Society News

Leveling up

Angela Hopp
May 16, 2023

Education. Advocacy. Diversity. Outreach. Publishing. And more.

Everything the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology does requires member participation and input. If you’re on the outside looking in, that seems pretty obvious, right? The ASBMB is a member-led society, so it makes sense that members are the driving force for all it achieves.

Less obvious is what that engagement feels like and what it means to the people doing the doing. And that’s what we asked the second class of ASBMB fellows, named about this time last year, to think about and write about for this issue.

The fellows program recognizes the many ways members make a difference in our community. The society bestows the honorific, but the truth is these folks leveled up a long time ago. They believed in the cause, and they committed to it. Maybe not all at once. Maybe little by little. But at some point they found themselves all in.

We hope you’ll enjoy their stories of how they became immersed.

The ASBMB and me

Ralph Bradshaw helped take the Journal of Biological Chemistry online, was the first editor of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics and wrote the history of the society’s first 100 years.

People in the ASBMB have changed my life

“I’ve repeatedly had encounters in the society, and especially at the annual meetings, that have had a tremendous impact on my life and my career,” Paul Craig writes.

Saying yes to a community of communicators

Susanna Greer describes her journey to engaging deeply with, and caring about, the society.

Investing in the next generation

“Attending that meeting kicked off my relationship with the ASBMB ... It got me hooked on the excitement of sharing scientific discoveries and networking with colleagues,” Nathan Vanderford writes.

An unpredictable journey

“I am a firm believer in academic science and society publishing and giving back to the scientific community,” Alex Toker writes.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition weekly.

Learn more
Angela Hopp

Angela Hopp is the forme rexecutive editor of ASBMB Today and former senior director of marketing and communications for the ASBMB. 

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Opinions

Opinions highlights or most popular articles

Who decides when a grad student graduates?
Training

Who decides when a grad student graduates?

Nov. 15, 2024

Ph.D. programs often don’t have a set timeline. Students continue with their research until their thesis is done, which is where variability comes into play.

Redefining ‘what’s possible’ at the annual meeting
President's Message

Redefining ‘what’s possible’ at the annual meeting

Nov. 1, 2024

The ASBMB Annual Meeting is “a high-impact event — a worthwhile investment for all who are dedicated to advancing the field of biochemistry and molecular biology and their careers.”

Molecular impressions of water as cuneiform cascade*
Essay

Molecular impressions of water as cuneiform cascade*

Oct. 31, 2024

Inspired by "the most elegant depiction of H2O’s colligative features," Thomas Gorrell created a seven-tiered visual cascade of Sumerian characters beginning with the ancient sign for water.

Water rescues the enzyme
Essay

Water rescues the enzyme

Oct. 31, 2024

“Sometimes you must bend the rules to get what you want.” In the case of using water in the purification of calpain-2, it was worth the risk.

‘We’re thankful for our reviewers’
Journal News

‘We’re thankful for our reviewers’

Oct. 31, 2024

Meet some of the scientists who review manuscripts for the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Lipid Research and Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

Water takes center stage
Essay

Water takes center stage

Oct. 24, 2024

Danielle Guarracino remembers the role water played at two moments in her life, one doing scary experiments and one facing a health scare.