Greer, Susanna

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 the 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 the elevation of science is akin to throwing a pebble over a cliff. We may never see where our pebble lands or the impact it makes. But, as a group, if enough of us toss our pebbles together, we can see their impact grow.

To better understand the ASBMBs organizational resources, in addition to my first term on the ASBMB Council, I serve on the ASBMB Finance Committee and am honored to have been an ASBMB fellow in 2022.

The ASBMB played a large role in my scientific development, and that of my trainees, and now influences the scientific lives of grantees in the programs I oversee as the chief scientific officer at V Foundation for Cancer Research. The ASBMB Council helps society leaders and members decide where best to throw our pebbles and where to put our limited resources of time and money so that our combined efforts will afford the greatest influence.

I would be honored to serve a second term.

Education and training

• B.S., Berry College
• Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Postdoc, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Awards and honors

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

Experience

• Chief Scientific Officer, The V Foundation for Cancer Research (2022 to present)
• Senior Director, Clinical Cancer Research and Immunology, American Cancer Society (2015 to 2022)
• Adjunct Professor, Georgia State University (2015 to present)
• President, Greer Consulting, Science Speak Easy (2011 to 2015)
• Director, Molecular Basis of Disease Program, Georgia State University (2013 to 2015)
• Associate Chair, Department of Biology, Georgia State University (2012 to 2014)
• Associate Professor with Tenure, Department of Biology, Georgia State University (2010 to 2015)
• Associate Director, Molecular Basis of Disease Program, Georgia State University (2007 to 2013)
• Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Georgia State University (2004 to 2010)