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DCPB: Fall 1997 Newsletter

This Newsletter by Section

Message from the Chair,

David Towle

I am looking forward to a very full and exciting divisional program at the SICB 1998 Annual Meeting in Boston, January 3-7, 1998. DCPB is sponsoring or co-sponsoring four of the ten symposia and we look forward to a large number of talks and posters by division members. Details of the program are described in Neal Smatresk's message.

The division has been asked to participate in an international conference in comparative physiology, "Experimental Biology 2000 - Milestones and Goals," a joint meeting with the Society for Experimental Biology, Canadian Society of Zoologists and Australia-New Zealand Society of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry. The meeting is planned for July 30-August 3, 2000 in Queens College/Downing College in the United Kingdom. Divisional officers past and present are enthusiastic about the meeting and we will be soliciting ideas for paper sessions. Please contact me or Neal Smatresk with your questions and ideas.

I remind you as well of the IUBS 5th International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry to be held in Calgary, August 23-28, 1999, described in more detail in Neal's message.

The division sponsors two journals: Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry edited by Peter Hochachka and Thomas Mommsen and Physiological Zoology edited by Charlotte Mangum and Greg Snyder. DCPB plays a major role in selection of candidates for the editorship and editorial boards of each journal. If you are interested in being considered for editorial board membership, please contact me or Lou Burnett, past chair of DCPB.

This fall, the editorial offices of Physiological Zoology (PZ) will be transferred to the University of Colorado. See the accompanying article for information on address changes for the PZ editorial office. The division owes a great debt of gratitude to Charlotte Mangum for her superb contributions to the journal as editor and indeed to the field of comparative physiology and biochemistry as a whole.

Included with this newsletter is candidate information for the election of divisional secretary. Please vote!

The Boston meeting will be a wonderful opportunity for DCPB members to stay in contact with each other and to make new acquaintances. I look forward to greeting you there!


Message from the Program Officer,

Neal Smatresk

Our SICB 1998 Annual Meeting is just around the corner and I hope you are all planning on attending. Boston is a great venue for this meeting, and we should have a full and exciting program including the symposia: "Evolutionary Physiology," "Origin and Further Evolution of Circulatory Systems: An Interdivisional Workshop," and "Aquatic Organisms, Terrestrial Eggs: Early Development at the Water's Edge." We received three strong proposals for the 1999 meeting in Denver, but might still have room for a "Big Questions" symposium or a special workshop on techniques or teaching in physiology. If you have ideas on these please e-mail me ASAP at my new address, smatresk@uta.edu.

Some of you may also have heard about another alphabet soup meeting (SEB, CSZ, SICB, ANZSCPB) from Chris Bridges. "Experimental Biology 2000 - Milestones and Goals" will be held July 30-August 3, 2000 at Queens College/Downing College in the United Kingdom. This should be a great meeting, and a wonderful chance to catch up with our colleagues around the world. If you are interested in organizing a symposium for this meeting, please send me your proposal and I will forward our divisional contributions to Chris.

While you are planning for this meeting, please don't forget about the IUBS 5th International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry in Calgary, August 23-28, 1999. Our society has forwarded several symposia, and I have heard of several more comparative physiology proposals from other societies. This may be one of the larger comparative physiology gatherings of the decade, so make plans to be there. Nora Terwilliger can be contacted for more information about the Calgary meeting.

With the SICB 1999 Annual Meeting in Denver schedule solidifying, I would like to begin to organize a list of future symposium ideas and organizers. I have seen some creative ideas from the other divisions, like a "Trends" series sponsored by DCE. We still hope to keep our "Big Questions" symposium series, and want to expand the number of techniques workshops at future meetings. I have heard discussion of workshops in statistics and molecular techniques. What we need mostly is for those of you with good ideas to send them in. Let's get together in Boston for some serious brainstorming.


Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Report

W. Wyatt Hoback, DCPB Representative to the Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee

Let me take a moment to introduce myself and to encourage you to participate in divisional activities at the SICB 1998 Annual Meeting in Boston, on Jan. 3-7. I am a second year doctoral student studying the physiological ecology of tiger beetles in a harsh salt marsh environment. This will be my third meeting and I thought my society experiences might be useful as you plan your time at the meeting. I hope you will attend at least three events other than papers, symposia, posters and socials (no one ever misses those), that you might otherwise have skipped. Also, I'd like to thank Valerie Pierce. Val is a postdoctorate working on fruit fly physiology at UC Irvine and has provided ideas, editing and most important prompting for this article.

If this is your first SICB (pronounced "sick bee" by some and "sick ib" by others) meeting, don't miss the Student "First Timer" Orientation on Saturday, Jan. 3 from 5:30-6:15 p.m. Fortunately, the yellow ribbons attached prominently to the name tag of the first timers are gone! After the first timer program you will be able to mingle fearlessly with the authorities whom you admire. The first timers program precedes the opening reception and the hour of preparation will help when you bump into those people who just published in Science. First time or not, definitely make all the socials (food is free) and mingle. This is your chance to find out about failed experimental methods that do not show up in the literature and things in press, before you attempt to file your dissertation proposal.

Be sure to attend the student/postdoctoral evening workshops. Last year, participants gained insights into the secrets of grant writing, resumes that land jobs and interviews that result in offers, the Holy Grail to most. Good communication skills coupled with other people's experiences may give you the edge for a position! In addition, the workshops give you an opportunity to interact in small, less-intimidating groups with faculty and other student comrades.

Near the end of the meeting, an important event occurs, but it is unfortunately the one that most students skip. After all, the days of the meeting have blurred together with the lack of sleep, presentation jitters, new friends, old friends and so on. Between the symposia, presented papers, poster sessions (yes, my setup time is always longer and the boards always seem smaller), the workshops and the socials, you may feel disorientation, confusion and perhaps a heavy stomach if you manage to eat as much lobster as I plan to. After all this, you see scheduled the DCPB Business Meeting. Despite the temptation to skip it and catch up on some much needed sleep (with the excuse, what do I know about business anyway?), important things that affect you are discussed in this meeting. It is a chance to meet David Towle and Tim Bradley, chair and chair-elect of the division along with the other officers. Editors of Physiological Zoology, American Zoologist and Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry will be present and will give statistics of their respective journals, information that allows you to ascertain how much of a chance you have to publish there, and how quickly you will see your paper.

And of course, the most important things to students – money and representation – will be discussed. You can learn more about the student support program that provides free lodging for a few hours of "work," and Grants-in-Aid of Research, up to $1,000. This is also your chance to complain about such things as my two favorite grievances: 1.) The abstract form, why do they print the sample on the back of the real one so that you can't line up your abstract by holding it up to the light? And 2.) alternatively if you use the Web, why can't you preview your electronic abstract, just in case you typed the wrong HTML codes like I probably did? Then there is representation. Last year, only a handful of students attended the business meeting. I'd like to say I was elected, but there just weren't enough students to hold a vote.

After attending these three vital (critical, crucial, depending on the system you study and how little is known about it) events, you will have more information and more contacts. You may end up serving on a committee as I did, or your ideas and suggestions may be implemented. In short, you can make a difference in the society. As the meeting winds down, don't forget the Student/Postdoctoral Luncheon on Sunday, Jan. 4 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. It is a great opportunity to eat free with your new friends and brag about the difference you made in your division.


Changes at Physiological Zoology

Charlotte Mangum and Gregory Snyder, Editors; Todd Gleeson and Steve Hand, Associate Editors

In September, the editorial office of Physiological Zoology began its move to the University of Colorado, Boulder, with Gregory Snyder moving to editor, along with Charlotte Mangum. Todd Gleeson and Steve Hand will become new associate editors. The Williamsburg office will continue to handle manuscripts in progress until the end of calendar 1997. New submissions should be sent to:

Physiological Zoology Editorial Office
Department of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology
University of Colorado
Ramaley RM N122
Boulder, CO 80309-0334 USA
303/735-0297; fax 303/735-1811
E-mail: physzoo@spot.colorado.edu


DCPB Candidates for Election

Candidates for Secretary

Wendy L. Ryan

Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

Education: B.S., Biology with High Honors, Michigan State University, 1984; National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, 1985; M.S., Marine Biology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 1988; Ph.D., Marine Biology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 1991.

Professional Experience: Best Student Paper, DCPB, American Society of Zoologists, 1991; Visiting Assistant Professor and Instructor, University of San Diego, 1990-1992; Assistant Professor, Kutztown University, 1992-1997, promoted to Associate in 1997; National Assembly for Faculty for the 21st Century, 1996; Faculty 21 Summer Leadership Institute (Project Kaleidoscope), 1997; SSHE Summer Academy for the Advancement of College Teaching, 1997.

Other Memberships: American Microscopical Society, Council on Undergraduate Research, Pennsylvania Academy of Science, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi.

Research Interests: Fish embryos and fry, echinoderm embryos and larvae, and in vitro systems all used as models to study bubble formation in the occurrence of decompression sickness.

Nancy Kathleen Sanders

Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, Truman State University.

Education: B.S., Zoology, Summa Cum Laude, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, 1982; Ph.D., Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1989.

Professional Experience: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Summer Fellow, 1982; Research Assistant, Biological Sciences, UCSB, 1983-1989; Postdoctoral Research Biologist, Marine Science Institute, UCSB, 1989; Research Associate Award, Bamfield Marine Station, B. C., 1989-1992; Honourary Visiting Scientist, University New South Wales, Australia, 1990; Postdoctoral Research Associate, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Calgary, 1990-1992; Assistant Professor of Biology, Truman State University, 1992-present.

Other Memberships: Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Midwest College Biology Teachers, Sigma Xi, National Marine Educators Association.

Research Interests: Physiological ecology of marine invertebrates, especially those adapted to "harsh" environments, and biology education.

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