Actions Completed (updated as of 2/27/23)

2023

January: Kandice Tanner, National Institutes of Health, NCI, has joined the editorial board of Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC).

2022

December:  Michael Murrell, Yale University, serves as co-editor of ASCB MBoC special issue Forces On and Within Cells.

December: At the Cell Bio 2022 Meeting, 44% of the Symposia Speakers were members of historically excluded communities.

December: At Cell Bio 2022, 17% of the Subgroup abstract submitters and presenters were from historically excluded communities. And, for the Minisymposia, 17% of submitters were HEPs, with 23.5% of selected presenters being HEPs. We used concealed scoring for the Minisymposia review and only top scoring abstracts can be selected for presentation.

November: ASCB was awarded a $200k grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to further support PAIR-UP initiatives.

March: ASCB was awarded a grant from Burroughs Wellcome to support postdocs as part of the PAIR-UP network of Black imaging scientists.

March: ASCB was awarded a $675k grant from Burroughs Wellcome (BWF) to support postdocs as part of the PAIR-UP network of Black imaging scientists.

July: At the conclusion of ASCB honorific award application reviews, it was determined that applications/nominations from underrepresented populations were up 52% from the previous year.

April: Sandra A. Murray, University of Pittsburgh, elected as ASCB President for 2024.

2021

Dec: ASCB was awarded a grant for $1.4 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to implement a new inclusivity model and develop a more diverse scientific workforce. The grant—Partnering to Advance Imaging Research for Underrepresented Minority Scientists Program (or PAIR-UP)—will specifically help to build and support collaborative research teams of Black imaging scientists.

Nov: At 2021 Cell Bio meeting, all education, professional development, diversity, and inclusion sessions have been scheduled preceding scientific sessions.

Aug: Statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion involvement was added to the application for 2022 committee and Council volunteers.

June: New actions announced to increase speaker diversity at Cell Bio Virtual 2021 and beyond: 1) Blind scoring review of all abstracts for minisymposium talks. Top scoring abstracts and accompanying author demographic info are sent to minisymp co-chairs to form sessions. 2) Anyone who self-identifies as an underrepresented minority (as defined by NIH) who scores above the median score will be considered for a talk. 3) Program committee track co-chairs can invite additional URMs to serve as a minisymposium co-chair to ensure more diversity. 4) To increase speaker diversity at the 2022 meeting, members of the Program Committee will be paired with Inclusion Buddies (who are active in DEI training and research) during the 2021 planning process.

March: ASCB publishes statement condemning violence toward Asian-Americans.

Feb: ASCB Council approved a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan. Read about the goals and measures of success here.

Feb: ASCB Council approved recommendations from the ASCB Awards Taskforce designed to better align the application process, selection process, award presentations, and the award portfolio with the ASCB mission and to more broadly serve its membership. This will be accomplished by a combination of changes in award language, targets, selection criteria, and presentation mechanics. Read the Executive Summary.

Feb: CBE-Life Sciences Education (LSE) announces call for abstract submissions for a special issue on Community College Biology Education Research to be published in 2022. Authors at all phases of their career, with varying levels of biology education research experience, in a variety of professional positions and institutional contexts, and from diverse backgrounds and perspectives are welcome to submit. More info

Feb: Creation of this webpage to enhance transparency and accountability and ensure resources are easily accessible

Jan: ASCB announces inaugural cohort of NIH MOSAIC Scholars

Jan: CBE-Life Sciences Education (LSE) announces call for nominations and self-nominations to broaden and diversify the perspectives, backgrounds, and areas of expertise on its editorial board. Nominations of individuals identifying as scholars of color, those representing marginalized or minoritized communities, and scholars from a wide range of institution types especially encouraged.

Jan: Periodic meetings of committee chairs revamped to allow more strategic input from committees regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts

Jan: Past President Eva Nogales volunteered to become an ex officio member of the MAC, WICB, COMPASS, and LGBTQ+ Committee to coordinate with the Executive Committee regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts

Jan: LGBTQ+ Task Force becomes full standing committee after 2020 bylaws changes

 

2020

Dec: Opened applications for diverse Early-Career MBoC Editorial Board that will identify preprints of interest, write significance statements, and select badges to convey significance 

Dec: Held numerous sessions related to diversity, equity, inclusion at Cell Bio 2020-An Online ASCB|EMBO Meeting:

Nov: Started “Voices” series in Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) journal to publish stories of scientific journeys from diverse perspectives

Oct: Executive Committee formally charged 2021 Nominating Committee to increase diversity in officer slate and require statements on diversity from candidates

Sept: Held Town Hall for member input on diversity, equity, and inclusion 

July: Solicited volunteers for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce to draft a comprehensive action plan 

July: Solicited volunteers for an Awards Taskforce to review the ASCB awards portfolio and recommend modifications to ensure that awards are aligned with the values of the Society 

June: ASCB awarded funding for ASCB MOSAIC Program (AMP), a cohort-based professional skills development program that builds on the strengths of AMP scholars (K99/R00 grantees), their mentors, and departmental and university leaders to enhance the preparation, hiring, advancement, and success of AMP scholars in tenure-track, research-intensive faculty positions 

June: Council completed diversity training facilitated by Kaleidoscope 

April: Revised bylaws approved (effective Jan 1, 2021) to enable more flexibility and transparency in governance 

March: Implemented new application process for annual meeting Minisymposia co-chairs 

 

ASCB Programs, Committees, Webinars, Resources Related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion