources make to biomedical research, we know many of your members continue to experience challenges using SRRS to their full potential. The FASEB Shared Research Resources Task Force published recommendations to address the challenges in its report, Maximizing Shared Research Resources—Part III: Addressing Systemic Challenges and Opportunities. The report seeks to ensure rigorous, efficient, and equitable resource collaboration for your members and all institutions. 

The FASEB Shared Research Resources Roundtable accompanied the Task Force report. This innovative event for key stakeholders, which included many of your members, featured discussions on the development of policies, strategies, and practices to enhance and sustain valuable shared research resources. Watch a portion of the recorded discussion

To sustain the momentum on these efforts, FASEB is developing strategies to implement the recommendations outlined in the report and feedback raised during the Roundtable. 

Facilitating Discussion to Inform Federal Policies on Data Sharing

FASEB partnered with several affiliate organizations to host a 12-month series of webinars exploring a range of topics pertaining to data sharing. In the June webinar, “Aligning Funder Policy with Support from Societies: Case Study with NIH and FASEB,” FASEB and NIH representatives explored ways in which scientific societies could help inform federal policies pertaining to data sharing. In this engaging webinar presentation, we helped shed light on several key pain points your members experience in data management and sharing, including promotion and tenure processes that do not reward data curation and sharing, minimal staff resources and training to aid in data curation, and intellectual property concerns. Read more

Focusing on Priorities to Enhance Services to Your Society

The FASEB Board, which is made up of representatives from all FASEB Full Member societies, continued to make direct impacts on FASEB’s short- and long-term programs and investments. At its virtual meeting in June, the Board took action on several issues affecting you and your society, including data management and sharing; technology transformation; and diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion initiatives. Read the full meeting summary

Enhancing Engagement and Communications with Your Society

Member engagement and communication are important to us. To better serve you in these areas, the newly created FASEB Member Engagement and Communications Task Forces are exploring how we can work more collaboratively with your society and create greater awareness of FASEB and member society activities and programs. As part of this two-prong effort, your communications staff provided valuable feedback in the Communications Task Force’s interviews and surveys. The work is continuing with the Member Engagement Task Force’s interviews and surveys to assess ways to enhance collaboration with you around your society’s policy and advocacy activities. We encourage you and your staff to take part in an upcoming survey on your society’s policy and advocacy activities. Survey findings from both task forces will help guide our future efforts. Have questions about the task forces? Email us

Facilitating a Diverse Workforce

A diverse workforce—one that represents a stronger, broader, and deeper talent pool—drives success for both FASEB and your society. To facilitate that success, planning is under way for a series of diversity pilot programs for your members, including family care awards, recruitment, reverse mentoring, and cohort programs. These programs, approved by the FASEB Board, are slated to launch soon over a three-year period.

Providing a Forum for Your Meeting Planners

Do your meeting planners know all the ins and outs of value-added taxes for your conferences? How can your planners best incorporate diversity and inclusivity into your meetings? What are the pros and cons of hybrid solutions for your small meetings? These were some of the issues addressed at the FASEB Meeting Planner Forum. The Forum, held monthly, provides a platform for your staff to discuss meeting- and conference-related topics, share ideas, compare best practices, and learn from each other. If your meeting planner is interested in joining the Forum, email us. 

Did You Know?

FASEB recently hosted conference sessions that were collaborations with other organizations, namely the International Committee on Rapid Responses to Steroid Hormones (RRSH) and the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA). RRSH co-sponsored the Steroid Hormones and Receptors in Health and Disease Conference with FASEB as a Science Research Conference and offered a cross-fertilization of ideas and in-depth discussions on discoveries that may translate into more effective medical therapies.

FASEB also presented sessions at NPA’s annual conference. The sessions covered topics of interest to many of your members, including professional societies’ development support opportunities for postdocs.

Is your society interested in co-presenting with FASEB at affiliate organizations’ meetings to increase your society’s and its members’ exposure? If so, email us.