GREER, Susanna Fletcher

Statement of interest

Appreciation of, and engagement in, science has never been more important. A common thread through my ASBMB experience has been my gratitude for the ways in which ASBMB elevates science and scientists.

As a junior faculty member, my graduate students, postdocs and I attended our first ASBMB annual meeting to share our science. Because the opportunities for career development for my trainees were outstanding, we came back year after year. That ASBMB invests much in the careers of junior scientists speaks volumes to the mission of ASBMB to serve the needs of the scientific community.

My own interest in the broad dissemination of science afforded me the opportunity to join, and later chair, the ASBMB Science Outreach and Communication Committee. I am proud of our efforts, including the “Art of Science Communication” course this committee developed and teaches. I am prouder still of the ways in which ASBMB highlights science advocacy, communication, education and outreach as core professional skills for ASBMB members.

Putting resources in these spaces — in training, in advocacy, in outreach — challenges a scientist’s need for “proof.” It’s hard to know if our efforts matter, as their value is only potentially “proven” by their absence, in the void left behind. As individuals, investing in in the elevation of science is akin to throwing a pebble over a cliff. We may never see where our pebble lands, the impact it makes. But, as a group, if enough of us toss our pebbles together, we can see their impact grow.

The ASBMB Council helps ASBMB leadership and members decide where best to throw our pebbles, where our combined efforts will afford the greatest influence. I would be honored to join and serve.

Education and training

• Ph.D., Immunology and Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wallace Tumor Institute, 1996–2000
• Postdoctoral fellowship, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2000–2004

Awards and honors (selected)

• Host, TheoryLab Podcast, cancer.org/researchpodcast, American Cancer Society, 2018–present
• Member, ASBMB Finance Committee, 2020–present
• Chair, ASBMB Science Outreach and Communication Committee, 2016–2019
• Member, Advisory Panel, ASBMB Research Sustainability Summit, 2016
• Mentor, Women in Bioscience, Emperor of Science, Decatur City Schools, 2016–present
• Member, External Steering Committee for Nutrition and Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 2015–present
• Instructor and Course Developer, “The Art of Science Communication,” ASBMB, 2013–2018
• Member, University Senate, Georgia State University, 2013–2015
• Co-Chair, Peer Review Committee on Leukemia, Immunology, and Blood Cell Development, ACS, 2013–2015
• Chair, Committee on Public Affairs, American Association of Immunologists, 2013–2015
• Member, ASBMB Science Outreach and Communication Committee, 2013–2020
• Member, Science Policy Committee, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2012–2015
• Member, Advisory Committee, Georgia Cancer Coalition, 2009–2011
• Member, Peer Review Committee on Leukemia, Immunology, and Blood Cell Development, ACS, 2010–2014
• Member, Committee on Public Affairs, AAI, 2009–2015
• Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar, 2005–2011

Experience

• Director, Clinical Cancer Research and Immunology, ACS, 2015–present
• Adjunct Professor, GSU, 2015–present
• President, Greer Consulting, Science Speak Easy, 2011–2015
• Director, Molecular Basis of Disease Program, GSU, 2013–2015
• Associate Chair, Department of Biology, GSU, 2012–2014
• Associate Professor with Tenure, Department of Biology, GSU, 2010–2015
• Associate Director, Molecular Basis of Disease Program, GSU, 2007–2013
• Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, GSU, 2004–2010