Newswise — Members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology have elected several new leaders. Three members of the governing Council were re-elected. There’s a new secretary. And both the Nominating Committee and the Publications Committee have new members.
Council
The ASBMB Council serves as an advisory board to the president and the executive director for setting priorities and strategic directions, overseeing resource allocations, and ensuring that all activities align with the mission of the society. Councilors are elected for three-year terms and can be re-elected or reappointed to serve one additional term. Three incumbents were re-elected to the Council.
Suzanne Barbour is a professor and dean of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She wrote in her candidate statement: “During my first term, I have learned more about our society, its challenges and opportunities. I am particularly intrigued by an opportunity that was discussed at a recent Council meeting: pursuing philanthropic support for the ASBMB. My experience as a dean, working with alumni, friends and prospective donors, will be helpful for this effort.” Barbour is a former member of the Minority Affairs Committee (now the Maximizing Access Committee), has organized annual meeting symposia and was honored as a member of the first class of ASBMB fellows in 2021. Read her full candidate profile.
Joan Broderick is a professor and department head at Montana State University. In 2022, she became an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. Broderick has been at Montana State since 2005; before that she was on the faculty of a small liberal arts college and a research-intensive state university. “This range of experiences has given me a broad perspective on science education and academic research — and the intersection of the two,” she wrote. Read her full candidate profile.
Matthew Gentry is a professor at the University of Kentucky. He has served on the society’s Membership Committee, Public Affairs Advisory Committee and Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board. For this term on the Council, he has prioritized sharing with members “how to utilize their passions to serve on an ASBMB committee,” recruiting the society’s next executive director; serving as a resource and adviser to President Ann Stock, who was elected in 2021, and headquarters leaders; and spreading the word about how the ASBMB can help biochemists at all career stages. Read his full candidate profile.
Nominating Committee
The ASBMB Nominating Committee nominates regular members of the society to stand for election for president, the Council, the Publications Committee and the Nominating Committee. Committee members are elected for three-year terms and can be re-elected or reappointed to serve one additional term. ASBMB members elected two new committee members this year.
Juan L. Mendoza is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago. He twice has co-chaired the Enzyme Interest Group at the ASBMB annual meeting and is an active advocate for diversity and inclusion. “I am passionate about making education in STEM accessible to everyone and inspiring future generations of scientists. For me, this includes active participation in community outreach and societies such as the ASBMB,” he wrote. Read his full candidate profile.
Jeremy Thorner is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He won the ASBMB’s Herb Tabor Research Award in 2019. “The many activities of ASBMB are best achieved by ensuring gender equity and diversity in its advisory bodies and leadership, as well as in its general membership,” he wrote. “To thrive, our organization needs to be inclusive, and to hear from and recruit diverse voices. Hence, the most important function of the Nominating Committee is to make certain we draw on the rich pool of our membership and secure the participation of individuals from all quarters of the biochemical sciences.” Read the full candidate profile.
Secretary
The secretary is responsible for reviewing the minutes of the society, serving on the Nominating Committee and the Audit Committee, and completing other duties as assigned by the Council, which may include certifying Council resolutions to support the operations of the society. The secretary is a voting member of Council and participates in the governance of the society. The secretary serves a three-year term.
George Carman is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University and director of the Rutgers Center for Lipid Research. He won the ASBMB’s Avanti Award in Lipids in 2012, has been an associate editor for the society’s Journal of Lipid Research and Journal of Biological Chemistry, and has served on the Council and several committees. He co-directs the society’s Lipid Research Division. “The ASBMB has been a large part of my professional life since I joined the society in 1980,” he wrote. “Throughout my career, I have profited from formal and informal mentors, and I am obliged to pay forward my knowledge and experiences to early-career scientists including undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral associates.” Carman was a member of the society’s inaugural class of fellows in 2021. Read his full candidate profile.
Publications Committee
The ASBMB Publications Committee oversees the society’s scholarly publishing activities, advises the Council on policy and ethical issues that may arise, and advises journal editors about editorial matters, including the approval of associate editor appointments. Committee members are elected for five-year terms and can be re-elected or reappointed to serve one additional term. ASBMB members elected four new committee members.
Walid Houry is a professor at the University of Toronto. He’s been a member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board since 2017. During his term on the committee, he intends to advocate for “innovative article review and publication formats.” He wrote: “I find this to be especially important given the new and different article reviewing and publishing approaches being used by other journals. Hence, a clear policy needs to be established to address how ASBMB journals will interact with open-access preprint repositories such as bioRxiv and what value will be placed on reviews provided by journal-independent peer-review platforms such as the Review Commons.” Read his full candidate profile.
Marcelo Kazanietz is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been an editorial board member for the Journal of Biological Chemistry and several other peer-reviewed publications. “I understand emerging challenges to keep disseminating our scientific discoveries in a highly competitive environment. I aim to support efforts toward facilitating communication between editors, authors and readers, with the ultimate goal of promoting high-impact science while affirming strong ethical publishing values,” he wrote. Read his full candidate profile.
Daniel Leahy is a professor at University of Texas at Austin. He served on the ASBMB Council from 2012 to 2015, has helped organize meeting themes and other society events, and is a member of the society’s 2022 class of fellows. “Chief among the jewels in the ASBMB crown are its publications, which are run by scientists for scientists, and I am delighted at the opportunity to help continue the ASBMB’s tradition of excellent publications as modes of scientific communication continue to evolve,” he wrote. Read his full candidate profile.
Anne-Frances Miller is a distinguished professor at the University of Kentucky. She has been a member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board and a member of the Publications Committee before. “I understand that publications are central to both the professional conduct of science and also its social fabric,” she wrote. “I am a big admirer of how ASBMB’s publications have spanned both spheres via the several journals the society produces. ASBMB Today nurtures networks of people and interest and keeps the science fun, engaging us all beyond the boundaries of our own specializations and keeping the best of our humanity connected to the best of our science. Meanwhile, ASBMB’s established research journals provide critical channels for sharing high-quality scientific progress, complete with the assurances of expert peer review.” Read her full candidate profile.
About the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)
The ASBMB is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1906 to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology, the society publishes three peer-reviewed journals, advocates for funding of basic research and education, supports science education at all levels, and promotes the diversity of individuals entering the scientific workforce. For more information about the ASBMB, visit www.asbmb.org.
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