2013Welcome to the ASCB

Welcome to the ASCB. Advancing scientific discovery ASCB, which was established in 1960, now represents about 9,000 sc...

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Welcome

to the ASCB.

Advancing scientific discovery ASCB, which was established in 1960, now represents about 9,000 scientists worldwide. Cell biology, as the study of the basic unit of life, is at the heart of any discovery in biology. The field is naturally intertwined with many areas of biological research, such as genetics, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, and many others. Today, cell biology is becoming highly interdisciplinary, with strong connections to systems biology, as well as the physical and computational sciences. ASCB plays a strategic role in stimulating advances across scientific frontiers, and cell biologists are uniquely poised to reveal disease-causing mechanisms at the cellular level. Among its members, the Society counts 29 scientists who are Nobel Laureates and 36 who have been recognized with the Lasker Award (often referred to as the American Nobel). To advance science, and provide a forum for scientific conversation, ASCB publishes Molecular Biology of the Cell, a highly respected scholarly journal in the field, featuring cuttingedge scientific advances and provocative editorials (www.molcellbio.org). Since the beginning of the public access movement, ASCB has worked to make scientific research results, often funded by taxpayers, quickly available to everyone, by aggressively implementing public access policies to our publications.

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Publications ASCB’s publications reflect the Society’s missions to advance scientific discovery, improve science education, and keep scientists abreast of developments in their profession. ASCB has a strong public access policy to ensure that scientific results are readily available to everyone. Molecular Biology of the Cell Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC), the ASCB’s peer-reviewed science journal, publishes original research articles that present conceptual advances of broad interest and significance within all areas of cell biology, genetics, and developmental biology. In addition, the journal publishes features that offer perspectives on science, policy, and career issues. The international Editorial Board comprises working scientists who are dedicated to providing rapid, constructive editorial evaluation of submitted manuscripts. Each issue of MBoC becomes freely available without a subscription two months after publication, in keeping with the ASCB’s strong commitment to accessibility of scientific literature. MBoC is a journal for scientists, managed by scientists, where all decisions are made by active scientists in the field. CBE—Life Sciences Education CBE—Life Sciences Education (LSE), the ASCB’s quarterly education journal, is a leader in its field. LSE publishes peer-reviewed research articles, features, and reviews that help life science educators improve their teaching based on research about how people teach and learn biology effectively. It serves professionals engaged in biology teaching in all environments, from large research universities to K–12 schools. LSE is freely available without a subscription to ensure that it is accessible to all who need it. ASCB Newsletter The ASCB Newsletter, published 11 times per year, keeps ASCB members apprised of the Society’s diverse activities and offers vital information about public policy, careers, funding opportunities, meetings, and other topics of interest to professional scientists.

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Advocacy ASCB advocates for strong government financial and policy support of basic scientific research, which is at the core of our country’s health, economy, competitiveness, and international collaboration. To that end, our members work to educate Congress and the Executive Branch about the importance of support for basic biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other science federal agencies. ASCB scientists also work actively to identify strategic areas where gaps in knowledge lie, and scientific opportunities can be seized. The Society partners with many other leading science and technology organizations to monitor and respond to events in Washington, DC, that affect issues relating to science policy and funding. Science advocacy is essential in the United States, because science competes for taxpayer dollars with every other activity that the federal government supports.

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Training Investing in young scientists is where cures begin. ASCB makes the training of young investigators in basic sciences a top priority; it is an investment in the future of the world. Year-round professional development opportunities include career webinars, opportunities to initiate and organize local meetings at home institutions, CV review and mentoring advice, workshops on grant writing and editing, training to deliver better talks and for public speaking, and many opportunities for visibility and leadership in the scientific community. A recent Biomedical Research Working Group conducted by the National Institutes of Health reported that only 23% of those with a PhD are ending up in traditional, tenure-track academic jobs. This statistic has heightened the need for increased support for new investigators in diverse training areas, as well as for changes in the educational pipeline. ASCB is strongly committed to addressing this issue to make sure that young scientists receive the training they need to reach their goals.

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Education The health and wealth of modern society depends on innovation. Historically, ASCB has invested significant energy and resources in training to promote biology education, science literacy, and career development for K-12 students, undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty, as well as science professionals. More recently, ASCB has developed a program called iBiology, which offers highly acclaimed and well-respected scientific and educational videos through iBioSeminars and iBioMagazine (www.ibioseminars.org); educational resources through BioEducate (www.ascb.org), and eye-popping visual images, videos, and animations through The Cell: An Image Library (www.cellimagelibrary.org). ASCB also publishes CBE—Life Sciences Education, the leading scholarly publication in science education research and evidence-based practices. This public access publication is available online at www.lifescied.org (and a Highlights issue is printed once each year).

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Diversity At ASCB we believe that a diversified workforce is better poised to tackle the scientific challenges in front of us. Cultural differences and different ways of thinking are invaluable resources for our Society. Therefore, ASCB is committed to increase the involvement of underrepresented minority scientists, international scientists, and women scientists in all activities and the field at large. The Society has a robust mentoring network for minority scientists, and offers junior faculty and postdoc career development workshops and seminars in grant writing, lab management, tenure, ethics, writing, and professional conduct; funding for summer courses at Marine Biological Laboratory (www.mbl.edu); travel awards to attend the ASCB Annual Meeting; and opportunities for summer visiting professorships at ASCB members’ laboratories. Initiatives are underway to build capacity in cell biology worldwide, transcend political issues, and cooperate productively in scientific endeavors. In recent years, a microscopy workshop was held in Istanbul, a cell biology workshop in Ghana, and a disease workshop in Tanzania. The Society currently boasts members from 68 countries with about 29% of its members from countries other than the United States. The Society has long championed the causes of women in the life sciences, and such efforts are still going strong today. ASCB publishes career advice columns of particular interest to women scientists, maintains a speaker referral list, and recognizes women who are making a difference in their fields.

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Meetings The ASCB Annual Meeting is the centerpiece of the ASCB’s scientific activities. Each year about 8,000 scientists gather to present their most exciting scientific results and to network with other scientific leaders and peers. The meeting provides an important opportunity to advance scientific exchange in areas that have been historically important, such as the cytoskeleton, nucleus, organelles, polarity, and extracellular matrix, as well as to explore new areas in which the mechanistic approaches of cell biology might contribute. Beginning with the 2012 Annual Meeting particular attention is being given to two new frontiers: medicine and the biophysical sciences. These two areas have been organized into “threads,” which are interwoven into the meeting program. At the 2013 Annual Meeting a third thread will be added: professional development. In addition to poster presentations and scientific programming, the meeting offers great opportunities for career development and networking; workshops on training issues, advocacy, and funding; and opportunities to view new technologies, products, and services at the exhibit booths. The Society also offers funds for young investigators to organize local meetings at their institutions, wherever they happen to be in the world, on topics related to cell biology. These meetings provide opportunities for young scientists to develop leadership responsibilities and visibility in the field.

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Corporate Partnerships Within the ecosystem of science, ASCB sees a very important and increasing role for partnering with public and private organizations to fund initiatives that benefit science, scientists, the corporate world, and ultimately society. Such partners help sponsor highly visible meetings, travel awards to meetings, symposia, ASCB’s education journal, and programs for women, international scientists, and underrepresented minorities. ASCB provides visibility and a venue for over 2,000 exhibitors from companies that supply reagents and services to our scientists’ laboratories. Our partners gain access to and visibility in the scientific community. In addition, given the external threats to science funding, ASCB is committed to working with corporate partners to drive the case that investments in science boost private industry and create jobs. ASCB wishes to increase its partnerships with the private sector to initiate new activities in the areas of scientific education and professional training, including co-sponsoring highly visible crowd-sourcing initiatives (with substantial prizes) to solve key challenges. ASCB’s ultimate goal is to grow the field of cell biology and basic science to advance science. If the field grows, our partners grow with it.

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