|
An Open Letter from
ASHG's Presidents
Dear Fellow Members of ASHG:
 |
 |
Wylie Burke, MD, PhD
ASHG Past President (2007) |
Aravinda Chakravarti, PhD
ASHG President |
In 2008, we look forward to yet another year
of achievements, opportunities, and growth
for the members of our Society. An important
focus this year will be on exploring how
ASHG can best expand its reach and increase
awareness about
the Society and its role as a
leader in the field of human genetics.
Changes to ASHG Bylaws
Recognizing the increasing importance of
interdisciplinary and international
collaboration in human genetics efforts,
members voted at the ASHG
membership/business meeting, held during
ASHG's 57th Annual Meeting in San Diego on
October 26, 2007, to change the bylaws to
eliminate the Overseas Affiliate category.
This change consolidates membership
categories into four types: Regular,
Trainee, Emeritus and Spouse/Partner, and
allows international members to serve on
committees and as officers of ASHG.
International Collaborations
In 2008, we intend to continue to build on
last year's success by focusing on
initiatives that develop and expand forums
for interdisciplinary and international
collaboration in human genetics.
To that end, the ASHG has begun discussions
with the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO),
the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG)
and other human genetics societies about
mutual efforts and initiatives.
IRB Initiative
In 2007, ASHG initiated a partnership with
Public Responsibility in Medicine and
Research (PRIM&R), the leading professional
organization in the area of research ethics,
and with investigators at Case Western
Reserve University and the University of
Washington to address concerns about
institutional review board (IRB) review of
human genetics research. We hope that this
effort will result in new strategies for
addressing problematic IRB issues in various
types of genetic research.
Our researchers will collect data (via
interviews, focus groups and e-mail surveys)
to determine the scope and significance of
dilemmas in IRB review of research in human
genetics.
PLEASE NOTE: ASHG members should expect to
receive surveys in late spring 2008. We urge
you to participate in this important
research that will benefit the entire
genetics community! After data collection is
complete, ASHG and PRIM&R will co-sponsor
efforts to address problematic issues in IRB
review, with the goal of developing best
practices for researchers and IRBs.
GINA and Other Policy and Legislative Issues
ASHG leadership and staff continue to work
with the Coalition for Genetic Fairness in
garnering support for issues important to
our scientists and clinicians, including
federal Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination (GINA) legislation. GINA
has been passed by the House; however, we
are still working to achieve Senate passage.
In 2008, we need to continue to champion and
push for genetics anti-discrimination
legislation. ASHG urges all members to
express their support for this
legislation-every effort counts!
Educational Programs
Education in the basics and importance of
human genetics will continue to be a primary
focus of the Society. In her two-plus years
with ASHG, Dr. Kenna Shaw developed several
important initiatives, which we will
continue to develop and support. Under the
leadership of a new
director of education soon to be announced,
programs to be continued include high school
and undergraduate workshops at the annual
meeting; outreach, especially focused on DNA
Day activities in April; and our
geneticist-educator team development under
the auspices of our NSF
grant.
Training and Professional Development
Programs ASHG has established an ad hoc
postdoc committee, and several new events
have been added to the agenda of the annual
meeting for the benefit of trainees and new
faculty members. The Society is developing a
more proactive program to advertise job
openings and to support trainees and
professionals in their search processes.
We are also working on expanding the breadth
of topics covered in our 2008 professional
development programs, with a particular
focus on educating ASHG members about the
applications of new genomics technologies s
well as their potential for misuse and
abuse.
ASHG 2008 Annual Meeting
The 2008 ASHG meeting will be held in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from November 11
through November 15. Scientific sessions,
symposia, and professional education
programs will highlight the advances and
applications of whole genome sequencing.
More details will be featured
in future newsletters. Don't forget to check
the ASHG Web site frequently for new
information and meeting updates!
We anticipate that 2008 will be a year of
significant productivity and growth for our
Society based on the challenging agenda and
goals we have set. We hope that all ASHG
members, from our long-standing veteran
members to recently-initiated trainees, will
become involved in at least one of the
Society's many activities that benefit and
contribute to the growth of our field.
Please consider participating in our
education activities (e.g., the ASHG
mentor-network or DNA
Day), in policy and advocacy efforts (e.g.,
support efforts to pass the GINA legislation
or become an active advocate for science in
your community), or at the Annual Meeting.
We also want to take this opportunity to
express our appreciation to the ASHG staff
for all of the hard work they quietly
perform throughout the year and without
whose efforts Little would be accomplished
Thank you for your continued participation
in ASHG. Let's strive to make 2008 our best
year yet!
Sincerely yours,
Wylie
Burke, MD, PhD
ASHG Past President (2007) |
Aravinda Chakravarti,
PhD
ASHG President |
|
TOP OF
PAGE
|
ASHG 58th Annual Meeting
November 11-15, 2008
Philadelphia, PA |
|
Important Dates:
| Early April |
Website
Opens |
| April 10 |
Abstract
Submission Opens |
| May 27 |
Meeting
Registration Opens |
| June 4 |
Ancillary
Meeting Application Deadline |
| June 19 |
Abstract
Submission Deadline |
| June 19 |
Student
Award Nomination Deadline |
| September 19 |
Early
Meeting Registration Deadline |
| October 3 |
Housing
Reservation Deadline |
| |
|
| |
|
SEE YOU IN NOVEMBER! |
CURBSTONE CONSULTS: Call
for Participants & Presenters for 2008 ASHG
Annual Meeting in Philadelphia
Karen Gripp, MD, ASHG member and Chief,
Division of Medical Genetics, A. I. DuPont
Hospital for Children, has coordinated
Curbstone Consults for many years, and
expanded it significantly. At recent annual
meetings it has become a standing-room-only
event. ASHG takes this opportunity to thank
her for all of her efforts.
At the 2008 meeting in Philadelphia
(November 10-15), we hope to include lunch
for all presenters and participants. Please
contact
Karen if you would like to be part of
this program. |
TOP OF
PAGE
News from ASHG's 57th Annual Meeting
October 23-27, 2007
San Diego, CA
After the Fires: ASHG Upholds Tradition of Social
Responsibility by Establishing the San Diego Fire
Relief Fund to Help Local Community
- Joann Boughman, ASHG Executive Vice President
As all will long remember, during the 2007 Annual
Meeting in San Diego, the wild fires around the city
created numerous problems for the citizens of the
area, and challenges for ASHG as an organization
having a large conference in the city. The San Diego
city and the Convention Center staff members were
extremely helpful and supportive, in spite of their
individual personal difficulties. ASHG members
responded to the needs of San Diego in several ways:
(1) some attendees shared hotel accommodations to
free up more rooms for displaced San Diegans (and
folks did not complain about pets in the hotels
around them); (2) attendees were gracious and
accommodating to the reduced hotel and restaurant
staffing; (3) ASHG created an emergency relief fund
that sent over $3500 to the After-the-Fires Fund;
and (4) some of our physicians volunteered to serve,
if needed, in shelters or
emergency facilities.
While the actions of ASHG members seemed too minimal
to some, with some e-mails suggesting we were not
being considerate of the city, the response to
ASHG by the city officials and the convention’s
community has been incredible. Even the mayor of San
Diego thanked ASHG for continuing to meet, as the
convention business is so critical to the city.
Other professionals in the city thanked us profusely
for helping and being so willing to adapt to the
urgent situation.
An article on social responsibility in a meetings
magazine has been published, with ASHG spotlighted
as having acted in a socially conscious manner.
People from the San Diego Convention Bureau praised
our actions, and during an interview, the author of
the article expressed some surprise at the
level of concern and reaction of our members,
repeating that most organizations would not have
reacted in such a considerate manner.
We will continue to act responsibly, engaging our
membership in any way possible in the issues of the
communities where we hold our meetings. Certainly
New Orleans and San Diego have given us the
opportunity to be responsive. We thank all attendees
for their concern and actions that supported the
citizens of San Diego.
|
Genetics Education
Events at the ASHG 57th Annual Meeting in
San Diego
- Katie Van Horne,
Educational Programs Associate
Middle and High School
Workshop: Despite San Diego County-wide
school cancellations because of area wild
fires, the workshop was a success for the 42
participants who made the extra effort to
attend. The workshop was restructured so the
students could experience all the
presentations and activities. Students,
teachers, and parents extracted DNA from
strawberries, assembled a pedigree, tested
their taste and smell abilities, and learned
about cancer genetics. The participants also
heard from Rick Guidotti, a former fashion
photographer who is now the founder and
director of Positive Exposure.
Guidotti’s work was also featured in the
meeting registration area.
Another speaker, Oliver Ryder
from the San Diego Zoo’s Conservation and
Research for Endangered Species, spoke on
conservation genetics at the workshop
directly after being evacuated from his home
because of encroaching fires.
In-kind donations for the high school
workshop received from many companies and
institutions were donated to a San Diego
homeless shelter and to schools in Tijuana,
Mexico. ASHG is grateful to Oliver Ryder and
Pam Barrett for helping us make this
possible.
Undergraduate Genetics Education
Workshop: The second annual
Undergraduate Genetics Education Workshop,
sponsored by ASHG’s I & E committee, was
packed with genetics educators. Although the
workshop focused on undergraduate education,
participants also came from medical,
graduate, and nursing education backgrounds.
This popular event received rave reviews in
participants’ evaluations.
Trainee Networking Event:
Approximately 200 trainees attending the
2007 Trainee Networking Event on Wednesday
night of the meeting. Attendees were first
addressed by members of a panel who told
tales of their days as trainees and gave
advice. The panel discussion was followed by
beverages and hors d'œuvres and an
opportunity for trainees to speak with
geneticists working in a variety of
disciplines. The trainees and networkers
stayed long after the bar was closed and the
food was finished.
 |
ASHG 2007 Trainee
Awards
- Jane Nelson
The ASHG Awards Committee
selected the following six trainees for
outstanding scientific presentations at the
annual meeting. Each winner received a total
of $500 at the awards program on Saturday,
October 27, in San Diego.
|
Trainee Award
Category |
Student Name |
Institution |
| |
|
|
|
Predoctoral
Basic |
Jain Mahim |
NIH/NHGRI |
|
Predoctoral
Translational |
Clement Chow |
University of Michigan |
|
Postdoctoral
Basic |
Graham Coop |
University of Chicago |
|
Postdoctoral
Basic |
David Ng |
Hospital
for Sick Children |
|
Postdoctoral Translational |
Marwan Tayeh |
University of Iowa |
|
Postdoctoral Clinical |
Christian Windpassinger |
Medical
University Graz |
Trainees: If you are the
presenting author on the abstract that you
submit for the 2008 meeting in Philadelphia,
remind your PI to nominate you for a trainee
award! Please note that both the nominator
and nominee must be current members of ASHG.
|
|
ASHG Virtual Career
Fair and
Meet n' Greet Event:
Great Success at the 2007 Annual Meeting
- Jane Nelson
An overwhelming number of job
seekers and employers attended the annual
Meet n’ Greet event held in conjunction with
the Virtual Career Fair. This popular event
attracted an unexpectedly large number of
attendees.
|
ASHG 2007
Annual Meeting Statistics from
Career Resources: |
| Total
Registered Job Seekers: |
167 |
| Total
Registered Employers: |
142 |
| Total
Job Postings: |
279 |
At the 2008 meeting in Philadelphia, the
Society will hold this event in a space
large enough to comfortably accommodate all
those who are interested in attending.
Results of the post-meeting survey indicate
that many registrants prefer to continue
having the job board for posting résumés and
employment opportunities, as well as posting
them on line. Consequently, we will have
both options available at the 2008 meeting.
Thanks for your feedback!
|
TOP OF
PAGE
 ASHG
Welcomes Kristen Long as the Society's New
Communications Manager
Dear ASHG Members,
I would like to take a moment to introduce myself to
all of you as the new Communications Manager for
ASHG. I am excited and proud to serve as the first
communications specialist to join the ASHG staff.
I bring to this position a strong background in
health communication and public relations based on
my education and previous work experience in the
field. I specialized in these two areas of study in
both my undergraduate and master’s degree programs,
with a particular focus on quantitative and
qualitative research related to health communication
topics.
As ASHG’s Communications Manager, my primary
goals and objectives are:
-
To increase recognition of ASHG as the primary
organization of human genetics professionals,
particularly among members of the media and
general public.
-
To increase awareness of the Society’s role as a
leader in human genetics research and education
by promoting ASHG annual meetings, education
activities and advocacy efforts.
-
To establish ASHG as a primary expert source for
current and accurate information on human
genetics, particularly among members of the
media and general public.
It is also my job to promote news about your
research, awards and accomplishments to the rest of
the ASHG community, and to the media. I am here to
support the Society – and its members in securing
widespread and accurate media coverage of
new research discoveries in human genetics. Please
feel free to contact me if you need advice or
assistance promoting your scientific research to
members of the news media. I would also be happy to
answer any questions you may have about media
relations in general.
For more information on media relations and media
training for scientists, and for basic tips on how
to effectively communicate with the media (and other
non-scientists) about human genetics science and
research, please see the “Genetics
Professionals” section of ASHG’s new
online newsroom.
I encourage all ASHG members to browse through the
information and resources in this section of the
newsroom, which was created specifically for
genetics professionals who wish to learn about media
relations and improve their communication skills.
Again, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you
have any questions, suggestions, ideas or other
feedback regarding ASHG’s new communication and
media relations program. I can be reached via e-mail
at klong@ashg.org,
or by phone at (301) 634-7346.
I look forward to meeting and speaking with you at
the 2008 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia!
Cheers,
Kristen H. Long, MA
Communications Manager
The American Society of Human Genetics
TOP OF
PAGE
Oversight of Genetic Testing: Commentary on SACGHS
Report Released in November 2007
- Joann Boughman, ASHG Executive Vice President
ASHG submitted the following comments to the
Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health,
and Society (SACGHS) regarding the draft report
on the oversight of genetic testing. Our sister
organizations, ACMG and NSGC, also responded. The
three organizations attempt to complement rather
than duplicate specific comments, although it
remains essential for the central messages from the
genetics community to be congruent in tone and
content.
The central agenda of the
SACGHS meeting on February 12-13, 2008 in
Washington, DC, is to have the Committee discuss the
comments received during the public comment period.
It is hoped that the following statement, developed
for ASHG and approved by the Executive Committee
reflects the major message that our members would
like to send to the Secretary and his Advisory
Committee.
U.S. System of Oversight of Genetic Testing: A
Response to the Charge of the Secretary of HHS
Comments from The American Society of Human Genetics
|
"ASHG supports the overarching
recommendation of the SACGHS Report..." |
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) thanks
the SACGHS and the Genetic Testing Oversight Task
Force for their hard work and dedication in
preparing a report that has taken such a
comprehensive look at the complicated issues around
genetic testing oversight. As ASHG is a membership
organization focused on research, we will not make
detailed remarks about clinical practice. Rather, we
encourage the Committee to study the more detailed
comments of our sister organizations, The American
College of Medical Genetics and the National Society
of Genetic Counselors regarding issues directly
related to implementation of testing and the
practice of genetics in medicine. Many fellows of
the ACMG are also members of ASHG and utilize their
voice as clinician and laboratory professionals
through the ACMG. Having made that point, we would
like focus on a few areas of major importance to the
human genetics community we represent.
ASHG supports the overarching recommendation of the
SACGHS Report and encourages the Secretary to
support the coordination of interagency activities
related to genetic testing. It should be clearly
understood that significant additional resources
will be required to enhance these efforts,
especially in the areas of education and knowledge
generation.
Gaps in the evidence base in validation and
assessment of utility must be filled, and both
financial and human resource issues must be brought
to bear on the challenges of evaluation and analysis
of data generated during the test development
process. Public-private partnerships may be
developed to assist in these evaluations and the
development of processes to address proficiency
testing and to gather the outcome data needed to
determine clinical utility of genetic tests of all
types. These activities need to be appropriately
supported to assure genetic tests and clinical
practice of the highest quality. We strongly support
the recommendation for federal support of research
infrastructure to assure proficiency testing and
assessment of clinical utility. Our scientific
community will continue to invest time, energy, and
expertise in these processes, but significant
additional resources are clearly necessary to meet
the needs of such a rapidly advancing area of
science and medicine.
An area of concern for research scientists that
requires more focused discussion is the situation in
which an expert finds a result of clinical
significance while performing analyses in a non-CLIA-certified
laboratory. Better guidelines need to be articulated
to determine the best course of action to serve the
subject well in these situations.
ASHG sincerely believes that laboratories and
clinicians practicing high quality medicine would
not suffer from appropriate and stronger controls in
a system currently lacking a comprehensive oversight
process. Those controls could come in the form of
practice guidelines and cooperative arrangements in
the testing arena, as well as from federal
regulatory processes. Our expert members will
continue to remain actively involved as these
processes are identified and established.
Ultimately, we believe that regulatory processes
rather than voluntary compliance will be required to
address specific labs or clinical systems that fail
to meet established quality standards related to
clinical validity and utility. Procedures must be
developed to safeguard the public from these
potentially harmful practices.
Members of The American Society of Human Genetics
are ready to respond to requests for assistance, and
we will follow with interest the response to the
strong recommendations of the SACGHS.
TOP OF
PAGE
Next Page >
SNP-IT is published online four times a year,
in February, May, August and November. Copyright by
The American Society of Human Genetics.
Please direct all SNP-IT inquiries to
Kristen Long, Communications Manager, at
klong@ashg.org
For Society information, please
contact the ASHG Administrative Office, 9650
Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998. Telephone:
301-634-7300; fax: 301-634-7090,
society@ashg.org
or visit ASHG on the Web:
www.ashg.org |
