2000 Business Meeting Minutes

ASHG Business Meeting
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
October 5, 2000

MINUTES

President Worton began the meeting with a moment of silence for deceased members: Robert Edwards, Ronald Hahn, P.M. Kahn, Kate Liang, N.C. Myrianthopoulos, James Neel, John Rainer, Ram Verma and Juliet Yuen.

He then welcomed new Board members, Virginia Corson, Eric Lander, Lynn Jorde and Michael Conneally, and thanked those Board members who have served their terms and whose tenures will end on December 31, 2000: Diane Cox, Richard Myers, Dagmar Kalousek and Arthur Beaudet.

Worton informed the membership that there were many priority issues addressed this year by the Board, some of which were mentioned in his presidential address. The issue he chose to discuss before the membership involved allegations against James Neel in a book to be published in November entitled Darkness in El Dorado by Patrick Tierney. Worton noted that a statement regarding the situation was prepared by the ASHG Social Issues Committee and the Board and read it to the membership (Attachment #1). He stated that it will probably be revised as new events occur and as the press focuses on the allegations. He is not inviting changes to the statement at this time but noted that anyone who feels it needs improvement may convey their opinion to Board members. Worton reiterated that the ASHG statement portrayed Neel in a positive light, indicated that the situation will be monitored, and noted that additional statements will be forthcoming.
 

SECRETARY'S REPORT - Ann Walker
 

The minutes of the San Francisco Membership Meeting were approved with corrections.

As of September 21, 2000, Walker reported that there were 6,158 paid members in the Society, an increase of .7 percent over last year's total paid members, which she viewed as somewhat discouraging. She stated, however, that there has been a 10 percent increase in student membership, probably because dues have been restructured to create the advantage of membership when students register for the annual meeting. There are 717 unpaid members who will be dropped from the Society's rolls.

This year there are 3,653 annual meeting preregistrants, 41 percent of whom are nonmembers. The current total registration is 4,700, which may increase to 5,000 by Saturday, October 7.

Walker also reported that the Nominating Committee, comprised of Rod McInnes (chair), Bonnie Baty, Arthur Brothman, Lindsay Ferrar and Markus Grompe, had several suggestions for change. At the Board meeting it was decided that on an ad hoc basis the size of the committee will increase by two and that one of the two additional members will be a former member of the Board of Directors. If this change proves successful and is to be continued, it would entail a bylaws change. This year 4,843 election ballots were mailed and 1,451 were returned for a 30 percent return rate, down 3 percent from last year.
 

TREASURER'S REPORT – Jan Friedman
 

Investments

Investments are held by Merrill Lynch in a long-term account and a shorter-term account. As of July 31, 2000, the long-term account was worth $2,300,548. The value of this account has decreased 1.6 percent from the same time last year. As of August 31, the short-term account was worth $319,936, decreased 2.8 percent from the same time last year. In comparison, the Dow Jones decreased 1.2 percent during the same period.

Performance to Budget

With respect to the performance to budget, expenses that are now projected for the end of the year are approximately $55,000 less than budgeted. Revenue is down approximately $10,000 from the amount budgeted. Consequently, net revenue will be approximately $45,000 over the amount budgeted. Friedman stated that the Society is doing well with respect to the projections for the 2000 budget. This year the ratio of the fund balance to expenses is 56 percent, unchanged from last year. The ASHG accountant considers this to be an acceptable ratio.

2001 Approved Budget

Friedman highlighted several important changes. The $170,000 ongoing expense for the executive vice president includes salary, benefits and other expenses related to the office. Another change is the $50,000 one-time investment to set up new Web pages for the Society. There is a stipend for a Web editor, who will have a position somewhat parallel to that of the Journal editor. There will also be a salaried position for a Web manager to provide technical support. These combined ongoing costs total $105,000. In addition, $25,000 has been allocated as an ongoing cost for operation of the Web site.

These new expenses have prompted the Board to approve the following changes, which reflect a conservative approach that may require adjustment in the future: 1) dues will increase by $10 per person beginning with the 2002 dues notice; 2) Journal page charges, currently $25 per page, will increase to $35 per page beginning in 2001; 3) member registration for the annual meeting will increase by $45 (from $180 to $225) and nonmember registration will increase by $100 (from $250 to $350), with the hope that the increase in nonmember registration will result in an increase in membership; 4) cost for exhibitor space at the annual meeting will increase by 20 percent. These changes are predicted to result in a net revenue next year of $185,000.
 

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS - Stephen Warren
 

Warren thanked the retiring Editorial Board members: Andrew Feinberg, Nelson Freimer, Max Muenke, and Virginia Sybert, and welcomed four new members: Leonid Kruglyak, Carole Ober, Harry Orr and Joseph Terwilliger.

Warren reported that the circulation of The American Journal of Human Genetics (AJHG) is stable. There are 5,400 member subscriptions and approximately 1,600 institutional subscriptions with a total circulation of 7,000. 1,053 paper submissions are projected for the year 2000, compared to 1,193 last year. Warren speculated that the decrease in the number of submitted papers could be due to the fact that the current Information to Authors contains examples of papers that historically have not been accepted for publication in the Journal, specifically, those containing mostly negative data and those reporting mutation of a locus about which mutations have previously been cited.

Warren announced that the manuscript acceptance rate has been fairly steady: this year there has been an acceptance rate of 31 percent as compared to last year's rate of 33 percent. In the last few years there has been a drop of 4 percent in the acceptance rate.

Warren mentioned that the impact factor of the Journal has risen slightly. AJHG is now sixth out of 105 genetics journals. Journals ranked above AJHG include review journals such as Trends in Genetics and Current Opinion, as well as Genes and Development, which is not primarily a human genetics journal. Consequently, among journals that contain human genetics research, AJHG ranks second with an impact factor of 10.4.

There has been a major effort by both the editorial office and University of Chicago Press to improve the time to publication. Presently, the time from receipt of a manuscript to acceptance is 61 days, reflecting a decrease in receipt to decision. Reviewers are asked to provide their reviews within approximately 10 days, but that process is often extended. Consequently, the usual time period from receipt of manuscript to decision to either "revise" or "reject" is 16 days. Authors are currently limited to four weeks for revision (eight weeks if new experimentation is needed). If more than eight weeks elapse before revision is complete, the manuscript is declined and the author is encouraged to submit a new manuscript once the needed data are obtained. Once a paper is accepted, it is published electronically in approximately 25 days, resulting in a total of 86 days from receipt of manuscript to publication. The time period from receipt of manuscript to print publication is approximately 100 days. Warren said that this dramatic drop in publication time makes AJHG compare more favorably with other journals in the field.

The Journal office has also instituted a fast-track processing capability for papers of unusual interest and timeliness. To date, there have been15 manuscripts submitted for fast-track status; five have been considered to be appropriate. The average review for fast-track status is under two days, with receipt to acceptance in about 16 days and to electronic publication in approximately 14 days.

A new report section largely replaces "letters to the editors" (letters that included research data). These reports now include an abstracts searchable on Medline. Letters containing commentary on previously published work or observations relevant to the membership will still be accepted. Press releases are also issued, in an effort to encourage visibility of the Society and the Journal among the lay press.

Warren reported that the Editorial Board has instituted the C. W. Cotterman Award in honor of the first editor of the Journal. In an effort to encourage students to join the Society, two pre- or postdoctoral fellows will be selected annually for the award. Eligible candidates must be first authors on papers describing their work and must be members of the Society. Papers under consideration for the Cotterman Award will be judged by the Editorial Board, and the awards will be presented at a ceremony on the last day of the annual meeting.
 

SOCIAL ISSUES COMMITTEE - Jane Gitschier
 

Gitschier welcomed new committee members, Timothy Caulfield and Wendy Uhlmann, and thanked those rotating off the committee: Irving Gottesman and Bonnie Leroy.

Most of the discussion in the committee meeting centered on the unsubstantiated allegations about the work of James Neel. A statement was drafted and given to the Board. Much recent interest in the ethical use of stored DNA samples has prompted the committee to consider drafting a position statement. The topic was addressed in committee last year, particularly in relation to forensic cases. Of specific concern is the disposition of human DNA samples collected by the criminal justice system.

Kurt Hirschhorn, outgoing chair of the Awards Committee, made a statement from the floor. He urged the Board to consider merging Social Issues Committees of at least four organizations: ASHG, ACMG, NSGC and ISONG. He stated that in the past multiple reports were issued and varying conclusions were reached about tissue storage and cautioned that this could again be the case unless committee members of those organizations made an effort toward consensus.

Worton acknowledged Hirschhorn's concern and stated that his suggestion would be placed on the agenda for the next Board meeting.
 

INFORMATION AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE - Paula Gregory
 

Gregory announced that Bronya Keats will be the incoming chair and welcomed new members, Lisa Baumbach, Loraine Oman-Ganes, Arti Pandya, and Sharon Terry. She encouraged ASHG members to become involved in Committee-related activities to augment the efforts of the nine Committee members. She reported on a subcommittee that will begin work on updating medical school curriculum guidelines published in 1995 to more closely reflect current academic needs. Another subcommittee is reviewing guidelines of core content in introductory biology courses, i.e., what students not majoring in genetics should know. This subcommittee will then consider course guidelines for undergraduate students majoring in genetics. Gregory pointed out that with its recommendations and guidelines ASHG has the opportunity to significantly impact the curriculum of the approximately one-half million students taking non-major biology courses each year.

Gregory also reported that a subcommittee is preparing a document on the history of human genetics and is developing ideas for the Web page. Another subcommittee will select the six education sessions for next year's annual meeting. The Information and Education Committee is also in charge of the student-mentor luncheon held during the annual meeting. Gregory encouraged members to sign up as mentors.
 

2000 PROGRAM COMMITTEE - Doug Marchuck
 

Before Marchuck spoke, Worton congratulated him on an outstanding meeting, and thanked him and the Committee for their hard work.

Marchuck acknowledged and thanked those rotating off the Committee this year: Greg Grabowski, Mary Kaye Dabney, Ed McCabe, Steve Narod, and Ken Morgan. He provided the following statistics for this year's meeting: 2,441 abstracts were submitted, a decrease of approximately 15 percent from last year, when abstract submissions were at an all time high. This year, more than 99 percent of submitted abstracts were accepted for presentation: 294 slide presentations (approximately 12 percent of total submissions) and 2147 poster presentations. He reviewed a few of this year's changes: 15 symposia and workshop sessions were presented in three groups over three days in contrast to six invited speaker sessions in two groups presented on two days in previous years. There is also a special session on the human genome, considered to be a plenary session. One of the most obvious changes this year is that the program information for the annual meeting is published separately from the abstracts volume.
 

2001 PROGRAM COMMITTEE - Harry Orr
 

Orr acknowledged new Committee members for 2001: Bonnie Baty, Markus Grompe, Brendan Lee, Ellen Wijsman and Charis Eng. He noted that next year's meeting will be in San Diego, and expressed hope that the total number of abstract submissions will increase over this year's total, although the Program Committee is anticipating a slight decrease in the number of slide presentations because of the organization of the meeting. Orr pointed out that the meeting will begin on Friday, October 12, and end on Tuesday, October 16, a schedule unique to 2001. One program modification under consideration is to devote one of the invited sessions to a discussion of the year in review with distinguished speakers focusing on two to four selected topics. Another consideration is to devote a slide session to a topic that will include presentations involving several disciplines represented by ASHG members. The purpose of this session, which would feature top-scoring peer reviewed abstracts, is to emphasize the scientific diversity represented by Society members, while serving as a unifying program focus.

Orr reminded everyone that the Program Committee is still interested in receiving proposals for invited sessions, particularly those that enhance the program modifications outlined above, where speakers would represent the varied professional interests and disciplines of ASHG members.

Orr pointed out this year's change to a two-volume format for meeting publications and encouraged members to give their comments on the new format to Board members, the ASHG staff or the Program Committee. He noted a suggestion that next year the large book include all program information in addition to abstracts, and that the smaller book contain only program information and be spiral bound.
 

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF HUMAN GENETICS SOCIETIES - Uta Francke
 

Francke bought the membership up to date on the history of the Federation, founded in 1996: there are three full-member societies (The American Society of Human Genetics, the Human Genetics Society of Australasia and the European Society of Human Genetics) and 36 corresponding members. The Executive Board voted this week to include the National Society of Genetic Counselors and a second organization from Argentina as corresponding members. The Board also created the membership category of affiliate member, which would apply to national or international societies devoted to a specialty of human genetics, such as cytogenetics. Francke reported that the principal function of the Federation is to be involved in the planning of international congresses. The 10th International Congress of Human Genetics will be held in Vienna, from May 15 through May 19, 2001. The 11th ICHG will be held in Brisbane, Australia in 2006.

There was no further business, and a motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
Ann Walker, Secretary
Elaine Strass, Executive Director
 

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