President’s Fall Message - ssr. · PDF filePresident’s Fall Message ... The title of Theodosius Dobzhanksy 1973 essay ... • Small noncoding RNAs in gametogenesis;

SSR News, October 2014

President’s Fall Message

“Do not go gentle into that good night.” –Dylan Thomas This message is a clarion call to arms that as members of this Society we must reclaim our rightful place at the hub of the basic life science research enterprise and shed the perception that ours is a specialty area relegated to the periphery, not of “interest” in the context of other adult tissues and processes that are perceived more relevant to human health. I can relate a personal example of such marginalization, regarding a recent submission of a comprehensive conditional knockout study on the function in mouse oocyte development of two Hdac genes potentially important for epigenetic modifications. One reviewer did not support publication; the work was well done, but should be submitted to a more specialized journal in reproduction because it would be of interest only to researchers studying mouse oocyte biology. This decision runs totally against the importance of reproduction for normal development (and in fact, the same journal routinely publishes similar conditional knockout studies on the role of Hdac’s in development of other tissues!). The title of Theodosius Dobzhanksy 1973 essay “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” is spot on, because at the end of the day evolution and human health are rooted in reproduction. In fact, as members of this Society know well, reproduction is at the core of life science research, and everything else is at the periphery! Now is not the time to discuss how the reproductive sciences arrived at this current state of affairs, but rather focus on what we as a Society can do to right the course. When I decided to run for President of this Society, I wrote paraphrasing Charles Dickens that in the life sciences “it is the best of times and it is the worst of times.” It is the best of times because remarkable technical advances (e.g., the -omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) and live cell imaging to name a few) have enabled scientists not only to uncover answers to long-standing questions but also have generated new and exciting questions. And it is the worst of times because the global financial crisis has led to a protracted and substantial reduction of government support for the life sciences in many countries. The reproductive sciences have contributed enormously to these scientific advances, but have not escaped the maelstrom of the global financial meltdown. As a Society we are at an inflection point in which we will emerge as either a stronger or weaker community of scientists. We cannot control the externalities that impact our Society, but we can identify ways that will sustain us through these challenging times and emerge stronger.” I wrote those words in January 2012 and they remain true today. The most acute problem confronting our Society is the disconcerting and continuing decrease in membership, a decline that has higher order ripple effects, e.g., fewer scientists studying the reproductive sciences means fewer publications in the reproductive sciences, which leads to decreased visibility in the research community. The first order of business is to retain our members, but doing so is only part of the solution. The sustainable long-term solution is to attract scientist’s who don’t think of themselves as reproductive biologists but whose research actually aligns quite well with the reproductive sciences. So what can we as a Society do to retain current members and attract new members?

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SSR News, October 2014

The Annual Meeting serves many functions, but a central function is to provide a forum for its members to re-connect and become energized, revitalized, rejuvenated, and excited to initiate new experiments as a result of annual meeting presentations and conversations with colleagues. Because the meeting serves as an important opportunity to attract new members, the program must have broad appeal that not only meets the needs of our membership but also piques the interest of scientists who do not view themselves as reproductive biologists. The theme of the 2015 annual meeting (to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico), “Evolution of Sex,” is deliberately designed to appeal not only to our membership but well beyond. And recognizing that many people can only attend a one or perhaps two meetings a year due to the current funding climate, the meeting’s format has evolved to a meeting-within-a-meeting, with morning sessions that should be of interest to every attendee and afternoon Focus Sessions that will appeal to the specialist. Further contributing to the annual meeting, the financial strength of the SSR has substantially improved under the watchful stewardship of our previous and current Treasurers (Bruce Murphy, Marty Matzuk, and Sally Perreault Darney) and clearly helped by the economic upturn. This improved financial position has enabled the Society’s senior leadership to be remarkably creative and flexible in crafting new ways to deploy our endowment and unrestricted funds to support the Annual Meeting, and thus the Program Co-Chairs, John Eppig and Sarah Kimmins, and I have pulled out all stops for the 2015 Annual Meeting, and have invited the best scientists in the world to speak. With this exciting program, it is important that every member of SSR attends the 2015 meeting. There is no excuse for not attending! The Program will be fantastic, and San Juan is an attractive and readily accessible and affordable destination point. But equally important is that each of you reaches out to your colleagues who are not SSR members—be they graduate students, post-docs, faculty, whatever—talking up the program and encouraging them to attend. Our program is singularly exciting and provocative and if you believe in our Society as I do, it is easy “selling something in which you believe.” The Annual Meeting presents an enormous opportunity to attract new members. Publication is the main venue by which we communicate the exciting work that is going on in the reproductive sciences, informing the scientific community that we work on questions of interest that go far beyond reproduction. Nevertheless, the reproductive sciences are often viewed as a specialty area, replete with its own “boutique” journals, and “boutique” is often equated with low impact factor. Yes, those dreaded two words: impact factor (IF). Regardless of how we individually may feel about IF’s, they are here to stay for the foreseeable future, because they are deeply embedded in the culture of academia, from appointment and promotion of faculty to department resource allocation within universities. Who among us can look in the mirror and say that we are immune to the seductive lure of high impact journals? Therein is the problem! Every month ~60 papers are published in relatively high-impact journals that fall within the scope of the reproductive sciences, broadly defined. But because these papers are published in a variety of journals, their effect in elevating perception of the importance of the reproductive sciences is diluted. Interestingly, authors of these publications are often not members of SSR (or any other reproductive biology society), but are scientists whose work has drawn them into the world of reproductive biology. For example, a gene is deleted because of its potential role in a developmental process, e.g., heart development, and surprisingly, the mutants are phenotypically normal but infertile! Such situations provide an opportunity to attract and retain scientists (and their students) into our field and Society. SSR’s senior leadership is thinking creatively how to consolidate and showcase high-impact research in the reproductive sciences not only for the health of our Society but also for the well-being of our field. As President, I welcome your input on how to achieve this goal, so important for our future. But our future really lies with all of us engaging colleagues at our institutions who are not “card-carrying” reproductive biologists, but whose scientific investigations are linked, directly or indirectly, to the reproductive sciences. We can all find venues to engage with these individuals: a monthly meeting of faculty and students who share a common research interest, conversations and discussions that promote reproductive systems as models for a plethora of biological questions, be they gene expression, cell cycle, cell-cell interaction, whatever. New collaborations are likely to emerge and provide opportunities to recruit new people into the field. Scientists are often comfortable wearing more than one hat. Each of us should make it our goal that in the next 3–5 years, one of our colleagues feels comfortable wearing a reproduction hat! I firmly believe that if we all commit to pursue this call to arms we will emerge stronger as a Society and as a field. Such changes will not happen overnight and there will be much headwind, but it is a journey well worth taking. So, “[d]o not go gentle into that good night”! And feel free to contact me if you have insights how we can recapture our rightful place at the epicenter of life science research.

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SSR President

From the Program Committee The famous geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky said, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Perhaps there is no aspect of biology that is more relevant to this than Reproductive Biology. No matter what our interest in Reproductive Biology—fertilization, germ cell development, reproductive organogenesis, pregnancy, or the nurture and health of offspring—Dobzhansky’s vision drives our experimental and conceptual insights. This dictum inspired the theme of the 2015 Annual Meeting: The Evolution of Sex. Our plan, of course, is to provide an exciting program for Reproductive Biologists, and also for those from the fundamental fields that drive our collective interests and experimental approaches: cell biologists, physiologists, geneticists, epigeneticists, molecular biologists, et al. All are welcome! We have an exciting program for you! Download the publicity flyer and please display and disseminate it as you wish. The Plenary Sessions orbit this evolutionary theme with presentations by David Bartel, The evolution of microRNAs; Nathaniel Comfort, The unseemly past, unsettling present, and uncertain future of controlling human evolution; Ina Dobrinski, Germ line modification to great large animal models of human disease; David Page, Rethinking the pristine X and rotting Y chromosomes; Mike Roberts, Evolution and developmental origins of the mammalian placenta; Willie Swanson, Adaptive co-evolution of interacting sperm-egg reproductive proteins; and the Historical Perspectives Lecture by Elizabeth Watkins, The pill reconceived: from therapeutic revolutionary to contraceptive lifestyle drug. The Annual Meeting itself is also evolving in exciting ways. Each afternoon will feature six concurrent focus sessions representing our Society’s diverse interests—and organized by its leaders. Each session will be a mix of invited lectures by innovative (and sometimes controversial) leading investigators blended with short presentations from submitted abstracts (about 108 of them); these short presentations will be selected for best quality and fit by session organizers. There will be no stand-alone platform sessions. The focus sessions include tons of stuff for every Reproductive Biologist to chew on, but not so much as to cause mental cramping:

Photo credit: Puerto Rican beach by Ron Relring.

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• Mechanistic advances in the biology of reproductive epigenetics; • Germ line-mediated transmission of epigenetic effects; • Clinical ramifications of epigenetic inheritance; • Sex determination from fish to mammals; • Emerging roles of developmental signaling pathways in the adult gonad; • Analysis of ovarian function; • Testis biology: of mice and men; • Meiosis: an extra-special cell division; • Male germ cell biology; • Oocytes unscrambled; • The Ultimate ART—how far can we go with assisted reproduction and what do we

gain; • How to turn-on an egg and make an embryo; • Small noncoding RNAs in gametogenesis; • Uterine receptivity to implantation and placentation; • Pregnancy: signaling, placentation, and parturition; • Parental diet and gamete/embryo development; • Neuroendocrine control of reproduction: some things old, some things new, some

things borrowed, some things left to pursue; • Impact of the environment on development and function of the mammalian ovary.

You will also have the option to use a unique experimental system providing an audio accompaniment to the posters that will augment the poster experience for both presenters and attendees. Each day will start and end with the poster sessions; the late afternoon session will follow the Focus Sessions, providing opportunity to reprise the action of the day with libational encouragement. Also planned is a special evening of festivities highlighting the Trainee Research Awards. Contrary to what you might think, transport to San Juan is surprisingly economical. You will find airfares generally less than to other SSR meeting sites, and you will have the opportunity to enjoy a remarkable cultural and vacation experience outside the meeting with great recreating of all sorts: food, hiking, exploring rain forests, and so forth. The special meeting rates for the hotel(s) will be extended for three days before and after the meeting to encourage an economical family experience. No passport needed for US citizens. You will depart San Juan scientifically inspired yet relaxed by your vacation and cultural experience.

—Sarah Kimmins ([email protected]) and John Eppig ([email protected]) Co-Chairs, 2015 Program Committee

From the Local Arrangements Committee Greetings from the Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) members for SSR '15! We are very pleased that San Juan was chosen as the venue for the upcoming annual meeting of SSR, and are looking forward to making this convention not only productive and scientifically engaging—but also an exciting one! Our responsibilities as members of the LAC are many and include organizing some of the social activities, helping with fundraising, designing a logo for the official T-shirt, developing an outreach activity for high school students, and organizing a 5K fun run/walk. We have been working as a team for over six months now, with the goal of meeting the high expectations bestowed upon us. We are looking forward to working alongside various SSR Committees (Program, Development, Trainee, and Public Affairs), as well as the Business Office, to ensure a smooth and memorable meeting.

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Book your flights and hotel for the 2015 Annual Meeting now!

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For most of us LAC members, Puerto Rico is our homeland, so we have decided to share the task of promoting the island's don't-miss sites and activities. While there is plenty to do in Puerto Rico's capital city, San Juan, we would like to encourage you to stay some extra time, bring your family, and visit the rest of the island. Check out our blog series to learn more about where to go and that to do in San Juan and beyond. In about seven months, we will see each other in San Juan. In the meantime, make sure you read our blogs and watch the videos. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, we are also here to help. Send your questions to [email protected]. See you in June 2015! —Idhaliz, Rocio, Zelieann, Juanmahel, Veronica, Abigail, Maricarmen, Esbal, Carlos Jesus, Nirah, Perla, Janis,

Jessica, Nabal, and Lynnette 2015 Local Arrangements Committee

Photo credit: Puerto Rico Convention Center by Angel X. Viera-Vargas.

Call for Nominations of SSR Officers and Directors Nominations are now being accepted from Regular Members of SSR of candidates for the offices of Vice President-Elect and of Treasurer, and for two members of the Board of Directors. SSR depends on the enthusiasm and willingness of members to participate and serve for its continuing success. By nominating candidates and electing SSR’s Officers and Directors, members have the opportunity to help shape the leadership and future direction of the Society. This is your opportunity to identify colleagues who can help shape the current and future activities of SSR as a premier international Society in the field of reproductive biology. Submit the name and professional affiliation of individual(s) you wish to nominate and a brief (1–2 paragraphs) statement of support. Please first contact the individual(s) to confirm their willingness to be nominated and to serve, if elected. Please send your nominations to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Mitch Eddy ([email protected]), by Friday, 7 November 2014. Other members of the Nominating Committee are Blanche Capel, Lane Christenson, Marco Conti, Pat Hoyer, Pat Hunt, Joy Pate, Susan Suarez, Carmen Williams, and Trainees Rajini Sreenivasan and Jeremy Egbert. Visit the SSR web site for listings of previous SSR Officers, Board Members and Committee Members. Their duties are described in the SSR Bylaws. Also, you can find contact details for all current members in the Member Directory.

—Mitch Eddy ([email protected]) Chair, 2015 Program Committee

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The Society sponsors five major awards, each recognizing outstanding contributions to the science of reproductive biology. The Awards Committee encourages SSR members to exercise the privilege of membership by nominating individuals for these awards. The five major awards presented annually are: The Carl G. Hartman Award, named for a distinguished reproductive biologist, is SSR’s highest award. It recognizes a career of research and scholarly activities in the reproductive biology field. The nominee does not have to be a member of the Society. The SSR Research Award recognizes an active, regular member of the Society for outstanding research published during the previous six years. The SSR Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated unselfish service and leadership in advancing the discipline of reproductive biology. The SSR New Investigator Award recognizes an active, regular member of the Society for outstanding research completed and published within 12 years after receiving the Ph.D. or other equivalent professional degree. The SSR Trainee Mentoring Award recognizes an active, regular member of the Society who as a mentor has had a significant impact on trainees within the SSR. The Trainee Mentoring Award is intended for individuals who exceed the basic roles of an academic advisor by mentoring those with whom they interact. Guidelines for nominating candidates for awards, the award criteria, and the list of past recipients are available on the SSR Web site. Please make note of changes to the application requirements. Awards Committee members for 2014–2015 include: Jennifer Wood (Chair), Joanna Burdette, Mark Crowe, Diane Duffy, Tom Fleming, Kanako Hayashi, Rebecca Krisher, Ken McNatty, Patricio Morales, Kyle Orwig, Lori Raetzman, Stefan Schlatt, Quinton Winger, and Humphrey Yao. Non-voting trainee representatives are Hannah Brown and Zhiyuan Chen. Please send Nomination Packets by 3 November 2014 to: Jennifer Wood, Chair, SSR Awards Committee. Each packet should include all required documents saved as a single PDF file. The preferred method of receipt is by e-mail: [email protected] in order to facilitate review by the entire Awards Committee. However, documents may alternatively be sent by fax: 402-472-6362 or mail: A224k Animal Science Bldg, 3940 Fair St, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908.

—Jennifer Wood ([email protected]) Chair, 2015 Awards Committee

SSR Director and long-time member Kelle H. Moley, M.D., has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. Congratulations!

Dr. Kelle H. Moley, M.D. Photo credit: Adam Bird. All rights reserved.

Time to Nominate Your Colleagues for SSR 2015 Major Awards!

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From the Diversity Committee First, I would like to recognize the recipients of the Burroughs Wellcome Travel Fellowships, which provide travel funds for trainees and junior faculty members to attend the SSR meeting. Congratulations to our trainee recipients: Nawal Yahya (University of South Carolina), Beth Graham (University of California, Davis), Amanda Rodriguez (Baylor College of Medicine), Enrique Sosa (The University of Texas at San Antonio), Maria Padua (University of Florida), Adel Reda Moawad (McGill University), and Uziel Mendez (University of Michigan). Junior faculty receiving awards were Rocio Rivera (University of Missouri) and Zelieann Craig (University of Arizona). Thanks are extended to Kyle Caires and Jennifer Hernandez Gifford for coordinating the Burroughs Wellcome Travel Fellowships application process.

The Minority Affairs/Diversity Committee Lunch Symposium, which is always open to all attendees of the Annual Meeting, was once again a great success. The speaker this year was Dr. Jose F. Cordero, M.D., currently the Dean of the University of Puerto Rico's Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Cordero was previously an Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service and the founding director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Cordero has been active in research devoted to understanding and preventing birth defects and developmental disabilities. He promotes vaccination programs and other efforts such as folic acid supplementation to prevent serious birth defects. His talk was titled, "Risk Factors for Preterm Births in Puerto Rico: From Health Disparities to Endocrine Disruptors." Dr. Cordero gave a great seminar that led to excellent discussions, with several people staying afterward to visit with Dr. Cordero. If you were unable to make it this year at Grand Rapids, please be sure to make plans to participate next year in Puerto Rico. Again, the symposium is open to all attendees at SSR and is a great venue for trainees to meet peers and mentors. The committee is eager to plan the speaker for next year’s symposium, and several suggestions were made at the meeting. However, we will happily entertain any suggestions for potential speakers for next year’s symposium. Feel free to contact me with recommendations. A big “thank you” is in order for Dr. Jennifer Hernandez Gifford (Oklahoma State University), the previous chair of the Diversity Committee. Jennifer devoted a tremendous amount of time and energy to this committee and truly kept us organized. Her hard work is sincerely appreciated. Likewise, we are greatly indebted to Jodi Flaws, who has faithfully served as our Board Liaison. Thank you, Jodi, for all your effort and support for the Diversity Committee. We welcome our new Board Liaison, Kelle Moley, and look forward to working together. Finally, we would like to welcome Rocio Rivera who has agreed to serve as Co-Chair for the Diversity Committee. If you would like to get involved in the Diversity Committee events, please feel free to contact me or Rocio Rivera ([email protected]). We look forward to seeing you next year in Puerto Rico!

—Ryan Ashley ([email protected]) Chair, 2015 Diversity Committee

Dr. Jose F. Cordero, M.D. Photo credit: Adam Bird. All rights reserved.

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Welcome to the SSR! Change of Status Associate Browne, Patience Ferguson, Susan D Frankshun, Amy-Lynn Murata, Takuya Song, Haengseok Whyte, Jeffrey J Emeritus Callard, Gloria V Karsch, Fred J Kistler, W Stephen Knowles, Barbara B Lindemann, Charles B Regular Concha, Ilona I Hung, Pei-Hsuan Mason, Jeffrey B Puri, Pawan

New Members Associate Abu-Qteish, Hilal Mohammad Ali Anger, Martin Ball, Christopher Buckanovich, Ronald John Buffone, Mariano Cardoso, Rita Caron, Kathleen M Chavez, Shawn L Curnow, Eliza Davis, Yelena de Figueiredo, Jose Ricardo de los Reyes, Monica DeKuiper, Justin Franchi, Ana Maria Gastal, Melba O Halow, Nathan Haneda, Shingo Heacock, Steven Heale, Jason Heiser, Patrick Herickhoff, Lisa A Hwang, Seongsoo Jin, Mei Johnson, Sally Jun, Jin Hyun Keaton, Sarah Kim, Dong-Hoon Kim, Hyung-Joon Kolbasa, Karen Kretowicz, Joseph Kutzler, Michelle Leach, Richard Lee, Sung Lim Lee, Woo Sik Li, Hang Wun Raymond

Wilmut, Ian Yin, Ping Zhang, Nan Trainee Adams, Jaye Agrawal, Varkha Aloisio, Gina Amelkina, Olga Antunes da Rosa, Paulo Roberto Ayala, Luis Baez, Giovanni M Behrouzi, Bahar Beverly, Brandiese Bhattacharjee, Rahul Bhutada, Sumit Madhusudan Budden, Lucas E Calderon, Alexandra Cao, Zubing Casalechi, Maira Convissar, Scott Cordeiro, Marilia Henriques Cornelius, Alyssa Da Rocha, Andre M de Souza Castilho, Anthony Cesar Diao, Feiyang Dillard, Darby S Elsarrag, Mazin Z Elsarrag, Ramey Z Esparza-Harris, Kendra C Fisher, Heidi Flores, Rita A Freitas, Cynthia Dela Cruz Gilchrist, Graham Girouard, Julie Giuliani, Emma Gnecco, Juan Gonzales da Silva, Carolina Gonzalez Grajales, Leslie A Goswami, Suranjana Graham, Beth Gram, Aykut Guastali, Midyan Daroz Hamelin Morrissette, Jovane Houshdaran, Sahar Huang, Juncheng Huang, Shiyang Hughes, Camilla HK Isgur, Emily Jacobs, Robert D Jaiswal, Mukesh Jasensky, Joshua Jeon, Ryoung-Hoon Kautz, Ewa Khan, Meraj H Kim, Jihyun Kim, Jiwon King, Catherine A Kottawatta, Kottawattage Sanda A Kovacovicova, Kristina Li, Kailiang Li, Tiantian Liu, Jianan

Lowther, Katie Magata, Fumie Mahalingam, Sharada Martins, Joao Paulo Meinsohn, Marie-Charlotte Mendes Cunha, Andrielle Thainar Mendez, Uziel Menon, Bindu Miyamoto, Yuya Ocon-Grove, Olga M O'Flynn, Caitlin Oride, Aki Panyaboriban, Saritvich Prukudom, Sukumal Pyun, Jung-A Ramirez Hernand, Deyra de Los Angeles Rattan, Sariya Reinholt, Brad Rho, Na-Young Ricu Moya, Manuel Rosas Gavilan, Gabriela Russell, Stewart Salomon, Alexander K Scott, Caroline Sen, Sabyasachi Severance, Ashley L Silva, Herlon Victor Silva, Saulo Simintiras, Constantine Sodek, Martin Suen, Alisa A Tavares, Denise Thuwanut, Paweena Umehara, Takashi Upton, Dannielle H Vargas, Vladimir Vieyra Valdez, Elizabeth Ward, Cody Yang, Cairong Yeung, Aurora Seen Yu Yoon, Seung-Bin Zezeski, Abigail L Zhou, Hong

Lin, Fu-Jung Liu, Xiaosong Lo Turco, Edson Guimaraes Mahabir, Somdat Mello Martins, Maria Isabel Mueller, Jacob Murphy, Christopher R Nakano, Toru Ochoa-Bernal, M Ariadna Padilla-Banks, Elizabeth Park, Young-Ho Rho, Gyu-Jin Ribeiro Rodrigues, Ana Paula Risinger, John Rodriguez, Fernando Ross, Pablo Juan Ruane, Peter Sachdeva, Geetanjali Shankar, Kartik Shikanov, Ariella Sidell, Neil Silva, Alexandre Silva, Lucia Sim, Bo-Woong Sloboda, Deborah M Smith, Judith A Song, Bong-Seok Souza, Fabiana Ferreira Sturmey, Roger G Su, Dingding Sucheta, Susan Szabo, Piroska E Tamura, Isao Tapia Pizarro, Alejandro Techakumphu, Mongkol Therriault, Pierre Thompson, Robert Trau, Heidi Tsai-Morris, Chow-Hwa Wang, Hailong Wang, Jun Whelan III, Joseph Xu, Jie Yang, Qing Yu, Haiquan Zamudio, Natasha Zondervan, Krina T Regular Amory, John K Avidor-Reiss, Tomer Bianchi, Enrica Blithe, Diana L Brown, Mary B Cordero, Jose F Glasier, Anna Green, Richard Edward Jha, Rajesh Kumar Kowalewski, Mariusz P Mohankumar, Sheba MJ Paul, Soumen Puscheck, Elizabeth E Wang, Christina

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Notes from the Editors-in-Chief of Biology of Reproduction We, our team of Associate Editors (Hugh Clarke, Bart M. Gadella, Patrick Lonergan, John J. Peluso, Margaret G. Petroff, Darryl Russell, Chandra Yallampalli, Wei Yan, Humphrey H.-C. Yao), and the BOR Editorial Office in Madison continue to be quite busy and working hard! With respect to the Editorial team, we are pleased to announce that Patricia Morris (The Population Council) has agreed to be a new Associate Editor for the journal. The Associate Editors are very important, because their fair and insightful evaluations allow us to make the best decisions on manuscripts and to maintain the quality of the journal. Submissions continue to exceed expectations. We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Board of Reviewing Editors, ad hoc reviewers, and the SSR Publications Committee for their contributions to the success of BOR. The journal continues to publish original Research Articles along with Commentaries, Biographical Sketches, and Minireviews. One continuing focus is to publish more Minireviews and Biographical Sketches. If you have ideas for them, please e-mail your ideas to us, as it is important to keep the journal on the cutting-edge of reproductive biology and reproductive sciences. We also encourage the submission of manuscripts in the area of clinical and translational aspects of reproductive sciences, and welcome manuscripts using a systems biology approach containing high content data. Although the five-year impact factor for the journal is 3.945, the impact factor for BOR dropped to 3.451 in 2013. Nevertheless, we continue to be one of the top journals in reproductive biology and reproductive sciences, as many of the other journals in our field also had a drop in impact factor. The impact of the journal is mostly dependent on the quality of the papers submitted and then published after peer review. The cardinal considerations in acceptance of a manuscript for publication are whether it presents sound science and makes a significant advance in our understanding of some phenomenon or aspect of reproduction. Our goal is for BOR to be the journal that consistently publishes the best research in reproductive biology and reproductive sciences! Most importantly, you as SSR members can contribute significantly to the goal of BOR being the premier journal in reproduction by submitting your best work for publication. We welcome feedback and suggestions on any aspect of your journal, including the editorial process and direction. Indeed, we look forward to your participation by submitting and publishing your best manuscripts in the journal.

—Franco DeMayo ([email protected]) & Tom Spencer ([email protected])

Co-Editors-in-Chief, Biology of Reproduction

Submit your best work to Biology of Reproduction.

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From the Public Affairs Committee Show your SSR pride! You are invited to download the new SSR member logo. Please consider using it when giving a presentation. Our members are our best advertisement, and showing that you, an accomplished reproductive scientist, are a proud member of the SSR will help spread the word. Presentation Videos Our Board representative, Kate Loveland, has been working to make videos of many of the presentations from the annual meeting more accessible. You can access the videos with your member login and password at this website. Newsletter Quiz Bruce Murphy was the winner of the trivia contest for the June Newsletter. The prize was a lovely art print of a desert tortoise by Cindy Hitchcock, kindly provided by her aunt, former SSR President and current Treasurer, Sally Darney.

—Laura Clamon Schulz ([email protected]) Chair, 2015 Public Affairs Committee

From the Publications Committee As previously reported, the SSR Publications Committee continues to be engaged in strategic planning for the future of Biology of Reproduction. With the approval of the Board of Directors, the SSR has engaged Jasna Markovac, Ph.D., as a consultant to provide evaluation and advice on future publishing, marketing, and management strategies for BOR. In making the selection of a consultant, a special task force of our committee interviewed a number of managing editors and publisher representatives, talked with the FASEB director of publications, and received proposals from three consultants. There was consensus that Dr. Markovac best fits the needs and culture of the SSR and BOR. She brings to us the benefits of her diverse experience in scientific scholarly publishing. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Genetics and spent a number of years in academic research and teaching positions before moving to publishing, where she has worked in editorial positions for Elsevier, Academic Press, and Raven Press. She is active in several scholarly societies, has served as Chair of the Publications Committee of the Society for Developmental Biology, and is Chair of the FASEB Publications and Communications Committee. She currently engages in free-lance consulting and is also Senior Advisor, Publishing & Related Business Development, University of Michigan Medical School. In the next few months, Dr. Markovac will be gathering data and meeting with BOR editors and staff, and the Publications Committee. We look forward to working with her and receiving her report later in the year. In line with the President’s call to raise the public visibility of the reproductive sciences, the Publications Committee is interested in your ideas and vision for the future of BOR as one venue for the mission. Please send us your thoughts about new strategies and initiatives for the digital journal, from the perspectives of authors as well as readers.

—Mary Ann Handel, Chair ([email protected]) and Dan Bernard, Co-Chair ([email protected]) 2015 Publications Committee

Click here to download your SSR member logo.

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Trainee Update 2014 Annual Meeting Wrap-Up The Trainee Affairs Committee has been busy as usual! The 2014 Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a huge success—thanks, in part, to the efforts of the following dedicated trainees: Malavika Adur (Trainee Mentor Luncheon Coordinator, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Gerialisa Caesar (Larry Ewing Memorial Trainee Travel Fund Coordinator, University of Missouri-Columbia), Dr. Florencia Ardon (Scavenger Hunt, Cornell University). Additionally, we are indebted to Dr. Jane Fenelon (University of Montreal) and Dr. Niraj Joshi (Michigan State University) for working tirelessly to coordinate the Trainee Volunteer Services (TVS). For the 2015 meeting in Puerto Rico, Dr. Joshi will move into the senior TVS coordinator position, while Veronica Negron-Perez (University of Florida) will join him as co-chair and assist the Local Arrangements Committee. We also want to thank all of the outgoing Trainee Affairs Committee (TAC) members and welcome the 2014-2015 members. We are now actively recruiting 2015-2016 TAC members. If you are interested in becoming a TAC member, please contact Dr. Jenna Haverfield at [email protected]. Also, if you have suggestions for improving the annual meeting, feel free to let us know at [email protected]. Lastly, we want to send an enormous thank you to Dr. Tony McNeel (USDA, ARS, US Meat Animal Research Center) for his expert guidance as the Senior Trainee Representative over the past year. He has left some very big shoes to fill! Looking Forward to Puerto Rico in 2015 With the 2014 Annual Meeting behind us, we are looking to the 2015 meeting in Puerto Rico! Along these lines, we recently sent a survey to SSR trainees about some issues we are pursuing within the Trainee Affairs Committee. Several things already in the planning phases for the 2015 Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico include: moving the Trainee Forum to a slot earlier in the program and a raffle (with some great prizes) to be run throughout the meeting in support of the Larry Ewing Memorial Trainee Travel Fund. Watch the trainee Facebook group for more updates on the meeting program. We hope to introduce several changes to trainee-specific events this year! Trainee Facebook Group Our Facebook group has changed its name to the “Society for the Study of Reproduction Trainee Affairs.” If you aren't already a member, follow the embedded link to join now! In addition to a name change, we decided—based on the results of our survey and input from the current TAC—to open the Facebook group to non-SSR members. We chose to do this because many trainee members may not maintain their membership from year to year due to

Poster Finalists (left to right): Ying Yang – Finalist, Won-Hee Song – Finalist, June-Sub Lee – Finalist, Pawan Puri – 2nd place, Melissa McCallum – 3rd place, Sharon Eddie – 1st place

Platform Competition Finalists (left to right): Matthew Strug – Finalist, Veronika Benesova – Finalist, Matthew Ratsep – 1st place, Rodolfo Cardoso – 3rd place, Jonathan Busada – 2nd place, Sandra Ruiz Orduna – Finalist

Photo credits: Adam Bird. All rights reserved.

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the cost of the membership fees. To provide continuity for those peripatetic members and to recruit new SSR trainee members, we elected to keep our Facebook group “open” to all interested individuals. We have been using the Facebook group primarily to update members on scholarships and news bits, post articles of interest, and provide a source of annual meeting information. Whilst we also post current job opportunities to the Facebook group, please remember that the Trainee Affairs Placement Services is the best place to get all up-to-date information on technician, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty positions in reproduction. Scholarships of Interest to Trainees The Anita Payne Scholarship to attend Frontiers in Reproduction (FIR) was established in 2012 and provides $5,000 to help defray the cost of travel to and participation in the FIR program for one Trainee member of SSR. To be a qualified applicant, you must be: a current Trainee Member of SSR (dues are paid and mentor's signature is on file in the SSR Business Office by the deadline for FIR applications—15 January 2015), and accepted to participate in the FIR program. Next year’s FIR program will be held 3 May–14 June 2015 in Woods Hole, MA. More information on the FIR program can be found here. The Lalor Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship applications will be due 15 January 2015. The mission of this fellowship is to support researchers early in their work so that they can become independently funded in the field of mammalian reproductive biology as related to the regulation of fertility. This year, the fellowship stipend is $45,000. Information on this opportunity and application instructions can be found here. Nominations for the Next SSR Trainee Representative We are seeking nominations for Trainee Representative to the Board of Directors for 2015–2017. A position description can be found here. Nominees should submit a candidate platform statement, including a photo. Nominees must be nominated by a current SSR member. Nominations are due 7 November 2014. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at [email protected]

—Annie Newell-Fugate ([email protected]) & Jenna Haverfield ([email protected])

Senior Trainee Representative & Junior Trainee Representative

(cont.)

Are you joining SSR in Puerto Rico for the 2015 Annual Meeting?

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