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Although most attendees at the
Experimental Biology meeting (also called “EB” or “FASEB,” the latter term
preferred by those with [fond] memories of meetings from the last
millennium) are blissfully unaware, the official oversight of this meeting
is performed by representatives of each of the scientific societies that
participate. These individuals, who include both the Executive Secretaries
and volunteer representatives of each of the major participating scientific
societies, constitute the Experimental Biology Board. This Board approves
and oversees organizational, financial and certain programmatic aspects of
the Experimental Biology meeting. Each of the major societies participating
in the EB Board often invites the participation of smaller societies with
complementary interests, thereby increasing the breadth and depth of
information presented at the meeting, as well as increasing the number of
participants. Much of the EB Board’s official responsibilities involve
discussions and decisions regarding location of the annual meeting and
financial issues since this entity is empowered to approve both prospective
and retrospective budgets for the meeting. Thus the EB board devotes much of
its efforts to topics that include fee structures for abstract submissions,
registration, exhibitors, etc., and the distribution of income (assuming
such exists) among the participating societies.
This background provides a framework in which to appreciate the “shock to
the system” that occurred when representatives of the IUPS 2005 Congress
approached the EB Board in 2001, requesting a face-to-face meeting to
propose that the EB Meeting in 2005 partially overlap chronologically and
interact in a major way scientifically (in particular, by co-sponsoring
joint scientific sessions) with the Congress. The original request to the EB
Board stated that “the proposed plan will increase the attendance in San
Diego in 2005, but the number will not be so large as to change the
character of the EB meeting.” Representatives of the IUPS Congress, in
particular Shu Chien, Chair of the National Organizing Committee of the IUPS
Congress 2005, met with EB Board and presented a cogent rationale and series
of ways in which attendees to both meetings would profit from this novel
arrangement, which could be described as akin to two partially overlapping
Boolean circles (an image particularly attractive to the more mathematically
minded members of the EB Board). The initial meeting was very cordial but as
diplomats sometimes say, it was also “frank” because certain issues were
raised that required revision of initial plans by the IUPS Congress
representatives. In spite of these minor kinks, the EB Board was highly
enthusiastic about the proposed arrangement but there being no precedent, in
true scientific spirit, it was labeled “an experiment.” The EB Board thus
worked with the IUPS Congress officials to create a schedule that
accommodated the needs of all participants, in part by tweaking the Boolean
(chronologic) relationships.
Did the experiment work? From my personal point of view and that of those
with whom I have spoken, including scientists who have interests that focus
on either EB or IUPS, the answer is unquestionably “yes.” Most importantly,
the scientific content was of high quality, providing meeting participants
with an expanded profile of presentations as well as increased opportunities
for interactions with colleagues from outside the United States. The
American scientific societies have prided themselves, especially in recent
years, in having increased participation of non-US scientists in the EB
meeting but the incorporation of the IUPS Congress dramatically increased
the international “feeling” of the EB meeting. In effect, and highly
appropriate for the location in San Diego, the rising tide of science lifted
all boats. Although only an n=1, the experiment seems to have been a
success. I hope that this success encourages other international scientific
congresses to consider joint meetings with Experimental Biology—perhaps even
IUPS at some future time!.
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| D. Neil Granger, Allen W.
Cowley, Jr., Peter Agre, Virginia Huxley, and Shu Chien at the Opening
Ceremony. |
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