Created: 1st March 2000, last updated: 30th May 2000, © 2000 ABRF
The Executive Board (EB) welcomes its two new members, Laurey Steinke and Mark Lively. Mark and Laurey have been active members and supporters of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) and have already become actively involved in the EB. At the same time, we must say farewell to Ruth Angeletti and Paul Morrison, both dynamic, tireless individuals who have committed considerable time and effort to serve on the EB. Ruth served as President of the ABRF for two years and has made a lasting contribution in her role as president. However, in the spirit of the ABRF, these two individuals have not been relieved of all obligations but are now serving in other important areas of the association. Ruth is now chair of the Science Policy Committee, a component of our society serving our members in obtaining funding for instrumentation and institution of new technology, and Paul is organizing the new ABRF Website Committee.
Association Management
Professional Association Management (PAM) has taken over the management of ABRF as of October 1, 1999. Jennifer Watson has been doing a superb job in assisting Karen De Jongh in managing the finances and assisting Lynda Bonewald in managing the business of the society. She is providing quarterly reports to the EB and has become involved in the mailings for the research group studies. Jennifer will be attending ABRF 2000, where our members can meet her.
Research Groups
The Molecular Interactions Research Group has been officially approved by the EB. To improve efficiency, the committees and research groups can use one mailing or request mailing labels for the year through association management, PAM. The EB made recommendations at its biannual EB meeting in October to consolidate several of the research groups to improve communications and ensure that the most relevant studies are performed. This consolidation will be discussed and initiated at the next annual EB/Chairs meeting. This meeting will take place at ABRF 2000 on Sunday evening. Our Research Groups are one of the unique features of our society, and the results of their studies have not only benefited core facilities but other research scientists as well. It is important to ensure that they continue to perform studies that will be most beneficial to our members.
Publications Committee
The Publications Committee has been formed to ensure the success of the society's journal, the Journal of Biomolecular Techniques, and to assist with other future society publications. Members of this committee include Ralph Bradshaw as chair and Ben Dunn. Ad-hoc members include Clayton Naeve, Editor-in-Chief, and Clive Slaughter, Associate Editor. Lynda Bonewald is the EB liaison. Plans have been made to increase the visibility of the journal, establish an organizational structure, provide an outline for replacement and recruitment of editors, ensure that deadlines are met, and recruit the best articles. Ken Mitchelhill has been forced to resign as Executive Editor because he has left the biomedical community for computer networking. Plans are underway for Ken's replacement. You can support the Journal of Biomolecular Techniques (JBT) by submitting your best work.
Website Committee
In addition to resigning from the JBT editorial board, Ken Mitchelhill will longer be able to function as the Web Master for the ABRF Web page and discussion groups. At present, James Van Ee is managing the Website with input from Jennifer Watson concerning updates on membership, announcements, and additions to the Web pages. In the meantime, the ABRF Website needs to be updated. A committee will be formed to define the functionality of the Website and to define and set up a data set for use for the ABRF community at large, especially with respect to courses offered before the annual meeting. Quotes for specific services and for the institution of a password for members to access the electronic discussion group will be solicited from professionals to institute these changes.
ABRF 2001
Plans for ABRF 2001, The New Biology: Technologies for Resolving Macromolecular Communications, are well underway. Paul Tempst and David Schwartz are starting to put together the program for the meeting that will be held February 24 through 27, 2001, in San Diego, California. Mark your calendars. John Stults and Al Burlingame will be the EB liaisons for ABRF 2001. If you have any suggestions, please contact these individuals.
Thanks to a generous donation from PE Biosystems, Travel Awards to the ABRF 2000 meeting were made to 15 recipients:
Yongde Bao, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Nathan Bivens, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Eric Howard, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Tim Hunter, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
Hana Konecna, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Susan Linskens, University De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jennifer Masters, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Susan Newman, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Anne Poljak, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Ragna Sack, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
John Smith, University of Texas, Galveston, Texas, USA
Ross Tellam, Molecular Animal Genetics Centre, Indooroopilly, Australia
Glenis Wiebe, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Christopher Wood, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Xiaolan Zhao, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
The Year 2000 ABRF Travel Award Selection Committee members are Lowell Ericsson (chair), Karen De Jongh, Ken Mitchelhill, Len Packman, Satya P. Yadav, and Tim Schlabach (PE Biosystems representative).