Biophysical Society Bulletin | January 2019

Public Affairs

Public Affairs

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Around theWorld Chinese Scientists Are Overworked, Underpaid According to Survey The non-profit China Association for Science and Technol- ogy analyzed data from 48,099 scientists across China and found dissatisfaction had grown since its last survey in 2013. Home-grown Chinese scientists report lower salaries than their counterparts who left and then returned to China, and report, on average, working over 50 hours a week. Young scientists report initial salaries ranging from $40,000-60,000 and are concerned about being able to support their families. https:/www.scmp.com/news/china/science/arti- cle/2174819/chinas-scientists-overworked-and-under- paid-compared-other Initial Brexit Deal Emerges In early November, a draft Brexit deal detailing the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) was unveiled by British Prime Minister Theresa May and is now awaiting Parliament’s approval. The impact of the draft agreement on science is not fully known, but prominent Brit- ish researchers have expressed concerns over the freedom of movement and continued access to EU-funded research initiatives. More than 1,600 BPS members hail from EU coun- tries and the United Kingdom and whatever form a Brexit deal takes will have major impacts on their research. Ireland Secures $400Million Genomics Investment According to a report in the Irish Times , the Dublin-based Genomics Medicine Ireland will receive a $400 million invest- ment and expects to recruit over 600 new employees for an ambitious genome research project. Up to one in ten people in Ireland will have their genetic makeup mapped, and research- ers hope the project will accelerate the adoption of precision medicine in Ireland. Join the BPS Public Affairs Commit- tee for a panel on Brexit and Science onMarch 3 at 2:30 PM. Confirmed speakers include the British Embassy and the European Biophysical Societies’ Association.

Biophysical SocietyWelcomes New Executive Officer

Nominations NowOpen for 2020 Society Awards The Kazuhiko Kinosita Award in Single-Molecule Biophysics , recognizing outstanding researchers for their exceptional con- tributions in advancing the field of single-molecule biophys- ics; The Ignacio Tinoco Award , which honors the scientific contri- butions, work, and life of an outstanding biophysical chemist, educator, and mentor; The Founders Award , given to scientists for outstanding achievement in any area of biophysics; and the 2020 Fellows of the Biophysical Society , honoring distinguished members who have demonstrated sustained scientific excellence. Awards will be presented at the 2020 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. For information and to submit a nomination, visit www.biophysics.org/awards. In addition to overseeing business operations at FASEB, Pasanelli led the Federation’s association management com- pany, and brings to BPS strong strategic planning and man- agement experience as well as a background in publications. She is a Certified Association Executive and was President of the Society for Scholarly Publishing in 2017–2018. “I am excited and honored to serve as the next Executive Officer for the Biophysical Society, “ said Pesanelli. “The legacy of Ro Kampman is a strong and successful organiza- tion. I look forward to working with the members and staff to build on the great work that has already been done, ensuring continued success and a thriving Biophysical Society.” Ro Kampman, who had been the BPS Executive Officer since January 1998, retired at the end of 2018 (see September BPS Bulletin ). She will be splitting her time between Maryland and California and is looking forward to traveling and time with her family. Pesanelli looks forward to meeting Society members and leaders at the upcoming Annual Meeting in Baltimore. Continued from Page 1

NIH’s Francis Collins Expresses Concern over Epic Scientific CRISPRMisadventure

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson Prepares to Chair House Science Panel, Rep. Frank Lucas Named RankingMember After eight years in the minority, House Democrats are set to assume the majority in January and are preparing to chair the various House committees. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX- 30) will become the Chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, which maintains broad jurisdiction over the nation’s research and development enterprise. She has laid out three major goals for her term: • Ensuring the United States remains the global leader in science and innovation; • Addressing the challenges of climate change and; • Restoring the credibility of the Science Committee as a place where science is respected and recognized as a crucial component of the public policy process. On November 30, House Republican leadership revealed that Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) will serve as the Ranking Member on the Science Panel. He is taking over the top Republican spot from retiring Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX-21), who served as Chair since 2013. On November 28, the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Francis Collins expressed deep concern about He Jiankui’s announcement, presented at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong, describing his efforts using CRISPR-Cas9 technology on human embryos. Collins, and many other research community leaders, be- lieve Jiankui’s work flouted international ethics norms, lacked proper informed consent procedures, and was conducted in a non-transparent fashion. “It is profoundly unfortunate that the first apparent application of this powerful technique to the human germline has been carried out so irresponsibly,” said Collins.

NSF Lifts Submission Cap for BIO Directorate On September 27, Joanne Tornow , Acting Assistant Director for the Biological Sciences (BIO), National Science Foundation (NSF), unveiled reforms to the BIO division’s grant/solicitation process. BIO proposed placing caps on the number of annual grant submissions from a single principal investigator (PI) (or co-PI) to its various programs. A single PI would only be able to be listed as a PI or co-PI on one BIO grant annually. However, on November 15, Tornow reversed this policy after hearing numerous concerns from the research community and witnessing a decline in grant proposals. “BIO places a high value on collaboration and on fostering ca- reers of new investigators; thus, we held internal discussions to consider ways to address these concerns,” said Tornow. Read the full statement: https:/oadblog.nsfbio. com/2018/11/15/submission-limits/ While many biomedical researchers are excited about the potential of CRISPR/Cas technologies to treat and prevent disease, the ethical concerns regarding editing germline cells are real and unresolved. Many fear this surprise announcement may lead to public backlash against the technology. “Lest there be any doubt, and as we have stated previously, NIH does not support the use of gene-editing technologies in human embryos,”concluded Collins. Read the full statement: https:/www.nih.gov/about- nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/state- ment-claim-first-gene-edited-babies-chinese-researcher

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