ASCB Newsletter - April 1998

San Francisco, December 12-16, 1998
Note: Speakers and sessions are confirmed but subject to change

Symposia
Symposia will begin with the Keynote Address at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 12. Thereafter, two symposia will be given consecutively each morning, at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Symposium Chairs are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Minisymposia
Minisymposia are held from 3:30 5:45 pm, six concurrently on each day from Sunday, December 13 through Wednesday, December 16. They are listed here randomly; minisymposium scheduling will be announced in September.

Co-chairs are listed; they will in turn invite four additional speakers in each minisymposium, at least three of whom will be selected from among the submitted abstracts.

Postdoctoral Research Associate position available immediately studying differential gene expression during sea urchin development. Construct and screen arrayed cDNA libraries and characterize the expression of specific genes. A background in molecular biology and development preferred. Competitive salary and benefits. Contact Dr. Brian T. Livingston, School of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64110, (816) 235-5345 EOE/AA.

A funded postdoctoral position is available in the lab of Thoru Pederson to investigate RNA movements in vivo and in subcellular systems. Desired background is in nuclear structure or cell motility, preferably with strong training in physical chemistry or biochemistry. Expertise in fluorescence microscopy is also desirable. For a description of the lab and recent publications. Send CV with names and email addresses of 2-3 references to Thoru Pederson, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester Foundation Campus, 222 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury MA 01545;:Email EOE/AA.

A Postdoctoral Position is available to investigate the molecular mechanisms of cytoskeleton-membrane traffic interactions in eukaryotic cells. The project involves the characterization of a novel microtubule-associated calcium-binding protein required for membrane traffic (JBC,271:10183, 1996). The successful candidate will have the opportunity to interact with members of the Department of Biology and of other basic science departments at the University of Virginia Medical School and will benefit from the wide range of related research going on at the University of Virginia. Charlottesville is located 2 hours from Washington DC and near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Send CV and names, addresses and phone numbers of three references to: Dr. Margarida Barroso, Department of Biology, Gilmer Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA 22903. Phone (804) 243-7616; Fax (804) 982-5626. Email EOE/AA.

Postdoctoral Positions in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience available to study mechanisms of mRNA transport involved in growth cone dynamics and synaptic plasticity. First project-RNA particle transport in live cells. Expertise in image analysis desirable. Second project-Identification of cis-acting elements and RNA binding proteins. Please send CV, reprints, and names of three references to: Dr. Gary Bassell, Department of Anatomy, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. EOE/AA.

Military Research Lab Is Closing-Military contractor is selling at drastically reduced prices its PERKIN-ELMER PDS MICRODENSITOMETER, Joyce, Loebl microdensitometer, Sorvall ultra-microtome, Reichert Polycut S motorized sliding microtome, refrigerated and rotary microtomes, LKB knife cutter, AO knife sharpener, Gatan dual ion mill and stereo microscopes. For spec sheets call (202) 544-0836.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) have launched a web site called GrantsNet that offers an extensive database of fellowships, grants, and other sources of support for young biomedical scientists. It includes links to other sites of funders, online applications, stories about previous fellowship recipients and comments from recent application reviewers. Currently focused on graduate and postgraduate training and junior faculty positions, the site will soon expand to encompass undergraduate and precollege science education.

GrantsNet was developed through a three-year grant of $825,000 from HHMI to the AAAS.

GrantsNet is among several recent HHMI initiatives that provide information about biomedical research and science education on the web. HHMI's web site.

Postdoctoral Associate
University of Iowa College of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Infectious Diseases Division

The University of Iowa College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate to perform research on the transcriptional regulation of macrophage genes in response to M. tuberculosis and M. tuberculosis components.

A PhD is Molecular Biology as well as experience in cell biological techniques supplemented by one or more years of progressively responsible experience in the conduct of research in these areas is required.

Knowledge in cellular immunology is desirable.
Please send resume and cover letter indicating Postdoctoral Associate to: Dr. Larry Schlesinger c/o Carol Wehby, Human Resources, Internal Medicine, E400 GH, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242-1081.

The University of Iowa is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Minorties Affairs Committee Travel Awards
Workshop and Joint Meeting og the Japan Society of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry and the Histochemistry Society July 23-26, 1998, University of Californina, San Diego.

Workshop: Merging Molecular Biology with Morphologice Techniques. July 23, 1998.

To Obtain a travel award application:
Contact Daniel Friend, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Smith Building, 6th floor, 75 Francis St. Boston, MA 02115. Boston MA 02115. Email or access the ASCB Website. Select "Education, Minorities, and Women" then "Minorities Affairs Committee".

Application Deadline: May 15, 1998 Notifcation of awards: late May

Number of different machines (thus suggesting the number of users)who accessed MBC Online

Individual number of pages viewed and links clicked on the site. Considered against the number of hosts served, this suggests that each reader looks at an average of five pages per visit.

March 30, 1998

Dear Colleague,

Harold Varmus has convened an NIH working group, of which I am a member, to consider an issue affecting the use of tools in biomedical research. A perception exists that access to research tools (both among non-profit institutions, and between non-profits and industry) is increasingly impaired by restrictive materials transfer and/or licensing agreements, such that the progress of biomedical research is burdened by paperwork, lengthy delays, or even inaccessibility to important new tools. It is arguable that if constraints on the use of research tools based on aggressively protecting Intellectual Property had been common practice throughout the ascendance of modern biomedical research, the field would not have progressed to the extraordinary extent it has.

To further explore this perception, we are soliciting your input into the issue of access and exchange of research tools. Is there a problem? If so, do you see a solution(s)?

A Web page has been established, to serve as the NIH Director's Policy Forum on Intellectual Property Restrictions on Access to and Use of Research Tools in Biomedical Research . This forum elaborates on the issues I have outlined; it will be open for six months. I encourage you visit this forum, and to make comments (either public or confidential) to the committee.

We look forward to your comments. And, please convey this message to your colleagues as appropriate. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Douglas Hanahan ASCB Member, and member of the NIH Director s Working Group on Intellectual Property Restrictions on Access to and Use of Research Tools in Biomedical Research

President Clinton announced the appointment of former ASCB President and Chancellor-designate of the University of California San Francisco J. Michael Bishop as Chair of the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB).

Bishop s expertise is in the area of microbiology, molecular biology and the biology of tumors. Bishop has been a member of the NCAB since 1994.

The NCAB is composed of eighteen members appointed by the President for terms of six years. Twelve members are selected from among the leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines that are relevant to the activities of the National Cancer Institute. Not more than six members are representatives from the general public, including leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics and management. In addition, at least five of the appointed members must be knowledgeable in environmental carcinogenesis.

Ralph R. Meyer, an ASCB member since 1967, received the 1997 University of Cincinnati A.B. Dolly Cohen Award for Distinguished Excellence in Teaching, the highest teaching award at the university. Meyer also received a Faculty Achievement Award for outstanding service to the university, and was honored by the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities.

Lila M. Gierasch, ASCB member since 1993 and Professor and Head of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has been appointed by Health & Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council. The Council reviews applications for research and research training grants for the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Gierasch will serve a four-year term.

Leonard Hayflick of the University of California, San Francisco, and a Society member since its founding in 1960, was elected a corresponding member of the SociÄtÄ de Biologie of France. His appointment to membership honors Hayflick s recognition of the distinction between cultured mortal and immortal cells.

Sangram S. Sisodia, ASCB Member since 1991, of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, received the Metropolitan Life Foundation's Award for Medical Research, for his contributions to the understanding of Alzheimer s Disease.

The 1998 ASCB Directory of Members will be printed this spring. If you have moved since the printing of the 1997 Directory or note a mistake or omission in your Directory listing and have not already notified the ASCB, please fill out and submit the form below, or send an e-mail note with the requested information. A separate reminder will not be mailed. This will ensure that the correct information is listed in the 1997 ASCB Directory and the 1998–1999 FASEB Directory.

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Send your changes or corrections to: the ASCB national Office, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3992: Phone: (301) 530-7153, Fax: (301) 530-7139; Email.

Updates must be received by the ASCB National Office by April 24 to appear in the 1998 ASCB Directory.