Dear Colleagues,
I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me in the last several months expressing concerns about the present and future state of scientific funding in the United States, the safety of international students and faculty in the US, new threats to freedom of speech and identity, and other policy changes that are distracting us from our main foci of advancing bone and mineral research and improving the lives of people with musculoskeletal diseases. The present situation is complex, dynamic, and will have a global impact. While each of us is navigating the situation at our home institutions and with our colleagues, friends and family, ASBMR leaders are also monitoring events that affect our members and the Society itself. As much as we all like to believe, like our predecessors did, that science and medicine have no borders or political allegiances and that science is a unifying force for good, the reality is that new policies in the US create many threats for the global order and our Society. Fortunately, the ASBMR is in a strong position to withstand these threats this year. This is thanks to many disciplined and forward-looking leaders who stayed true to the values and mission of the Society in both prosperous and challenging times, as well as to our members who remained devoted to our shared purpose and to each other. I am inspired daily by our present leaders and committee members who are equally committed to serving each other, advocating for our field, training the next generation of researchers and advancing bone, mineral and musculoskeletal science. I am confident that ASBMR will make it through the present challenges as well.
The ASBMR is responding to the present situation in several ways. First, we are listening to you, our members, and finding ways where we can effectively advocate for research and our patients. One way that you can communicate to us is through a survey organized by the Membership and Engagement Committee. This survey closes soon on April 18. I encourage you to provide input because information from it will be used by our Board of Directors and Committee Chairs to make decisions and develop the 2026-2029 strategic plan, which we will finalize this summer. Second, the Science Policy and Advocacy Committee is meeting frequently to discuss how we can best advocate for the Society at the local and national levels. Several experienced leaders and I are also exploring new partnerships that will amplify our message and allow us to reach policy makers in different ways. I hope to report on concrete initiatives from those discussions soon.
Finally, the Program Committee is organizing an exciting Annual Meeting that includes timely and relevant topics. For example, sessions are being planned where attendees can learn about best practices for scientific communication to the lay public. The popular Highlights Session is returning to a live event on Friday morning, and we have organized the first ever regional “meetups” for international members to discuss issues of particular relevance to them. Anyone interested in research that is happening in Latin and South America, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia is welcome to join these sessions. The preliminary annual meeting program can be found here. Importantly, the abstract portal is open now, with submissions accepted through May 1. Registration for the Annual Meeting will open later in May. There are also two exciting pre-meetings planned: the ASBMR/RBDA Symposium on Rare Bone Diseases: From the Genome to the Lived Experience and the Musculoskeletal Impact of Immune and Skeletal Cells Crosstalk: From Bench to Beside.
Powered by the ASBMR Fund for Research and Education and many generous donors, the Society offers several awards and travel grants to members at all career stages to offset the cost of attending the meeting. When submitting an abstract, I encourage you to apply for any award or grant that you are eligible to receive.
In conclusion, I want to mention a few things that I believe are true about our field amidst the present chaos and uncertainty. Scientists don’t think about politics when designing experiments. Clinicians treat patients who come to their door in need of their expertise without regard to their political beliefs. International collaboration accelerates cures and promotes cultural understanding. Scientific meetings bring the world together. Research prevents fractures and increases quality of life. Research creates jobs and lifesaving medications. We are a strong, resilient and collaborative Society. Science is a unifying force that brings us together, and by sharing our research, we strengthen our community and inspire future advancements.
Thank you for all that you do to advance our field and support the ASBMR.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Westendorf, Ph.D.
President, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research