An interview with Alex Joyner and Liz Robertson: Development editors at the helm of developmental biology societies

Liz Robertson 0 0 Development editors Liz Robertson (Professor of Developmental Biology at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford) and Alexandra Joyner (Courtney Steel Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research and Professor in the Department of Developmental Biology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York) are not only actively involved in research and editorial work but, as of this summer, they will both be in charge of national developmental biology societies. Liz is Chair of the British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB), and in August 2010, Alex will become President of the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) in North America. We caught up with both of them at the annual BSDB Spring meeting that took place at the University of Warwick in April 2010 1 Online Editor, Development T N E M P O L E V E D - Liz, youre currently Chair of the British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB). How long have you held this position? Liz: Only for the last six months. I took over the reins when Matt Freeman stepped down last autumn. Matt had a very big job during his tenure as the BSDB Chair because the Society was fortunate to host the 2009 ISDB [International Society for Developmental Biology] conference in Edinburgh. This is the major event in the developmental biologists calendar as its only held every 4 years. The ISDB attracts around 1300 delegates and its a very challenging and time-consuming task to organize a meeting of this size. For how long does the Chair or President occupy their position in these different developmental biology societies? Liz: All of the officers of the BSDB, which includes the Chair, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Meetings Officer, hold office for five years. Alex: At the SDB, the Presidents position is just one year, as the main responsibility of the President is to organize the annual meeting. However, the President makes a three-year commitment because they are President-Elect for one year before being President and Past President the year after being President. There are also representatives for seven regions in the United States, a Canada representative and one junior faculty representative. These are all three-year positions, with the possibility for re-election once. What is the role of the British and the North American societies for developmental biology in their respective geographic regions? Liz: The primary goal of the BSDB is to bring together developmental biologists in the UK and Europe through networking activities. We have two yearly meetings: the spring meeting, which were at at the moment, is the largest meeting and is usually jointly held with the British Society for Cell Biology. We also have an autumn workshop, which is at a smaller venue and on a more focused topic. We also join with other developmental biology societies to organize meetings. For example, in 2011 were holding a meeting with the French Society for Developmental Biology in Nice. Alex: The SDB holds an annual meeting each summer attended by developmental biologists from North America, as well as the rest of the world, and all the local regions also have a smaller meeting in the spring or the fall. The regional meetings are focused on giving an opportunity for junior faculty and students and post-docs to give talks, whereas at the larger annual meeting, the main talks are often given by moreestablished scientists. In addition, the SDB spearheads a number of educational initiatives throughout the year and during the SDB meeting. For example, we have a bi-yearly course, called boot camp, for new investigators to help them get their lab up and running and make them aware of the promotion process. In the alternate year, we have a reboot camp for senior faculty to reinvigorate their research and teaching approaches. There are also workshops for postdoctoral fellows and students. Liz: We also aim to have an educational component within the BSDB. It takes a couple of forms: first, at this meeting there are two workshops scheduled during the lunch breaks that aim to provide help and careers advice for our junior colleagues. Second, owing to a very generous block grant from The Company of Biologists [the publishers of Development] were also able to award a lot of travel grants to students who are BSDB members, which facilitates their ability to attend this meeting as well as international meetings. Our goal is to underwrite their costs so that they can get out there, network and meet people from other countries and working in other disciplines. Alex: Similarly, the SDB receives money from the journal Developmental Biology, which is used for a variety of initiatives, including student travel and support for meetings that have a developmental biology component to them. In such cases, we encourage the organizers to use the funds for travel for young people and to have an even gender balance. Were trying to figure out ways to attract stem cell biologists. We feel this i (...truncated)