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DCPB: 1998 Fall Newsleter


This Newsletter by Section


Message from the Chair

Timothy J. Bradley

I am very much looking forward to the 1999 SICB Annual Meeting, Jan. 6-10 in Denver, Colo. We look forward to a large number of talks and posters being presented by members of the Division of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, in addition to two symposia sponsored by the division at the meeting this year.

A number of international meetings are coming up which will be of great interest to members of our division. The International Union of Biological Sciences Fifth International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry will take place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 23-28, 1999. These meetings have been very exciting in the past and tend be outstanding meetings for researchers with a strong comparative interest. In addition, plans are nearly complete for the division's participation in "Experimental Biology 2000 - Milestones and Goals," an international meeting to be held at Queens College/Downing College in Cambridge England, July 30-Aug. 3, 2000. In addition to our upcoming SICB Annual Meetings in Atlanta in 2000 (Jan. 4-8) and Chicago in 2001 (Jan. 3-7), these meetings will provide wonderful opportunities for presenting new work and hearing about exciting developments in our field. The two journals sponsored by our division, Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, edited by Peter Hochachka and Thomas Mommsen, and Physiological Zoology, edited by Greg Snyder, have had outstanding years. The editorial office of PZ moved to the University of Colorado this year under Greg's guidance, a move that by all appearances went very smoothly.

Please note in Nancy Sanders' message as secretary of the division that we have an outstanding slate of candidates for chair and program officer. Steven Hand and Robert Roer have agreed to stand for the chair position and Richard Marsh and Michele Wheatly for the position of program officer. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to David Towle, Don Mykles and Bruce Sidell for their outstanding work in reviewing and recruiting this excellent slate of candidates. Please do vote!

The Denver meeting will soon be upon us. This year's meeting will be an exciting one for the Society and for our division. I look forward to seeing you there!


Message from the Program Officer

Neal Smatresk

Well, it's been a long hot summer and we have been getting ready for several meetings. First, things are looking great for the 1999 SICB Annual Meeting, Jan. 6-10, 1999. The meeting will feature 10 symposia and a number of workshops and special programs. Two symposia should be of particular interest to DCPB members: "Organismal, Ecological and Evolutionary Significance of Heat Shock Proteins and the Heat Shock Response," organized by Gretchen Hofmann, University of New Mexico and Martin Feder, University of Chicago, and "Phenotypic and Genotypic Strategies to Chronic Hypoxia," organized by James W. Hicks, University of California and Frank L. Powell, University of California. Additional symposia on endocrine disruptors, starfish, animal consciousness, the origins of feathers, and the evolution of the vertebrate axis round out the offerings.

The August 1999 IUBS Calgary meeting symposium schedule has been finalized and I will have more to report on that in our spring meeting. From what I have seen this should be a great meeting, and I hope you will all make plans to visit the great white north next summer. We are also trying to finish off planning for the Cambridge 2000 meetings. At this time I believe symposium proposals are still being accepted by Chris Bridges, the meeting organizer.

Moving on to our next SICB winter meeting (Atlanta, Jan. 4-10, 2000), we have three DCPB proposals submitted. They are: "Intermittent Locomotion: Integrating the Physiology, Biomechanics and Behavior of Repeated Activity," organized by Randi Weinstein, University of Arizona and Bob Full, UC Berkeley; "Osmoregulation: An Integrated Approach," organized by David Towle, Lake Forest College, and Joan Ferraris, NIH; and "Life on the Edge: Survival in Hostile Environments," organized by David Julian from San Francisco State. I think this will offer a great line-up for the Atlanta meeting. I am looking forward to working out the scheduling details and coordinating workshops at the winter program officers' meeting. I encourage you all to visit the SICB web site for further information on meetings and programs at http://www.sicb.org/index.html.

We are always looking for great symposia ideas and still have several upcoming meetings to prepare for, so if you have a great idea please get in touch with me (smatresk@uta.edu) and I will try to help it along. See you all in Denver!


Message from the Secretary

Nancy Sanders

Our 1999 Annual Meeting in Denver (Jan. 6-10) is coming up sooner that you know! It promises to be another exciting and informative meeting. Be sure to review the poster and paper submissions in the new interdisciplinary categories, as well as those in your primary areas of interest.

We need to elect two new officers for our division - chair-elect and program officer. The curriculum vitae of our candidates, two for each position, will follow. Please take time to review these very highly qualified candidates, and then VOTE! I look forward to seeing you in Denver.


Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Report

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

Research. Research, is defined by Webster as "diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover facts or principles." Research is the principle component in earning a graduate degree in science. It requires long hours, focused determination, and lots of sacrifice. But, it also allows freedom to make choices, though this freedom may be overlooked most of the time. Portrayed on a flow diagram, a degree program looks something like this: you start with the research question, then the methods, then the interpretation of results, and finally submission to an appropriate journal. Along the way you make choices. How do you spend your time? With whom do you work? Have you found all the appropriate literature or is there a similar study published in Russian, German, Polish or any other language? Is someone else working on the same question and further along than you? Hard work and good advising will overcome the latter three problems, but the first problem is the most difficult. It is the focus of this article.

Everyone has the same amount of time. Besides doing research, how you spend your time in graduate school gives you advantages in the pursuit of a career. I've been thinking about a career a lot recently and I thought that this would be a good opportunity to share my views. I feel that I am qualified to speculate on the attributes of a good graduate program since I spent three years earning my master's degree and I am now in my third year as a doctoral student. Yes, it is true that many students have more years of school than I do - maybe some of them could e-mail me with their views?!

O.K. Beyond research, how to spend your time in school?

Scholarship. Grades still matter, though not as much as they did when you were a high school student or before you entered your graduate program. Grades matter because they allow you to apply for scholarships and fellowships. Also, transcripts are still requested by virtually all schools to which you might apply for a job. Grades are less important because they require time and energy that might otherwise be used doing research, reading the literature, or writing a dissertation. Associated with grades are classes. The formal training you receive influences your ability to do research, interpret results, and someday convey information to peers, and to students in your class. Good mentoring allows a choice of classes within your program tailored to your interests and to your needs.

Teaching. The majority of students doing basic research in their doctoral and postdoctoral careers want to teach at a college or university. Teaching experience is critical for two reasons. First, you might think that you want to teach until you do it. I have known fellow students that have run screaming from a particularly bad section of 101, including one who decided that importing carpets was a far better way to make a living than becoming a professor. Second, teaching experience establishes your ability to convey information in a way that can be understood and interpreted. With the Internet and the textbooks available today, a lecturer's importance has changed from an instructor to more of an interpreter and performer. And practice and patience with the changing technology are the only ways to become and to remain a good teacher.

Service. The least emphasized, most important part of the graduate experience. As a student, you are an important citizen in a small, but influential, community. You represent the science field in which you seek expertise, the university, and the department. As a representative to science, it is your job to help people who have less experience or knowledge to understand the questions they ask. After all, they view you as an expert, and they are interested enough to ask. As a representative to the university, you help build awareness of your program and its ties to the university. As a representative to your department, it is your job to be a valuable member. Take time to know your colleagues, both in your immediate research group and in the department as a whole. Make time to help newcomers. Lending a hand when they move in, giving advice on departmental procedures and helping with scholarship and teaching are all examples of acts requiring little time, but making large differences. Service can use valuable time, but it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences during your graduate career and you should take time to do it.

One of the best ways to perform service is to be a representative of your division. Being a representative involves investing a little time, attending the SICB meetings for two years in a row, and have ideas that you are willing to speak up about. Please, if you are interested and willing to serve, contact me either by e-mail or in Denver. I look forward to meeting you this year!


DCPB Candidates for Election


Candidates for Chair-Elect

Steven C. Hand

Current Position: Professor, Department of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Education: B.S., M.S., Louisiana State University; Ph.D., Oregon State University.
Professional Experience: Postdoctoral Fellow, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 1980-82; Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1982-86; Assistant Professor, 1986-89, Associate Professor, 1989-94, Professor, 1994-present, EPO Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder.
SICB Activities: U.S. and Foreign Travel Awards Committee, appointed by the American Society of Zoologists for the 2nd International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Baton Rouge, 1988.
Other Memberships: AAAS (Fellow); American Physiological Society; Biophysical Society; Sigma Xi; AAAS Council Delegate, Section of Biological Sciences, 1995-98; NSF Advisory Panels: Instrumentation and Instrument Development Program, 1988-91, Integrative Animal Biology, 1994-present; NSF-sponsored workshop on Interdisciplinary Research, 1996; NSF-sponsored study group on Global Change, 1990-91; Editorial Boards: Physiological Zoology, 1996-97, Journal of Comparative Physiology, 1992-present, Journal of Experimental Zoology, Associate Editor, 1990-94, Physiological Zoology, Associate Editor, 1997-present.
Research Interests: Molecular, cellular and integrative physiology of invertebrates; mechanisms of quiescence, diapause and metabolic depression; bioenergetic and biochemical responses to oxygen limitation; oxygen sensing; symbioses between invertebrates and bacteria; evolution of organic osmolyte systems.
Goals Statement: 1) Expand the prominent role of DCPB in articulating the central importance of integrative approaches to current biological questions. For example, the substantial impacts of integrative physiology on research initiatives to explain the functional correlates of genomic research, answer new mechanistic questions, and solve environmental and species conservation concerns need to be broadly promoted. 2) Facilitate the most scientifically stimulating and interdisciplinary meetings possible for DCPB members, in part through a directed policy of bridging gaps between DCPB and other physiological, evolutionary, biophysical and molecular societies. Strive to make the learning experience for both young scientists and established scientists at the Annual Meeting so valuable that SICB becomes an indispensable venue every year for physiologists. 3) Encourage cross-discipline publication/dissemination of scientific findings to increase the visibility, funding opportunities, and general scientific appreciation for the discoveries and research directions underway in integrative and comparative physiology.

Robert D. Roer

Current Position: Professor and Research Physiologist, Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Marine Science Research, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1990-present. Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies, 1994-present.
Education: Sc.B., Aquatic Biology, Brown University, 1974; Ph.D., Zoology, Duke University 1979.
Professional Experience: Visiting Scientist, Zoology Department, University of Reading, England, 1975; Assistant Professor and Associate Research Physiologist, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1979-85; Associate Professor, 1985-90; Assistant Director of the Institute for Marine Biomedical Research, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1981-86.
Other Memberships: Sigma Xi, American Physiological Society, The Crustacean Society (Charter Member).
Research Interests: Mechanisms of membrane transport in relation to osmoregulation and in relation to biomineralization, control of mineralization in crustacean cuticle, and bone physiology.
Goals Statement: The leadership of our division has the responsibility to promote the comparative approach to the study of physiological systems in a time when this paradigm is out of vogue. It is important to make the scientific community aware that while all disciplines have embraced and incorporated modern molecular approaches, the information so gained must be put in the context of the whole organism. It is the role of physiology and biochemistry to do that. Employing a comparative approach to physiology and biochemistry, we strive to highlight the basic principles common to all organisms. I would work to increase the visibility of comparative physiology and biochemistry as a vital and thriving discipline. Links with other societies, such as the Comparative Physiology Section of the American Physiological Society, in sponsoring joint symposia and conferences and workshops with granting agencies, will help to publicize the merit of comparative studies.

Candidates for Program Officer

Richard L. Marsh

Current Position: Professor, Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass.
Education: A.B., Biology, Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio (cum laude and Departmental Honors), 1968; Ph.D., Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1979.
Professional Experience: Teaching Associate, Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, 1968-70; Biology Teacher, The Hawken School, Gates Mills, Ohio, 1970-72; Teaching Assistant, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1973-75; Research Assistant, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1976-79; Lecturer, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1978; Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1979-80; Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Irvine, 1980-82; Lecturer, University of California, Irvine, 1980-82; Assistant Professor, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass., 1982-88; Associate Professor, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass., 1988-95; Professor, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass, 1995-present; Member of the Editorial Board, Physiological Zoology, 1996-present.
SICB Activities: Member since 1978; Co-organizer of symposium, "Muscle Properties and Organismal Function," 1996, Albuquerque; Member local committee, 1998, Boston.
Other Memberships: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of University Professors, American Physiological Society, Society for Experimental Biology, Sigma Xi.
Research Interests: Biology of muscle, especially the mechanical function of muscle in vivo, thermoregulation in birds.
Goals Statement: As program officer I would strive for high-quality symposium topics that, as much as possible, build bridges with the different divisions of the Society. We may particularly want to pursue cooperation with the neurobiology division, as a way of facilitating the growth of this important young division.

Michele G. Wheatly

Current Position: Professor and Chair of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
Education: B.S. (Hons, Class 1), Biology, University of Birmingham, UK, 1977; Ph.D., Comparative Physiology, University of Birmingham, UK, 1980.
Professional Experience: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary, Canada, 1980-83 (independently funded Heritage award); Assistant, Associate, Full Professor of Zoology, University of Florida, 1984-94; Associate Member, Whitney Marine Lab, 1993-present; Visiting Scientist at MBA, Plymouth, England (1979), McMaster University (1981), VIMS (1982), Bamfield Marine Station (1982), STRI (1983), MDIBL (1984), CNRS, France (1986), USP, Brazil (1998-2001).
SICB Activities: Member since 1980; Best student paper, 1990, 91; U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Physiological Sciences representing ASZ, 1990-93, delegate to the IUPS Assembly, 1993.
Other Memberships: Society for Experimental Biology, since 1977; American Physiological Society, since 1980; Canadian Society of Zoologists, since 1980; The Crustacean Society, since 1982; Sigma Xi, since 1984; Council on Undergraduate Research, since 1994; ACUBE, since 1998; Editorial board of Physiological Zoology (1993-present) and Experimental Biology Online (1996-present); NSF Review Panel, Postdoctoral Fellowships for Biosciences Related to the Environment, 1997-98; APS Travel Grants Award committee (1992), Scholander Award judge (1993, 1997).
Research Interests: Environmental physiology of crustaceans, specifically molecular biology/physiology of Ca transporters and the steroidal regulation of their gene expression (NSF funded since 1984); evolution of Ca motive enzymes (NSF funded through international programs with Brazil since 1998); scientific education of students with disabilities (NSF funded since 1997, Division of Undergraduate Education).
Goals Statement: Increase communication between SICB and other societies to enhance intersociety international meetings. Increase emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches to integrative biology at Annual Meetings through interdivisional symposia. Advocate for funding for symposia from federal agencies and private sector. Enhance program offerings in area of education.


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