I agree with Nadine's view.
Mike Brasseur
Tularik Inc.
brasseur@tularik.com
Ritter,Nadine wrote:
>My perspective; not necessarily PC, but for good or ill, it is all mine :-)
>
>There are many core analytical laboratories housed in larger organizations
>within universities, government installations and biotech/biopharm
>companies. While it may be a non-issue to be classified as a "facility" in
>an academic or government environment, it can be a significant designation in
>some companies. Here, the differences between the terms "facility" and
>"laboratory" may rest on such factors as internal versus client base, whether
>or not services are revenue producing, impact on reporting hierarchy to
>upper management, etc... Sometimes what you call yourself can lead to
>internal conflicts if the terminology is misunderstood.
>
>All of these non-scientific issues aside, we do the same kinds of work that
>other core laboratories do, and have the same keen interest in the status and
>future of the technologies involved. Even more, we are committed to these
>technologies for biomolecular product development, characterization and
>licensure. I favor a change in the name, but not a change in the mission, of
>ABRF. I feel it would better reflect the membership's diversity, encompass
>the breadth of our activities, and clarify our role as leaders in
>bioanalytical technology assessment.
>
>I don't see why this change should cause us to leave behind anything, least
>of all the issues faced by the traditional core facilities which gave rise to
>ARBF in the first place. It seems to me to be an expansive rather than an
>exclusionary change. It also has the benefit of attracting those with a
>vested interest in the technology from other aspects, such as regulatory
>bodies. I think with strong leadership on the EB - and we certainly have
>had exceptional leaders who care deeply about this group and its future - we
>should be able to include these interests without diluting any of the
>important issues that form our basic reason for existence.
>
>I also don't feel that we need to worry about the loss of identity in
>changing from ABRF to ABRT (or anything similar). While we have a
>well-established identity among certain groups of bioanalytical scientists,
>we are just gaining independent name recognition in many areas. By having
>meetings separate from the Protein Society, we are making our mark as a
>stand-alone organization, even though we have been so for over a decade. In
>fact, just today I was recruiting a colleague for ARBF who used to go to the
>Protein Society meetings. He had never heard of ABRF, so I waxed poetic
>about our many values. He had no idea that WE were the group that conducts
>those "terrific sample tests" that he used to see at the Protein Society
>meetings. I wonder how many other protein scientists are just learning who WE
>are? If we are going to change our name, it seems that now is the right time.
>
>Just my thoughts!
>
>Nadine Ritter, Ph.D.
>Analytical Validation R&D
>Abbott Diagnostics Division
>Abbott Laboratories
>Abbott Park, IL 60064-3500
>Nadine.Ritter@add.ssw.abbot.com
>
>
>
>
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