Society launches fellows program

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is launching an honorific program to recognize members who have made outstanding contributions to the field through their research, teaching and mentoring, or other forms of service.

About two dozen scientists will be inducted into the ASBMB Fellows Program each year. Nominations will come from the membership, and the ASBMB Council will make the final selections.

“The ASBMB fellows will be expected to embody the society’s core values and serve as role models by performing excellent research, taking teaching and mentoring to new levels, advancing diversity in the field and giving back to the community by participating in society programs or publications,” Barbara Gordon, ASBMB’s executive director, said.

Nominees must be regular, industry or emeritus members. (Student, affiliate and early-career members are ineligible.) Nominees must also have a history of service to the society, such as committee work, event organizing or editorial board service.

“The fellows program is intended not just to honor those who are recognized, but also to illuminate, through their stories, the variety of ways in which our membership as a whole enriches our profession and the people whom it serves,” said Peter J. Kennelly, a professor at Virginia Tech and a member of the ASBMB Membership Committee, which conceived of the fellows program.

Nominations are being accepted now through Jan. 4. Once the nominations are in, the ASBMB Membership Committee will narrow the list to 25 candidates for the ASBMB Council to evaluate. The first class of fellows will be contacted in mid-February, and a public announcement will follow soon thereafter. The fellows also will be honored at the 2021 ASBMB Annual Meeting, which will be held virtually.

“The ASBMB has been the professional home for and nurtured the careers of many great scientists,” said Bettie Sue Masters, a member of the ASBMB Membership Committee and a faculty member at the Duke University School of Medicine. “The ASBMB Fellows designation will recognize the contributions of those members who have excelled in research, education, advocacy and mentorship of future scientists and contributed to the mission of the society.  This honor will recognize their commitment to their profession.”

Learn more about the program or nominate a member.