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Fall 1998
VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 FALL 1998
NEWSLETTERAChemS Association for Chemoreception Sciences
Fostering chemical senses research and understanding smell and taste in health and disease
AChemS World Wide Web Site
Executive Committee
President
Charles Greer, Ph.D.
Yale University
President Elect
David Hill, Ph.D.
University of Virginia
Past Executive Chair
Thomas Scott, Ph.D.
University of Delaware
Secretary
Susan Travers, Ph.D.
Ohio State University
Treasurer
Wayne Silver, Ph.D.
Wake Forest University
Membership Chair
Joseph Brand, Ph.D.
Monell Chemical Senses Center
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Program Chairs
Sue C. Kinnamon, Ph.D.
Colorado State University
Diego Restrepo, Ph.D.
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Program Chair Elect
Stuart Firestein, Ph.D.
Columbia University
Councilors
Tim Gilbertson, Ph.D.
Louisiana State University
Joel White, Ph.D.
Tufts University School of Medicine
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AChemS Central Office c/o Panacea Associates
744 Duparc Circle
Tallahassee, FL 32312-1409
Phone/FAX: (850) 531-0854
In This Newsletter You Will Find:
- Comments from the President, Charles Greer
- Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting, April 22, 1998
- Minutes of the AChemS Business Meeting, April 25, 1998
- General Membership News
- Description of the Directory of Chemical Senses Training Programs and Sample Application form
- Call for Nominations for AChemS Officers
- Call for Nominations for AChemS Awards
- Call to Attend AChemS XXI
- Call for Abstracts, AChemS XXI
- Applications for Minority and Clinical Travel Fellowships
- Application for Student Travel/Housing Awards
- Positions Open
- Announcements for Satellite Symposiums, AChemS XXI
- Announcement for ISA/IUFoST World Conference on Low Calorie Sweeteners
- Announcement for Meeting of the Society for Ingestive Behavior
- AChemS Awardees for 1998
Deadlines/Events in 1999
- January 1: Items for Spring 1999 Newsletter due
- January 11: Abstracts for AChemS XXI due
- January 11: Student Travel/Housing Award Applications due
- January 15: Minority Travel Fellowship Applications due
- January 15: Clinical Travel Fellowship Applications due
- January 31: Nominations for Officers and Awards due
- April 14-18, 1999: AChemS XXI
The AChemS Newsletter is published twice a year. Those interested in publishing in the Spring 1999 Newsletter should submit material by January 1, 1999 to: Dr. Susan Travers, Secretary of AChemS, Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, Ohio State University, 305 W. 12th Ave. Columbus, OH, 43210.Tel:(614)292-6366;FAX(614)292-6087;email: travers.3@osu.edu
COMMENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT,CHARLES A. GREER
Dear Colleagues,
As AChemS begins its 3rd decade we remain a vibrant and growing organization. Both student and regular memberships are strong and we continue to attract new members. The annual meeting continues to be a high point of AChemS membership and certainly represents the largest annual gathering of chemical senses scientists. While AChemS was initially founded to represent chemical senses in North America, we have rapidly developed into an international organization with membership spread across 5 continents and 21 countries.
Congratulations are due Dr. Gail Burd and her committee for the outstanding meeting they organized this past April. As is well known to many, the effort of reviewing and scheduling each of the submissions and finally preparing the abstract volume for the annual meeting is a heroic task. Thank you again!
Congratulations are also due the recipients of the 1998 AChemS Awards including Dr. Linda Bartoshuk, Dr. Valerie Duffy, Dr. Steven Nordin, Dr. Takashi Kurahashi and Ms. Gricelly Vargas. These awards recognize the significant achievements of our members in advancing the chemical senses and are supported, in part, by generous contributions from Moskowitz-Jacobs, Inc., The Takasago Corporation, Ajinomoto USA, and The Don Tucker Memorial Fund. I urge all of you to take part in this important recognition of our colleagues' achievements by nominating AChemS members for the 1999 Awards (see notice elsewhere in this Newsletter).
Congratulations are also extended to a long time AChemS member, Dr. Heinz Breer, who has received the highest science award in Germany. The German Science Foundation (Die Deutsche Forschungsge meinschaft) annually awards the Leibnitz Preis, its most prestigious science award, to a handful of scientists. Named after Gottfried Willhelm Leibnitz, a 17th century mathematician and philosopher, the 13 recipients for 1997 included Dr. Heinz Breer from the Zoological Institute at University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim. This year's 13 awardees work in a variety of fields that include archeology, geology, history, microbiology, molecular biology, physics, and physical chemistry. The award recognizes Dr. Breer's contribution to the field of molecular biology of the amphibian olfactory system. The Leibnitz-Preis also carries a monetary award of, either 3 million DM (two recipients, including Heinz Breer), or 1.5 million DM (11 recipients). The award ceremony was held in February, 1998 and was attended by the German Secretary for Science and Education, the President of the German Science Foundation and other top officials from the German Government. Congratulations to Heinz from all of us at AChemS.
NIDCD
This year marks a significant transition for the chemical senses at NIDCD. Dr. Jack Pearl of NIDCD retired in July, 1998. On behalf of the chemosensory community I wrote to thank Dr. Pearl most sincerely for his long and continuing efforts in the field of chemical senses. His service to the field, both in guiding individual scientists and in the development and implementation of innovative programmatic initiatives, contributed profoundly to the success and growth we have witnessed over the past decade. In addition, the substantive support that the Association for Chemoreception Sciences has received from NIDCD, as well as the recent International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste, reflected Dr. Pearl's experience and advice. In brief, his work has been evident throughout the chemical senses community and was a pivotal component of the successes we have enjoyed. On a more personal note, Dr. Pearl's enthusiastic interest in all aspects of the field and in each of his grantees and would-be-grantees has been much appreciated. I can only begin to imagine the number of hopefuls that have telephoned for advice or been fortunate enough to attend an AChemS meeting where, they could be certain, Dr. Pearl would provide ample opportunity to discuss their interests, plans, recent data and of course, the implications of their priority score. I think this has been particularly true of the outstanding mentoring Dr. Pearl provided to young scientists struggling to establish their first laboratory and independence. Dr. Pearl will be greatly missed. However, he can pursue his new adventures knowing that he made a difference and that he has of legacy of which he can be proud.
A party was held in honor of Dr. Pearl at the Executive Plaza South offices of NIDCD in Rockville, MD on Monday, July 27th, to mark his 18 years of service to NIH and its extramural mission to advance the chemoreception sciences. The party for Jack was organized by Dr. Judith Cooper, Deputy Director of the Division of Human Communication at NIDCD and was attended by Jack's NIDCD colleagues, including NIDCD Director Dr. James F. Battey, Jr. AChemS members from the extramural community in attendance included: Drs. Thomas Getchell, John DeSimone, Gerard Heck, and Richard Doty. In the spirit of the occasion Jack was praised for his service by Dr. Battey, Dr. Ralph Naunton, and Dr. Getchell and others in attendance, and more than one amusing anecdote was recited. As Dr. Cooper put it on behalf of her NIDCD colleagues, "We are losing our Pearl". That sentiment surely is shared by the entire chemoreception community.
Other changes at NIDCD include the ongoing search for a new Director of Intramural Research, the position held formerly by Dr. Battey, as well as an ongoing review of funding mechanisms such as the "P" series grants.
1999 Annual Meeting
Under the joint leadership of Dr. Sue Kinnamon and Dr. Diego Restrepo, the 1999 annual meeting is rapidly taking form. As noted elsewhere in this newsletter, the symposia have been selected and are largely organized. The Call for Abstracts is included in this newsletter and I strongly urge all intending to submit an abstract to carefully follow all instructions and deadlines. As noted in the minutes of the 1998 Business Meeting, revised abstracts will now require a fee in order to cover the additional expenses associated with replacement abstracts.
2000 Annual Meeting
Dr. Stuart Firestein was elected Program Chair for the 2000 Annual AChemS meeting. Suggestions for symposia or other meeting related events should be directed to Dr. Firestein.
Chemical Senses
As you know, the Table of Contents for the Chemical Senses is now arriving to all AChemS members via email. Beginning in January, 1999 subscriptions to Chemical Senses may be either the paper version ($65/year) or the electronic version ($27/year). Those choosing to receive only the electronic version will lower the annual cost of their membership in AChemS to only $72 ($45 dues and $27 for Chemical Senses). The two options for your Chemical Senses subscription will appear on your annual dues notice.
I would also like to thank the 3 outgoing editors of Chemical Senses for their valued service, Drs. Gary Beauchamp, Judy Van Houten and John Scott. These 3 will be replaced on January 1, 1999 with Drs. Stuart Firestein, Leslie Tolbert and Alan Gelperin. Dr. Tom Finger will continue as the Senior Executive Editor and is joined by Dr. Barry Ache as the Junior Executive Editor.
Notices and Information of Interest to AChemS MembersTwo mechanisms are being increasingly used to disseminate information to our membership. Our WEB site, maintained by Mike Meredith, at provides access to a wealth of information regarding membership status, the annual meeting, other chemosensory organizations and similar information. In addition, Wayne Silver maintains a chemical senses listserver that many use to post job openings, queries and other general announcements of interest to the chemical senses. To subscribe send to: listserv@wfu.edu the text message: "subscribe chemsenseslist." For further details on the chemical senses listserver please refer to the Fall 1996 Newsletter which is available at the AChemS WEB site.
EXECUTIVE MEETINGSpring AChemS meeting, April 22, 1998
Present were Thomas Scott, Charles Greer, Richard Costanzo, Mike Meredith, Diego Restrepo, Robert O'Connell, Thomas Christensen, Tim Gilbertson, Sarah Pixley, Joel White, Sue Lampman, Pat Meredith, Sue Kinnamon, Gail Burd. Kathy Hamilton and Joe Brand came late; Susan Travers, Stuart Firestein, Tom Finger, Wayne Silver and Dave Hill were not present. The meeting started at 12:50 pm.
Executive Chairperson's Report (Tom Scott):
The secretary's minutes for the last meeting were approved. A minor change in the last newsletter was that April Mott was not present at the November meeting.
We all send our condolences to Barry Ache on the death of his mother
Thomas Scott described Dr. James F. Battey, Jr., the new Director of NIDCD and asked members of the Executive Committee (EC) to make him welcome.
Tom welcomed the new officers of the Executive Committee: The new members are President-elect: David Hill, Secretary: Susan Travers, Treasurer: Wayne Silver, Membership Chair: Joe Brand, Councilor: Joel White, Program Chair-elect: Stuart Firestein. The only new member present was Joel White.
Membership in the Friends of NIDCD:
When Geraldine Fox founded the Friends of NIDCD, we voted to become sustaining members at the cost of $1,000 per year. Chemical Senses Day did not occur last year and we did not make a contribution. Tom Scott asked Tom Getchell to describe the Friends and its value to AChemS so that we could decide whether to reaffirm our commitment to the Friends. Tom Getchell responded that the Friends is an organization committed to support the NIDCD through broad efforts of public awareness (its charitable component) and political awareness (lobbying component). This group has organized Communication Awareness Day on Capitol Hill, and arranged for public testimony on the communication sciences at the annual congressional budget hearings. And annually, with the ARO meeting as the venue, meetings with key congressmen. There are now about 20 members on the board who represent all programmatic areas of the institute. Both leading clinical and basic science faculty, together with some representatives from industry serve. Tom Getchell has been a paying member of the Board for several years, using his own funds. Tom is the only Chemical Senses member on the 20-member board, although Judy Van Houten and Gary Beauchamp are also supporters of the Friends. It is his perspective that we should remain active to support this broad national initiative. Other groups pay anywhere from $20-40,000 per year, so our contribution is quite minor. The EC voted (13 to one) to maintain our sustaining membership in the Friends of NIDCD. A recommendation was made that we request an official copy of the newsletter of the Friends for the AChemS records. For convenience, this could be sent to Panacea, who would then send it to the current President.
Brain Awareness Week (March 16 to 22, 1998):
The Dana Alliance sponsored this week long event, with booklets, pamphlets, posters, brain quizzes, bookmarks and buttons. This event is a good forum for public awareness and advocacy for the neurosciences. It involved multiple political and scientific presentations in Washington. Gail Burd made some presentations, but no chemical senses groups were officially part of this event. Tom Scott represented AChemS at the final program held at the Senate Office Building. He noted that it was quite useful in bringing together legislators and the top officials of the Society for Neuroscience and in influencing our representatives in Washington. Hillary Clinton won the Decade of the Brain award for her work with children. Jim Battey, Alan Leshner and most of the Institute heads were there. Tom Scott recommended that we continue to support this event, especially as it provides these benefits at no cost to us. The EC agreed so that our membership and participation in Brain Awareness Week will continue. Tom will forward information to Charlie Greer. Gail Burd recommended that someone, perhaps Chris Byrd, promote and distribute chemical senses demonstrations like those used in the Outreach program via the webpage, so that they could be used during Brain Awareness Week. Gail Burd and Mike Meredith will develop ideas to promote the chemical senses at Brain Awareness Week this coming year.
Psychological Summit:
Tom Scott and Linda Bartoshuk will attend this meeting which will have 151 participants representing 95 organizations and they will represent AChemS. The topic is "Advancing the Scientific Base of Psychology", which concerns the scientific future of Psychology. There has been a recommendation for a Decade of Behavior to follow the Decade of the Brain.
Editorial Board of the Chemical Senses Journal:
Max Mozell was replaced as Executive Editor by Barry Ache on January 1, 1998. In terms of the twelve regular Editors, Bruce Jafek, Robert O'Connell, and Robert Bradley were replaced by Randy Reed, David Smith, and Bob Margolskee, beginning on January 1, 1998. This change has been duly acknowledged by Chemical Senses. On January 1, 1999, Gary Beauchamp, Judy Van Houten and John Scott will rotate off. A change in policy was made regarding recommendations for these editors. The current policy is that both the Executive Editors and the EC recommend editors. This will henceforth be changed so that the Executive Editors will make the recommendations and the EC will serve as the approving body. This policy will not, however, preclude addition of recommendations by the Committee. The current recommendations to replace the above editors are Stuart Firestein, Leslie Tolbert, and Alan Gelperin, who have all agreed to serve if approved. The Committee voted unanimously to invite these three to join the editorial board as of January 1, 1999 (15 members present).
Relations with Oxford University Press (OUP):
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