Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award
This award honors an APS member who has made outstanding contributions to physiological research and demonstrated dedication and commitment to excellence in training of young physiologists. Eight excellent nominations were received for the 2011 award. Members of the Women in Physiology Committee reviewed the nominations and selected Douglas Eaton, Emory University, as the awardee. At the 2011 Experimental Biology (EB) meeting, Dr. Eaton gave a presentation on mentoring, entitled, “Mentoring, or the Fine Print in My Diploma”. An article based on the lecture will be published in The Physiologist later this year, and the presentation will be posted on the APS web site.
Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt and Steven M. Horvath Professional Opportunity Awards
These awards provide monetary prizes and complimentary registration for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows of either gender who give presentations at the EB meeting. The Women in Physiology Committee received 138 applications for the 2011 Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt and Steven Horvath Professional Opportunity Awards. The Committee funded 35 tum Suden Awards and two Horvath Awards.
Career Mentoring Website
The APS Career Mentoring Website provides resources for both female and male trainees who are looking for information and assistance in developing and maintaining a good mentoring relationship with more senior and junior scientists. The website includes links to mentoring articles and resources, access to EB workshop materials, discussion forums, and guidelines for successful mentoring. Over the past year, the Committee commissioned several articles for The Physiologist with related bulletin board discussion topics on the mentoring website, including the following topics: transitioning from being a graduate student/postdoc to a new faculty member; research and teaching at a small liberal arts college; handling research, teaching, service and life; being part of a dual-career science couple; transitioning from academia to industry; and a research advisor’s checklist. Additional articles are planned for the coming months, focusing on the following topics: philosophy of mentoring; MentorNet information; overcoming the “glass ceiling,” and conflict resolution.
MentorNet Mentoring Program
MentorNet is an award-winning (2001 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring) nonprofit e-mentoring network that addresses the retention and success of individuals in engineering, science, and mathematics. It especially, but not exclusively, focuses on women and other underrepresented groups. The Committee will continue to recruit students and mentors in the coming year and hopes for additional program growth as students become aware of the program.
Experimental Biology Mentoring Workshop
The EB 2011 mentoring workshop was entitled, “Work-Life Balance; Every Choice Matters”. The workshop was well attended, and the speakers were excellent as noted by high ratings from the audience members. The EB 2012 mentoring workshop will be entitled, “Conflict Resolution,” and will focus on several strategies to successfully handle conflicts in the laboratory environment.
Representation of Women in APS and Scientific Community Leadership
One of the charges of the Women in Physiology Committee is to support advancement of women in science in APS and in the scientific community at large. In reviewing the membership of the APS Section Advisory Committees (SACs) and other Society committees, the Committee found that the representation of women on the general Society committees was very good. The Committee is pleased that the APS Council has 4 women members out of 9, and the President-Elect is Sue Barman. SAC has five women representatives (42%) and the new chair will be Ann Schreihofer. There is a similar number of women on SAC Steering Committees as in the previous year (35%).
FASEB Excellence in Science Award
The Excellence in Science Award was established by FASEB in 1989 to recognize outstanding achievement by women in biological sciences. All women who are members of one or more of the FASEB societies are eligible for nomination. The 2012 awardee is Dr. Susan Wessler, from the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at Univ. of Georgia. The Committee has been discussing strategies to increase the number of APS women who are National Academy of Science members, as that is a critical element for successful candidates for this prestigious award. Currently the National Academy of Sciences has 255 female members; of these, only 6 are members of APS.
Women and APS Awards
Historically, there have been few women selected for the major APS awards. There have been six female Bowditch awardees and four female Cannon awardees. The Committee has been discussing possible outstanding female candidates that should be nominated for these awards and lectureships.