The Forum was held on Monday, June 19, 1995 at noon. There were 19 people in attendance.
The results of the survey were reported and are as follows: There were 70 responses, 58 of which were from women and 12 from minorities including 6 Oriental or Asian-American, 2 Hispanic, 2 Puerto Rican and 2 African-American. The distribution among the various divisions of the Society was as follows: 16 in Photochemistry, Photophysics and Phototechnology, 7 in Photosensory Biology, 9 in Photosynthesis and Photoconversion, 29 in Photomedicine and 27 in Environmental Photobiology and UVR Effects. Fifty seven were full members. Thirty-four of the respondents were tenured or on the tenure track, 8 were students or post-docs, the remainder had various non-tenured positions such as research assistant or associate, etc. There were 10 M.D., 5 M.S., 1 M.D./Ph.D., 1 other and the rest had Ph.D.. Six of the respondents received their terminal degree in the 60. 25 in the 70, 28 in the 80 and 10 in the 90. There were 5 who wanted mentors and 25 who wanted to be mentors. A Directory of the respondents will be mailed to our members shortly. Anyone who wishes to be included should contact Nancy Bailey at 803-288-8328 (Tel), 803-234-7905 (Fax), nbailey121@aol.com. Directories will also be sent to review groups and other interested parties. Anyone with suggestions for recipients, please contact Nancy Bailey. It is hoped that the Directory will be replicated on Photobiology Online. Ten respondents expressed an interest in being on Council and 24 would like to take an active role in the Annual Meeting.
Their names have been submitted to nominating and program committees for proper action.
The Forum has requested that the Society allow us to select a speaker for next year -- a successful woman or minority who can serve as a role model for the younger members of the Society.
We discussed the problem that many of us face -- especially new and younger members (not just women and minorities!) -- at the Annual Meeting of finding companions for lunch and dinner. Next year we hope to have a meeting place -- probably near the registration desk -- for people seeking comrades for meals.
Dr. Suzanne Wolford, Iowa State University, Ames, IOWA will act as the cooirdinator for the Forum during the coming year. Her telephone number is 515-294-2096. Please contact her if you have any questions or suggestions.
The 6th Annual Meeting of the Pan American Society for Pigment Cell Research was held in Kansas City, MO at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on June 25 to 28, 1995. The introductory Keynote Address on Sunday evening was given by Dr. Shirley Tilghman of Princeton University who spoke about Genetic and phenotypic analysis of melanocyte development in piebald mice. This was followed by a reception planned for the poolside but driven indoors by the rain. A second Keynote Address ushering in the Monday morning meetings was given by Dr. Garth Nicholson who spoke on The role of neurotrophins and paracrine growth factors in melanoma brain invasion and metastasis. Yet a third Keynote Address was given by Dr. Roger Cone on Tuesday on The positive and nagative hormaonal control of pigmentation. Several papers focused on the effects of UV light on pigment cells. A.K. Chakrobarty presented evidence that UVB increases the production of ACTH, MSH and MSH receptors by melanocytes and keratinocytes, this results in a positive feed back which amplifies the UV signal.
DNA damage may initiate the process. S. Im compared darkly pigmented and lightly pigmented human melanocytes with respect to UVB-induced growth arrest. The lightly pigmented cells sustain more DNA damage in the form of cyclobutane dimers and recover less rapidly than the heavily pigmented cells. W. Li showed that induced pigment in Cloudman mouse melanoma cells - - which is eumelanin in spite of the origin in the brown mouse -- protects cells from UVC-induced mutations at the ouabain locus. There is also some protection for survival. H. Zhao presented evidence that UVB/A decreases the activity of tyrosinase in choroidal melanocytes and retinal pigmented epithelium cells. This is in contrast to the effects of near UV on epidermal melanocytes. Kansas City hospitality was not wanting. On Monday we were served a delicious and elegant lunch in the roof top dining room of the Ritz Carlton and that evening we were entertained with country music, square dancing and calf roping (an iron calf roped from atop an iron horse) while enjoying western barbecue. Those more hearty members - - younger, as well, at least in spirit -- participated in a jazz pub crawl on Tuesday evening. Next year, the International Pigment Cell Conference which meets every three years will be held at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA from October 29 through November 3rd. Those wishing information about this meeting or about the PASPCR should contact the President
PHOTOMEDICINE - The Photomedicine Divsion meeting was chaired by F.P. Noonan; 22 members were in attendance. Topics were suggested for inclusion in the next ASP meeting (1996). These included ALA-PDT (Poittier), Photobiology of Pigment cells (Young), Round Table in Photocarcinogenesis (Black), Optical Diagnostics (Kollias, Poittier), Lasers (Anderson), Sunscreens (Gasparro and Urbach). A number of members suggested more contributed paper sessions. It was noted that there are more contributed papers in the ESP and that this gives young scientists an opportunity to present their work and this is an important part of the training process. A survey of major areas as done for the AACR was also suggested where the survey talks were in conjunction with posters on this topic. There was considerable support for a Symposium on eyes ( suggest J. Dillon or J. Roberts to chair). A major part of the discussion centered on how to attract more MDs to attend the ASP. There was concern that some potential contributors are being lost to alternate groups such as the Photomedicine Society. It was also pointed out that Photomedicine is not restricted to Photodermatology but also includes PDT, lasers including their use in various types of surgery e.g. ophthalmic surgery, Circadian rhythms, Psychological effects and eye effects. A School on Photomedicine was suggested. To attract more MDs Kollias suggested offering CME credit and advertising in appropriate Journals e.g. J. Am Acad of Dermatology etc but noted that to do this, the content of the meeting should be known by October as this is the deadline for submission of this type of ad to this Journal for a spring 1996 meeting. Another suggesiton was to advertise the topics for the upcoming meeting in Photobiology OnLine.
Other topics included timing of the meeting -moving it into July past the end of the school year and further away from the Society for Investigative Dermatology Meeting, having a shorter meeting and taking the meeting to more "fun' sites.
PHOTOCHEMISTRY - The Photochemistry Division Meeting was attended by about a dozen members, some of whom were actually awake. Nick Geacintov discussed his plans for the 24th ASP meeting in Atlanta, June 15-19, 1996. The program will include a tribute to Dr. Michael Kasha who has already agreed to give a special lecture. There will also be a symposium in honor of Dr. Kasha's 75th birthday including such topics as "30 years of singlet oxygen" and "Reactive oxygen species". Other suggestions for symposia included DNA photochemistry, photo-induced electron transfer and a photophysics/phototechnology session on newer techniques in lasers and photoacoustic spectroscopy.
It was not immediately apparent why attendance at the Division meeting was so poor. If you checked off the photochemistry/photophysics/phototechnology box when you sent in your ASP dues, then you are a member. Any concerns, suggestions, or ideas on how ASP can be improved can be sent to the Division representative, Dr. Colin F. Chignell (phone: 919-541-3196, fax: 919-541-7880, e-mail: chignell@niehs.nih.gov).
ENVIRONMENTAL PHOTOBIOLOGY AND UVR EFFECTS - The Division of Environmental Photobiology and UVR Effects was attended by 11 members. David Mitchell, Frank deGruijl and Mary Blakefield were nominated for Council. It was suggested that the names of the members of the Divisions with their e-mail addresses be distributed to the membership to facilitate interactions among members. It was further suggested that P&P On-line serve as a clearinghouse for journals, used equipment, computers, etc.; that there be a page for students explaining how to get involved in the Photosciences, to make contacts, get into lab research, join a professional society, request a mentor or volunteer to be one. A video or CD-ROM on the Photosciences that could be sent out to interested parties would also be helpful. Several suggestions were made regarding programs, symposia and lectures. The session on UV and Environmental Photobiology at the Washington meeting was very well received and it was hoped that this would be continued in future years. A plenary lecture on the crystal structure of photolyase would be timely and a symposium on Photobiology in Extreme Environments should elicit much interest.
Dr. Klaus Winckler pointed out that Tropical Photobiology was a neglected area for research and training. A number of countries -- Malaysia being a prime example -- would like to develop programs but are unable to do so because of limited financing. Libraries in such countries are in need of resources including books and journals (e.g. P&P). Perhaps the Society would lift the injunction against donations of P&P to libraries in such countries.
Dr. Coohill requested that we consider accepting the UV Monitoring and Assessment Community, a group of about 30 people, into our Division. The members agreed to welcome them enthusiastically and hope that they will organize a workshop, symposium or symposium in print in the near future.
Any Division member with questions, suggestions or comments please contact the Division Chair, Helene (Lanie) Hill, tel/fax: 201-982-3421, e-mail: hill@umdnj.edu
PHOTOSENSORY BIOLOGY - There were about 15 division members attending. The members present voted to ask P.S. Song to continue to serve as a coordinator for the division. The main topics of discussion were:
(1) Continued updating of division directory including group e-mail address ("Photosense@unlinfo.unl.edu----messages to this address will automatically be forwarded to all ASP photosensory division members who have e-mail accounts). Song will continue to do so. It has also been suggested to post information on the division on WWW. This will be done during this year.
(2) Several topics and speakers/organizers for the 1996 Atlanta meeting were discussed. A final list of the division's recommendations has been submitted to Nick Geacintov.
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