ASBMB Council roundup: April 2025

At its spring meeting in Chicago, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Council tackled a full agenda focused on financial sustainability, governance modernization, membership and the future of the society’s publications and annual meeting.

Annual meeting evolution

The Meetings Committee and staff shared progress on transforming the ASBMB annual meeting, including enhanced engagement with industry and new content formats. Planning is underway for  2026 and 2027, and the Council discussed ways to improve the attendee experience and leverage member-generated content.

Governance and membership updates

The Council discussed proposals for enhancing collaboration and communication between the Council and committees and between committees. Such updates would include creating lines of communication between committees with complementary work and updating the language in committee charges to align with the ASBMB strategic plan. The Council provided feedback on the recommendations and asked staff to work with the Council’s Governance Task Force to socialize ideas with committee leaders and present a final recommendation to the Council at a future meeting.

The Council approved expanding publishing discounts to early-career members and requested analysis on proposed changes to member eligibility rules, as well as potential discount structures for special groups.

Financial outlook and operations

The Council reviewed the 2024 financial performance. ASBMB outperformed its 2024 budget by 5%, posting an operating loss of $4.9 million. They also reviewed early 2025 performance indicators. The Council budgeted relatively flat for 2025, expecting a $4.91 million operating deficit. The annual meeting was trending ahead of projections, while membership revenue lagged slightly. The Council was updated on ongoing enhancements to financial operations and systems, including new accounting software, a revamped bill pay system and a planned fall launch of an updated membership database. Staff also previewed investment policy updates expected to come before the Council this summer.

Publishing in a shifting landscape

The Council held an extensive discussion on the future of ASBMB journals, with participation from its publishing partner Elsevier, consultants, journal editors-in-chief and the Publications Committee chair. The Council gave input on a newly formed publications working group to explore these issues in depth, focusing on possible efforts to expand journal scopes, improve the author experience, address the needs of the next generation of authors and enhance global reach.

Advocacy

The Council received an update on strategic communications efforts, including plans to modernize branding, enhance digital engagement and improve data-driven messaging. On the advocacy front, Public Affairs Advisory Committee Chair Ann West and staff briefed the Council on recent activity and discussed how ASBMB can remain an effective voice for the scientific community despite increasing communication challenges in Washington, D.C. The Council also had a conversation with Andrew Black, chief of staff and chief public affairs officer at the Association for the Advancement of Science and executive director of the Vision for American Science and Technology, or VAST, about the current U.S. funding and political landscape, and how VAST and associations will work to continue supporting science.

The next ASBMB Council meeting is scheduled for August 15-16, 2025, at the ASBMB offices in Rockville, Maryland.