About ASBMR

ASBMR 2005 Fall Council Meeting

September 22, 2005
Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Call to Order
ASBMR President Sylvia Christakos opened the meeting, welcomed participants, and announced a quorum. She reminded Councilors of the confidentiality of meeting proceedings until published.

President’s Report
Dr. Christakos:

• Acknowledged the accomplishments of outgoing ASBMR Past-President Robert Nissenson and outgoing ASBMR Councilors Drs. Susan Greenspan, Sundeep Khosla, and Gary Stein
• Welcomed incoming ASBMR President-Elect Steven Goldring and incoming Councilors Drs. Michael Econs, Mark Horowitz, and Janet Rubin

ASBMR Minority Task Force Update
Dr. Christakos updated Council on the ASBMR Minority Breakfast to be held during the Annual Meeting.

ASBMR Mentorship Matching Program Update
Dr. Christakos reported that ASBMR’s Mentorship Website is active and to date over 200 members volunteered as mentors.

ASBMR Awards Committee Report
2005 Awards Committee Chair Dr. Christakos thanked Committee members Drs. Theresa Guise, Jane Lian, Rene St. Arnaud, Dwight Towler and Ernesto Canalis for their work and announced the 2005 major award winners.

Approval of Minutes
A motion was made to approve the Council Retreat Report of June 2, 2005, and the Council Minutes of June 3, 2005. The motion passed.

President-Elect’s Report
ASBMR President-Elect Elizabeth Shane reported on a request from the Endocrine Fellows Foundation (EFF) for ASBMR to co-sponsor a one-day fellows meeting to occur immediately prior to the 2006 ASBMR Annual Meeting:

• The proposed meeting format would be similar to plenary lectures with breakout sessions conducted in a Meet-the-Professor-type format; the meeting would be planned for 100 attendees.
• If successful, this could become an annual event before ASBMR’s Annual Meeting.

ASBMR Executive Director Joan Goldberg noted that all logistics and fundraising will be handled by the EFF.

A motion was made to approve the 2006 Fellows Meeting in concept. The motion passed. [Note: Dr. Shane abstained from voting.]

National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) Guidelines Committee
Dr. Shane reported on Council’s desire to have two ASBMR representatives on the NOF Guidelines Committee. The two representatives must submit an NOF conflict of interest form and have no industry relationships.

After discussion, Council provided a list of possible representatives.

ASBMR Relationships with Other Organizations
Dr. Shane suggested that ASBMR continue to deepen relationships with other organizations and seek opportunities to partner with IBMS, ACR, ORS and NOF.

Publications Committee Report
JBMR Report
The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) Editor John Eisman reported:

• JBMR remains a strongly basic science journal with published papers being approximately 1/3 basic, 1/3 clinical and 1/3 translational.
• The ASBMR Publications Committee and Office have selected a new website providers to upgrade JBMR and Primer online in 2006.
• Two first-time authors received the first ASBMR Raisz-Drezner Journal Awards (one clinical and one basic science); the awards will be announced at the 2005 President’s Private Dessert Reception. [Note: A third award recipient will be announced later by broadcast email in the Fall.]

Primer Report
ASBMR Publications Director Adrienne Lea reported:

• The sixth edition of the Primer on the Metabolic Bone Diseases and Disorders of Mineral Metabolism (Primer) is in development.
• The chapter authors will submit slides for a set that will be compiled by the ASBMR Education Committee..
• The Publications Office continues to receive many requests for international versions of the Primer; ASBMR is careful to maintain oversight of the translation process to ensure that materials are disseminated properly.
• The Publications Committee will evaluate a feasibility study conducted by the ASBMR Publications Office regarding the possible publication of a clinical handbook based in part on information in the Primer.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Task Force Chair and ASBMR Councilor Gary Stein reported the COI Task Force will recommend specific conflict of interest policies for editors and associate editors of ASBMR publications.

International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) Position Statements
ASBMR Secretary-Treasurer Marc Drezner reported:

• ASBMR Professional Practice Committee (PPC) Chair Stuart Silverman participated in the ISCD bone densitometry position statement development meeting as ASBMR’s representative.
• The meeting attendees came to consensus by majority decision.

Dr. Silverman joined the Council Meeting by conference call and gave an overview of the process

After Council discussion, a motion was made to accept the PPC recommendation and endorse the statements issued by ISCD. The motion passed. [Note: ASBMR Councilors Rene Rizzoli and Vicki Rosen abstained from voting.]

A motion was made to recommend that the JBMR publish the ISCD statements with an editorial addressing the issues of concern. The motion passed.

Finance Committee Report
Dr. Drezner reported that ASBMR is financially healthy with strong reserves.

Discussion noted:

• ASBMR could [use reserves to] develop more programs to help young investigators.
• ASBMR should also consider helping mid-level and senior investigators because of the reduction in U.S. NIH funding. [Note: An international decline in research funding is also apparent or likely. Dr. Shane, in October 2005, established a task force to develop a proposal for a new ASBMR member research/support mechanism.]

ASBMR Membership Dues Increase
A motion was made to increase the North American full member dues to $215.00 annually. The motion passed.

ASBMR International Travel Policy
After Council discussion, a motion was made to approve in concept international business class travel for Councilors. The motion failed.

After further discussion, Council favored the concept of offering business class travel in some cases and a motion was made to defer the concept to the Executive Committee for recommendations on an implementable travel policy (that should also include long distance travel in North America). The motion passed.

Harold Frost Award Funding Request
Ms. Goldberg reported:

• The Sun Valley meeting organizers are requesting ASBMR’s financial support for the 2006 Harold M. Frost Young Investigator Awards.
• There are six annual awards (at $1,500 each) given by the workshop organizers to enable young investigators to travel to the Sun Valley Workshop.

After Council discussion, a motion was made to approve the Executive Committee recommendation to support the 2006 Harold M. Frost Awards with funding to cover half the amount of the 2005 awards ($4,500). The motion passed.

ASBMR Career Enhancement Awards
Ms. Lea noted:

• The ASBMR Career Enhancement Awards (CEAs) Review Committee would find it helpful to know how many awards can be given in 2006.
• The Committee could have awarded five awards in 2005, but only awarded four based on the scientific merit of the applications.

After Council discussion, a motion was made to fund up to four CEA awards in 2006. The motion passed.

Crete Osteoimmunology Meeting Program [Young Investigator (YI) Awards]
Ms. Goldberg noted:

• The First International Conference on Osteoimmunology: Interactions of the Immune and Skeletal Systems, is to be held in Crete, Greece, on May 28-June 2, 2006.
• ASBMR is a co-sponsor of the meeting.

At the June 2005 Council Meeting, Council expressed an interest in providing young investigator travel grants for the meeting.

After Council discussion, Council requested more information to address the following questions:

• Why are we sending YIs?
• What will they get from the meeting?
• Where would the YIs come from?
• What would their travel cost?
• How would YIs be identified?

ASBMR Management Committee Report
The Management Committee report was given in an Executive Session of Council. Dr. Nissenson began the report by reminding Council that the purpose of the Management Committee was to oversee the quality and cost of services provided by the Smith Bucklin management team.

Dr. Nissenson summarized the recent deliberations of the Management Committee which had concluded (to nobody’s surprise) that the quality of service provided by ASBMR’s SmithBucklin team continues to be outstanding:

Council was informed by President Sylvia Christakos that Joan Goldberg had decided to leave her position as Executive Director of ASBMR to take a similar position with the American Society for Cell Biology. Joan Goldberg then joined the meeting and there was sadness expressed all the way around.

Dr. Nissenson noted that Ms. Goldberg has a great opportunity with ASCB, but her skill and dedication will be sorely missed by ASBMR. She agreed to work closely with ASBMR leadership to help facilitate a smooth transition in the months to come.

FDA Osteoporosis Guidance
Dr. Drezner reported on the ASBMR-NOF-ISCD meeting and consensus document regarding the FDA Osteoporosis Guidance, noting the meeting was attended by ethicists, biostatisticians, and representatives of ASBMR, NOF, ISCD, and industry.

Ms. Goldberg noted that if Council endorses the document, ASBMR will seek the endorsement of other groups [i.e., ACR, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), Endocrine Society, and the United States Bone and Joint Decade (USBJD)].

A motion was made to approve the consensus document on Osteoporosis Guidance. The motion passed.

Consent Agenda
ASBMR Hormone Therapy (HT) Statement
ASBMR Associate Executive Director Douglas Fesler reported the Professional Practice Committee has revised the HT Statement as Council recommended.

After Council discussion, a motion was made to approve the highlighted version with the last sentence of number four deleted. The motion passed.

Committee Reports
ASBMR Councilors expressed their appreciation for the work and dedication of the Society’s committee members.

Annual Meeting Update
ASBMR Convention Manager Melissa Huston reported:

• Annual Meeting pre-registration is currently 4,158, down from the same time last year (4,467).
• Current registration is 56 percent U.S. and 44 percent international.
• ASBMR member registration is currently up one percent from last year.
• ASBMR is using 3,173 rooms, higher than in previous years (average room usage is 2,400). This is probably the result of having the meeting and hotel [mostly] in one facility.
• ASBMR sold a record-breaking 153 exhibit booths.

Ms. Huston also noted that total registration for the 2004 Annual Meeting in Seattle was 5,250. [Note: Total 2005 Annual Meeting registration was 4,887 at the meeting’s end.]

Annual Meeting Media Report Update
ASBMR Media Relations Manager Melissa Haynes reported that 47 reporters were registered for the meeting, most from trade publications.

Ms. Goldberg thanked Ms. Haynes and Ms. Lea, who helped prepare the Annual Meeting press releases with a freelance writer.

Including Ballot Categories for Council Election
Dr. Christakos reported:

• Council (at the June Council Meeting) inquired about having an international “slot” on the ASBMR ballot.
• After ASBMR staff reviewed the Bylaws, Ms. Goldberg consulted with ASBMR attorney Peter Wolk.

After Council discussion, Council (by consensus) agreed that the ASBMR Nominating Committee should consider this before the next nominating process begins.

Dr. Nissenson and Council expressed their congratulations to Dr. Christakos for her outstanding job as ASBMR President.

Dr. Christakos adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m.