Login
Search

 

April 1–June 30, 2022

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. 

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 meeting in June, the Board took action on several issues affecting your society, including science policy and advocacy, and heard updates on the 2022 work plan for Early-Career Engagement, OneHealth, and Scenario Planning task forces. Read the full meeting summary
Giving Voice to Your Early-Career Scientists 

Four early-career scientists were selected as representatives to the FASEB Board and FASEB Science Policy Committee (SPC). Denise C. Cornelius of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Sophia Kaska of Research!America joined the FASEB Board. Brita Kilburg-Basnyat of Arcus Biosciences and Kristen Walker of the U.S. Department of Agriculture were selected to serve on the SPC.

The FASEB Board created the early-career representative positions for the Board and the SPC 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. Nominations for 2023 appointments will open in Spring 2023.

Speaking Out On Key Issues 

 

FASEB stated its position on two public issues affecting your members and the larger scientific community. In June FASEB called on Congress to continue providing federal resources to allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to maintain ongoing efforts to support scientific research and data collection that will inform the development, evaluation, and implementation of public health interventions to understand and prevent gun violence. The statement was issued in the wake of the senseless mass shootings that have taken place in too many communities across the nation. Read the full statement

FASEB also denounced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has long protected an individual’s constitutional right to privacy in health care, specifically access to abortion. The statement noted the ruling’s unintended consequences on equal access to quality health care; education and development of a diverse workforce; and advancement of scientific discovery and innovation. Read the full statement

Helping to Advance a Culture of Data Sharing and Reuse

Many of your members will soon be required to comply with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, which takes effect in fewer than six months. In preparation, we continued to highlight and advance a culture of data sharing and reuse through the FASEB DataWorks! initiative.

  • DataWorks! Salons—These interactive and engaging online conversation spaces enabled your members to exchange ideas and design effective practices for data sharing and reuse within their own labs. Discussions explored data sharing and reuse principles centered on interoperability, ethics, and responsibility, as well as the application of FAIR and CARE principles in research. View clips from the salons
  • DataWorks! Prize—To recognize and reward teams whose research demonstrates the power of data sharing or reuse practices to advance scientific discovery and human health, FASEB partnered with NIH to sponsor the prize. We encouraged your members to register for it. With a total purse of $500,000, the prize is designed to showcase bold visions of data sharing and reuse by research teams in the biological and biomedical sciences. More than 100 teams registered for the challenge. Up to 12 research teams will be selected as winners in January and they will share their stories in an upcoming DataWorks! Prize symposium. Learn more about the prize

Want to help your members comply with the new NIH policy? Schedule an informational session to learn more about how DataWorks! can help.

 Advocating for Animal Research 

Recognizing the value of strong partnerships, FASEB spearheaded a community sign-on letter to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee outlining the role of federally funded animal research in sustaining biomedical progress. The letter, signed by 45 members of the biomedical research community (including several FASEB member societies), urged House appropriators to support key research areas that many of your members are involved in, including large animal basic and translational research. This includes access to and transportation of nonhuman primates, animals that are in short supply due to the pandemic. The letter also pointed out the need for NIH to speed up efforts to lessen administrative burden for animal researchers, as mounting levels of regulatory burden continue to unnecessarily delay essential research studies that can benefit human and animal health.

Providing a Forum for Your Communications Staff and Volunteers 

We know many communications professionals in our member societies often work by themselves or in small teams, oftentimes not aware of what other societies are doing and how communications efforts might be coordinated. To address this dilemma, the FASEB Member Society Communicators Forum launched in June. The forum is an outcome of the FASEB Communications Task Force, which was charged with exploring how FASEB and its member societies could expand coordination and visibility of FASEB and your society activities. The forum is open to all staff and volunteers who have communications and/or marketing duties in their day-to-day jobs at FASEB Full Member Societies. It will offer information on current communications topics, special working group sessions, networking opportunities, and occasional guest presentations. If your communications staff or volunteer is interested in joining the forum, email us.

Celebrating Your Members' Excellence in Science  

Every year since 1989, FASEB has recognized outstanding achievements by women in biological and biomedical science through the Excellence in Science Awards. The awards celebrate not only excellence and innovation in recipients’ research fields, but their exemplary leadership and mentorship as well. This year’s recipients are

  • Lifetime Achievement Award: M. Celeste Simon, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Mid-Career Investigator Award: Valentina Greco, PhD, Yale School of Medicine
  • Early-Career Investigator Award: Cigall Kadoch, PhD, Harvard Medical School

Women who are current members of a FASEB Full Member Society are eligible to be nominated for FASEB’s Excellence in Science Awards. Nominations for the 2023 awards will open in October 2022.

Did You Know?

  • Your members have a unique opportunity to share their cutting-edge research with their peers and highlight your society’s area of focus through FASEB’s Science Research Conferences. These 2- to 5-day conferences feature a mix of scientific presentations, poster sessions, and networking activities. Encourage your members to organize an SRC. Proposals for 2024 SRCs are due September 28.