The Committee will leverage the key priorities that emerged from the strategic planning meeting held in January by the Society leadership to develop and recommend new strategies on issues related to membership recruitment, retention, and engagement. The APS Membership Committee met at the Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. At that meeting, the Committee discussed several issues including the idea that the charge of the Committee should be revised and updated to better reflect the direction and function of the Committee as it serves the APS. Not only should the Committee provide recommendations for member recruitment and retention, but also recommendations on how to engage members throughout the APS.
The Committee also needs to evaluate and propose ways to specifically target individuals involved with translational research―not only in attracting translational researchers as members, but also including translational research in APS meetings and journals. The Committee will work to develop a series of strategies for bringing translational researchers into the APS. Potential avenues to pursue include engaging clinicians into meeting programs via symposia, a designated listserv, as well as inclusion with the governance of the individual sections.
Finally, the Committee will continue to work to identify additional tangible benefits specially for APS members.