I have inherited
from the Past-Chair, Nora Terwilliger, leadership of a vibrant
division, and at over 800 members, the largest in SICB. What an
awesome assemblage of expertise and interests! The meetings in
January 2004 in New Orleans offered many excellent symposia sponsored
or co-sponsored by DCPB. One of the highlights for me was the
symposium honoring George Bartholomew, a society-wide symposium
presented by the past recipients of the Bartholomew award - all ten
of them! At the last minute, George himself was unable to attend.
My 8.5E+09m dash as
chair is well underway. The starting line is lost in the detritus of
a busy semester, and sometimes when I am churning through the flurry
of insistent immediacy - trivial or otherwise, I lose track of the
goal. And on really bad days, the goal seems to be getting further
away. But one goal is to deliver to my successor a division as
healthy as I found it. I realize that it is the height of hubris to
think that the success of the division lies in my hands. I share the
leadership with an excellent executive committee, (Nora Terwilliger,
past-chair; Michael Dickinson, program officer; Paul Yancey,
secretary; Joanna Joyner Matos, grad rep, UFL), and receive critical
help from DCPB members who are active in affiliated societies. For
instance, Lou Burnett is the SICB Representative on the US National
Committee of the International Union of Physiological Sciences
(IUPS). The IUPS Congress in 2005 will be held in the US for the
first time in over thirty-five years, so the National Organizing
Committee is especially busy. I encourage all of you to contribute to
travel support for young investigators, especially those from outside
the US, so that they can attend the Congress. Visit
http://www.iups2005.org/sponsorship.htm and make a donation. Even if
you don't generally attend IUPS functions, please contribute. I would
like members of the division to at least match the $5K that members
of the SICB executive committee approved (yes, the full $5K requested
was reinstated, instead of the initial allocation of $2K). These
funds will go to support development of symposia with integrative and
comparative content for the Congress. DCPB representatives made a
persuasive case to SICB that the US-held Congress provides a unique
opportunity to highlight the value of integrative and comparative
science - and hence, SICB. A culmination of several years of effort
by DCPB/SICB members in planning and organizing, the 2005 Congress
presents a real opportunity to move the rudder of the great ship of
physiological sciences and shift it ever so slightly from its overly
human-centered course into the productive waters of comparative and
integrative studies. Oh the places we'll go... So please give
generously to the travel fund for the Congress. Who knows? If we can
match the SICB donation, it is much more likely that the SICB exec.
committee can justify an additional infusion of $10K in 2005, as
requested, to support international student travel to the Congress.
Thanks to all of you
who expressed interest in doing editorial work for Comparative
Physiology and Biochemistry - another example of the health of
the division. I will pass along the names of the new "recruits
with this year's nomination of the DCPB executive committee. Editor
Pat Walsh will make the selections for DCPB-affiliated editors from
among our nominations, and use the additional pool for any
non-affiliated positions that might be available.
Thanks to David
Tapley, who organized a well-run competition for best student paper
and poster, and the 45 students who participated (23 posters, 22
papers). The quality of the presentations was so uniformly good, that
it made selection of the very best work quite difficult. The
decisions of the judges can be found in Michael Dickinson's Message
of the Program Officer. Please encourage students to participate in
2005. Information on the competition can be found at
http://sicb.org/awards.php3#bsp
We have two
important elections this Spring: Chair-Elect and Program Officer.
Check out the candidates' statements found elsewhere in the
newsletter, and vote. Thanks to Nora Terwilliger, Warren Burggren,
and Harvey Lillywhite, the nominating committee, for an excellent
recruiting effort.
Think back on your
past experiences at SICB meetings. Can you think of someone who used
to be active, but hasn't shown up for awhile? Pass on the name to me,
or even better yet, send an email to him/her yourself. If you have
colleagues who could contribute to the intellectual - and social (!)
mix of the meetings, contact them, too. Let them know you would value
their participation. Keeping and building a strong membership is yet
another goal for the division. I look forward to see you all in San
Diego next January.
New Orleans:
A special thanks to
all who helped to organize the DCPB-sponsored symposia in the last
meeting, including Carl Reiber, John Swallow, Ted Garland, Ray Huey,
Gretchen Hofmann, and Robert Dudley. Along with the record number of
contributed papers, the symposia helped make the meeting a great
success. Thanks also to Yoshitaka Nagahama for delivering the Howard
Bern Lecture, as well as Howard himself for providing a tribute to
Aubrey Gorbman. Congratulations to Jason Podrabsky, who was awarded
this year's George A. Bartholomew Award [see his biography at the end
of this newsletter].
San
Diego:
The
Division is sponsoring two symposia for next year's meeting, both
focusing on physiological adaptations to extreme ecological
conditions. Peter Albert, Jim Clegg, Brent Mishler, and Mel Oliver
have organized a society-wide symposium entitled, "Desiccation
Tolerance in Animals, Microbes, and Plants: Comparative Mechanisms
and Evolution". Robert Dudley and Doug Altshuler have organized
a symposium (co-sponsored with DVM) entitled, "Adaptations for
Life at High Elevations".
Future
Meetings:
It
is never too soon to start thinking of ideas for symposia for future
meetings. The symposia are a great way to relay new research themes
to all members of the Society. Organizing a symposium does not
require as much effort as you may think. Please email me
(flyman@caltech.edu) or call (626-395-5775) to discuss ideas and get
started.
Upcoming
Events:
Next
year, the 35th Congress of the International Union of
Physiological Sciences (IUPS) will be held in San Diego from March 31
to April 5th (http://www.iups.org/).
Although this meeting is only a few months after the next SICB
meeting in the same town, there are many excellent reasons for
attending. First, the Congress has an integrative theme this year:
From Genomes to Functions, which will be of interest to DCPB
members. Indeed, several members of the IUPS Program Committee are
active SICB physiologists, including Barbara Block, Malcolm Gordon,
and Harold Atwood. Second, the last time this truly international
congress was held in the United States was in 1968. Thus, this
meeting represents a rare and relatively inexpensive opportunity to
meet and interact with our colleagues across the globe. Third, SICB
is an official sponsor of the Congress, as are the American
Physiological Society (APS), the Society of General Physiologists,
and the Society for Neuroscience. The Division encourages all of its
members to attend what is sure to be an excellent meeting.
The 7th
Congress of the International Society for Neuroethology will be held
this summer from August 8-13 in Nyborg, Denmark
(http://neuro.biology.sdu.dk/).
This tri-annual event is an exceptional meeting for those interested
in the mechanistic underpinnings of behavior.
Finally, here are
the results of the best presentation competition at the New Orleans
meeting:
Best Poster
Competition:
First Place:
Lisa K. Johnson, UNC Wilmington, NC, for
Johnson, L.K, Kinsey, S.T. "Effects of muscle
fiber size on post-contractile lactate recovery in the blue crab
Callinectes sapidus." UNC, Wilmington.
Honorable Mention:
Jeremy
Holman, College of Charleston, SC, for
Holman, J.D., Burnett, L.E., Burnett, K.G.
Jorgensen, D.D. "The depression of oxygen uptake in blue crabs
in response to bacterial challenge."
Patrick Baker, Miami University, OH, for
Baker, P.J., Costanzo, J.P., Herlands, R., Wood,
R.C., Lee Jr., R.E. "A tolerance for freezing promotes winter
survival of hatchlings of the northern diamondback terrapin,
Malaclemys terrapin."
Best Oral
Presentation:
First Place:
Allison Green, USC, CA, for
Green,
A.J., Manahan, D.T. "Metabolic efficiency in fast-growing
larvae."
Honorable
Mention:
Katrina Salvante, Simon Fraser U., Canada,
for
Salvante, K.G., Walzem, R.L., Williams, T.D.
"Differential allocation of lipid resources during avian egg
production."
Jason Blank, Hopkins Marine Station, CA,
for
Blank, J.M., Morrissette, J.M.,
Landeira-Fernandez, A.M., Block, B.A. "Cardiac performance of
Pacific bluefin tuna in response to temperature."
MINUTES
FROM THE BUSINESS MEETING, JANUARY 5, 2004, NEW ORLEANS
Nora Terwilliger
(Chair) presented the minutes from the DCPB Business meeting in
Toronto, January 2003. The minutes were approved unanimously.
Nora then introduced
Paul Yancey as the newly elected secretary, and thanked Gene Williams
for standing for election. Paul then presented the revised divisional
bylaws as distributed in the Fall 2003 newsletter. The primary
revision was the addition of a section on "Best Student Paper
Awards," which had been approved some years earlier but which
had not yet been incorporated into the official bylaws. This section
began with the following:
"Two
awards will be given in the Best Student Paper competition at the
Annual Meeting, one for the best oral presentation and one for the
best poster presentation. Each year the award will be titled in honor
of a distinguished comparative physiologist or
biochemist. The name of the honored person will be selected by
the DCPB Executive Committee."
The revision was
amended with the addition of the word "deceased," to read:
"in honor of a deceased distinguished comparative physiologist
or biochemist."
The final version
was approved. The current bylaws can be found at:
http://sicb.org/handbook/bylaws.php3#dcpbbylaws
Michael Dickinson
(Program Officer) then reported on upcoming meetings, including
symposia of interest to DCPB at SICB 2005 in San Diego and at the
IUPS 2005 meeting in San Diego. See his report Message from the
Program Officer in this newsletter for more
information.
Lou Burnett (IUBS
and IUPS Representative) and Malcolm Gordon (Chair of Commission on
Comparative Physiology for IUPS) and Barbara Block (member of the
commission) reported that the IUPS 2005 meeting will be about 10-12%
comparative in content, a high amount for a general physiology
congress. DCPB members were encouraged to support this meeting and
the hard work done to increase the comparative content. This content
will include symposia (about 12), featured topics (about 5),
contributed papers, and satellite symposia (e.g., on Bioinspired
Engineering at Caltech 2 days prior to IUPS). The Krogh Lecture will
be given by Roy Weber. A final program will be made in February or
March with a call for papers. Nora reported that the DCPB Executive
Committee requested $5000 from SICB to help with IUPS planning and
$10,000 for student travel and other aspects of the meeting itself,
but that the SICB Finance Committee approved only $2000 for planning
so far. Nora noted that IUPS ties into the new SICB mission of
fostering an international presence for the society, which includes
promoting participation of foreign students (who often have
difficulties in attending US meetings). Also, SICB should support
this rare occurrence of IUPS being held in the USA.
A motion was made by
Peter DeFur to call again for $5000 from SICB for the planning of
IUPS 2005. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
John Wingfield,
President of SICB, dropped in to report on the ongoing SICB Strategic
Planning. He is requesting ideas on the society-wide issues of
diversity, conservation, outreach to Central and South America. He
reported that there is a possibility of holding an SICB meeting in
Mexico. Finally, he noted that this New Orleans meeting had over 1500
attendees.
David Goldstein
reported on the APS (American Physiological Society) comparative
meeting to be held in 2006, noting that DCPB needs to work closely
with APS because this meeting is a collaborative project. The
deadline for symposia ideas is April 1. He also noted that the
upcoming Experimental Biology 2004 meeting has a good comparative
component.
Jim Hicks (editor of
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, PBZ) reported that the
journal has a new manager, Andrea Canfield. The 2003 level of
submission (190) was similar to 2002, with 60% from outside the USA,
and with a 51% acceptance rate. Turnaround dropped from 82 to 70 days
between 2002 and 2003. Publication schedule is still problematical
with the University of Chicago Press.
Nora reported that
Pat Walsh and Tom Mommsen, editors of CPB (Comparative
Biochemistry and Physiology) could not attend the business
meeting. However, they did submit a written report on the journal, as
follows:
1. Submissions Statistics:
2003 total submissions=771 manuscripts
Acceptances/Rejections for first half of 2003
# MS Total MS %
- desk-rejections 82 424 19.3
- rejections after review 43 424 10.1
Therefore total direct rejection rate is 29.5%
#MS Total MS %
- major problems- not returned by authors 54 424 12.7
- moderate problems - not returned 11 424 2.6
Therefore total indirect rejection rate is 15.3%
Overall rejection rate is 44.8%
Average reviewing time: 3.4 weeks
Reviewers involved in reviewing process: 1341
Overall conclusion is that CBP referees continue to maintain high standards in their reviewing. Increased desk rejection rate by Editors and Editorial Board has decreased use of valuable referee time on questionable papers. Overall rate of manuscript submission remains about the same. We do wish to encourage SICB members with toxicology as part of their research programs to consider publishing in CBP Part C as manuscript flow there is a little lower than Parts A or B, and we can fasttrack manuscripts for more rapid publication. Also, we have a separate subheading for Comparative Genomics, Protemics, Functional Genomics papers. Once papers are accepted in general, our time to publication is 14-18 weeks.
2. We expect some turnover in the Editorial Board this coming year. Since the initital appointment term of an EB member is 3 years, we want to turnover about 1/3 of the board each year so that the whole board does not turnover all at once. This year we will rotate several members off and will be looking especially for expertise in the following areas due to increased manuscript flow in these areas:
Avian Physiology, Toxicology, Nutrition, Development
Fish Nutrition, Aquaculture
Mammalian (grazing) nutrition
Biomechanics, hydrodynamics, functional morphoplogy, locomotory power
Marine Mammal Physiology
Developmental Biology, especially inverts
Immunology
Pathology, Apoptosis
Insect Physiology/Endocrinology
Toxicology:
Cyt P450, antioxidants
Endocrine Disruption and "Normal" Endocrinology
Mammalian Toxicology
Natural Products/Toxins/Venoms
Enzyme/Protein Biochem (Digestive Enzymes, Serum Proteins)
Molecular Biology
Genomics/Bioinformatics
Major duties of EB members are to suggest referees for papers in their areas of expertise, and to advise the Editors on papers where ajudication between conflicting referee reports is required. Manuscript flow is kept to less than 1 per month on average, and in many cases is far lower (e.g., three per year).
We welcome nominations to the EB by SICB DCPB officers and members.
3. Several Scientific Symposia are slated for publication in 2004, and organizers of SICB symposia are encouraged to contact the Editors with ideas for publication of future symposia. However, the number of slots is limited as we do not wish to slow down the publication rate of primary manuscripts.
4. We expect that the switch to fully electronic review will be complete by March 2004.
Nora reported on the
best student papers for 2003. Dave Tapley organized the judging at
this 2004 meeting. Nora then presented a proposal from the SICB
Executive Committee and Program Officer to change contributed talks
from 20 to 15 minutes to allow synchronization with the 30-minute
symposium talks. There was considerable discussion on this issue,
with some members noting that 15 minutes does not give much chance to
develop concepts for audience members outside a narrow field, while
others noted that this change would allow more students to give
talks. There was no general consensus.
Nora finally
welcomed Donna Wolcott as the incoming Chair of DCPB. Donna thanked
the division, and the meeting was adjourned.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
We are holding elections for DCPB Chair and Program Officer. Electronic ballots will be distributed during the summer. Please be sure to vote. Biographies of the candidates are below:
DCPB Elections Candidates for Chair
Joe B. Williams
Current
Position: Associate Professor, Ohio State University
Education: B.A., David Lipscomb University, Nashville, Tennessee, 1970; M.A., Zoology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, 1974: Ph.D., Ecology and Evolution, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. 1977; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, 1980-1982
Professional
Experience: isiting Instructor in Biology at University of Illinois, 1976;
Assistant Professor, Division of Natural Science, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, 1977-1979; Postdoctoral Fellow University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1980-1982; Associate Professor, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, 1982-1986; Visiting Research Fellow University of Western Australia, Perth,Western Australia, 1986; Research Fellow University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 1986-1989; C.S.I.R. Fellow University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1988-1994; Assistant Professor Ohio State University, 1994-1998
SICB
Activities: 6 posters, 6 oral presentations, symposium speaker for SICB symposium "Taking Physiology to the Field". 16 papers published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 1 paper published in Integrative and Comparative Biology.
Other
Memberships: Ecological Society of America, American Ornithologists Union, Cooper Ornithological Society.
Research
Interests: Research in our laboratory is generally concerned with both pattern and process of physiological adaptation of animals, especially vertebrates. Because studies on animals living in harsh environments often provide insights into the constraints and mechanisms driving physiological adjustment, we concentrate much of our work in regions of climatic extremes, especially deserts. Much of our work has revolved around attempts to understand the factors that influence daily energy and water requirements because these together are fundamental requisites for life and likely candidates for the action of natural selection. Recently we have begun an examination of the influence of lipids in the skin of birds on cutaneous water loss. Tropics vs temperate
Statement
of Goals: The SICB has as one of its goals to facilitate "Integrative Biology" among its members. I think that we need to highlight this goal, and to insure that members of the DCPB have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other members in far different fields of endeavor from their own.
Patrick J. Walsh
Current
Position: Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami.
Education: Ph.D., Marine Biology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 1981; B.S., Biology and Chemistry, University of Miami, 1975.
Professional
Experience: Director, NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center, University of Miami, 1999-present; Co-Editor-In-Chief, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 2001-present; Division Chair, Marine Biology and Fisheries, University of Miami, 1991-1995; Assistant and Associate Professor, University of Miami, 1984-1992; Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 1983-84; Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 1981-1983.
SICB
Activities: Member since 1983; Student presentation judge for DCPB; Numerous contributed presentations.
Other
Memberships: AAAS (Fellow, 1995); Sigma Xi; Society for Experimental Biology; American Physiological Society; Canadian Society of Zoologists; Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; Editorial Board, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 1997-present; Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), Committee on Oceans and Human Health, 2003-present.
Research
Interests: Comparative and evolutionary aspects of the physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of aquatic animals, especially marine fish, mollusks, crustaceans and cnidarians, and especially nitrogen metabolism and excretion; physiology and biochemistry of xenobiotic metabolism; biochemical and molecular genetics of populations.
Statement
of Goals: While I have been a rank and file member of ASZ/SICB for a number of years, I would like to try to contribute more to the society. As DCPB Chair, I want to try to accomplish several things: (1) ascertain the priorities of the division members as to what issues DCPB should pursue; (2) work with other DCPB officers to continue the high quality of scientific symposia at the annual SICB meeting and at international meetings; (3) foster communication between DCPB and other international comparative societies; (4) foster communications between DCPB and funding agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH, etc.) to try to enhance funding opportunities for comparative research; (5) encourage senior DCPB members to continue to mentor our student, postdoctoral and junior-faculty division members; (6) learn new things and have fun.
Candidates for Program Officer
Kimberly A. Hammond
Current
Position: Associate Professor of Biology, University of California, Riverside
Education: Ph.D., Dept. of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1989; M.A., Dept. of Biology, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, 1983; B.S., Dept. of Zoology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1978
Professional
Experience: Post Doctoral: Department of Physiology; UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles CA. 1990-1994
SICB
Activities: Member Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Affairs Committee, 1989-1992; Member-at-Large (Society Wide) and Executive Committee, 2000-2003.
Other
Memberships: Ecological Society of America; Sigma Xi; Current President of the Riverside Chapter: Comparative Nutrition Society: American Physiological Society
Research
Interests: I am interested in how anatomical and physiological capacities meet environmental demands. Animals often meet demands by changing organ size and organ capacity. This approach demands an appreciation of both mechanistic physiology and ecology. I study animals at all stages of development, concentrating on the effects of environmental demands in utero and during adulthood. At present I work primarily on physiological acclimation and adaptation to high altitude.
Statement
of Goals: I have two sets of goals. One involves the distribution between symposia, posters and talks at the annual meetings, and the other involves maintaining an integrative thread that will allow sessions on different, but closely related topics, to be accessible.
Talks allow for presentations with the dynamics of a group discussion. Posters allow for one-on-one discussion and a longer "look" at the data. Both are very important venues and neither type of presentation should be de-emphasized. I would work hard to promote a distribution of presentations that brings us all together in BOTH venues.
At any scientific meeting, it is critical to maintain a cohesive set of presentations that will compliment symposia talks. However, I would also like to allow for presenters to bring new ideas and connections between fields to the table. An example would be to blend traditional "developmental biology" talks (traditionally very cell and molecular) with integrative physiology research that is developmental in nature. I will work hard to find creative ways to do this.
Gretchen E. Hofmann
Current
Position: Assistant Professor and Worster Scholar, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Education: BS, University of Wyoming, 1987; MS University of Colorado, Boulder, 1988; PhD University of Colorado, Boulder, 1992
Professional
Experience: Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2002-present; Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Arizona State University, 1999-2002; Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Univ. of New Mexico, 1997-1999; NSF Marine Biotechnology Postdoctoral Fellow, Oregon State University and Stanford University, 1994-1996; Postdoctoral Research Fellow Oregon State University, 1992-1994
SICB
Activities: Member since 1992. Routine attendance at annual meetings, missing some due to travel to the Antarctic. Co-organized two SICB symposia: the biology of heat-shock proteins (with Martin Feder) at the Denver meeting in 1999 and the Bartholomew Symposium in New Orleans in 2004. Participated in 1 other SICB symposium in the ecological physiology of the rocky intertidal zone. Graduate students and post-docs from the lab attend meetings and present their research.
Other
Memberships: AAAS, Western Society of Naturalists
Research
Interests: My research focuses on the physiology and comparative biochemistry of marine invertebrates and fish in an ecological context. I am particularly interested in temperature biology and have studied the expression and function of heat-shock proteins in natural populations of marine ectotherms. Although the techniques employed in my lab are biochemical and molecular, my research integrates these approaches with broader ecological question such as addressing the factors that contribute to setting species' range limits in the marine ecosystem.
Statement
of Goals: My interest in serving as DCPB Program Officer lies in my past and present experiences with SICB, and my interest in the future of our field. As a student attendee to SICB meetings, I met scientists such as Jeff Hazel - who scared me a bit at that time - but who later became my mentor as a colleague. I first met my postdoctoral supervisor, George Somero, at a SICB meeting. These contacts and the opportunity to talk with the finest in our field were, in hindsight, invaluable to my future path in academics. In the present, as I bring my own students to the annual meetings, I am more committed than ever to preserve and enhance such opportunities for the future crop of comparative physiologists. (You know who you are.) Finally, as an ever greater diversity of biologists becomes interested in organismal biology and recognizes the power of comparative approaches, we have an opportunity to expand our field and interact with researchers in other divisions and with those from areas that have not been traditionally represented within SICB. One of my goals as DCPB Program Officer would be to focus on new areas of overlap with other fields and to emphasize how our area of study is strengthened by such interactions.