American Federation for
Medical Research

NEWS

WESTERN REGION Edition

I am always pleased, and a bit surprised, when I hear a colleague reminisce of having their first formal oral presentation at a regional AFMR meeting. It is a reminder of how, for more than seventy years, the AFMR has influenced the lives of so many medical researchers. There are several current deans, department chairs, program directors, and researchers whose careers have been shaped by their participation in the AFMR. However, there is a general perception that societies such as the AFMR no longer have relevance to the physician-scientist. I believe this opinion to mostly be a byproduct of the growth of subspecialty societies over the last several years. But the AFMR does several things very well and continues to provide a unique value to physician-scientists. It is one of the few remaining multi-disciplinary organizations representing investigators in all areas of biomedical and patient-oriented research. Scholarship, Advocacy, Career Development, Leadership – these are the core missions of the AFMR. What does this mean for you?

Fall is a busy time for the Western Region of the AFMR, as we prepare for our 2011 regional meeting, held in Carmel, California, January 26 – 29, 2011. The meeting will open with a symposium, “Global Health: The Specter of Cancer, Malnutrition and Infection” with talks on cervical cancer prevention, Vitamin D deficiency and TB, and Drug Development for Neglected Infectious Diseases on Wednesday. This will be followed on Thursday morning by a plenary session continuing the global health theme with talks on the current challenges in global health, global nutrition, the impact of iodine and environmental toxicants across the world, and the impact of obesity on global health. On Thursday afternoon, the WAFMR Outstanding Investigator Award

Public Policy Update The AFMR has taken recent steps toward advancing its public policy agenda by partnering with FASEB and with Research!America. Here are a few:    FASEB provided comments to the Department of Health and Human Services on proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule.    The AFMR identified priorities for future investment in biomedical research that were forwarded to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy by FASEB.    Congress has recessed without passing the FY2011 funding bills for NIH and other

Journal of Investigative Medicine The Journal of Investigative Medicine publishes work of broad interest to academic physicians and research scientists in areas pertaining to clinical and biomedical research. Recent JIM Manuscripts Volume 58, number 7 contained a collection of manuscripts detailing the work presented in the AFMR-sponsored Symposium “Regenerative Medicine in the 21st Century” at the Experimental Biology meeting in Anaheim, California (April 2010). This collection of

1. Submit an abstract to your AFMR Regional Meeting.
2. Learn about and influence important public policy issues.
3. Apply for a Research Day Award to be presented at your institution’s college or departmental research day.
4. Obtain information regarding career development, research and training opportunities, funding sources, and grant development at AFMR Career Connections.
5. Submit a proposal for a symposium at the 2012 Experimental Biology meeting.