The Microcirculatory Society, Inc.
Newsletter

Volume 29, Number 1

Summer, 2001

Call To Order:

The meeting was called to order at approximately 8:15 AM by Society President Walter Durán in Salon 19 of the Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando, Florida. In attendance were: Ron Tuma, Neil Granger, Ingrid Sarelius, Walter Duran, Bob Gore, Bruce Klitzman, Robert Hester, Debbie Damon, Klaus Ley, Matt Boegehold, Virginia Huxley, Steven Segal, Cindy Meininger, Mary Ellsworth, Paul McDonagh, James Faber, Jeff Falcone, Ann Baldwin, Sarah Yuan, Susan Deeley and Julia Schulhof.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of the 2000 Executive Council Meeting were approved.

Secretary's Report:

The Secretary reported that the electronic version of the Newsletter has been well received. Only 3 paper copies are being sent at present making work of the Secretary easier.

Treasurer's Report:

The Treasurer provided details of her Report (see details: this newsletter). The Society's assets have dwindled due to a decrease in the value of our Vanguard account due to a downturn in the Stock Market. The Society contributed $10,000 to the World Congress and setting up the Credit Card system was an unusual expense. Journal costs were up this year. "Active" membership is 481 of which 297 have paid their dues for the year.

Secretary's Report:

Dr. Mary Ellsworth, as part of her Secretary's report, proposed that the Society replace the paper newsletter with the electronic version present on the Web site. There was much discussion. Several members wished to maintain the paper version and it was suggested that those individuals who wish to receive a paper newsletter request it and it will be provided. Certainly there is no intention to deprive any Society member of access to the information contained in it. A motion was made by her to move to a web-based newsletter with the last paper newsletter being the Fall issue with the stipulation that anyone who wishes to continue to receive the paper newsletter will be sent it. A vote was taken with the majority approving the plan with two dissenters.

Publications Committee Report:

Dr. Robert Gore provided the Publication Committee report. Major projects included the improvement and updating of the Society Directory and implementing the credit card payment system. The hope was to get people to pay their dues which in turn will help the Society support the Journal. Also, there is a need to begin to identify the next editor of the Journal. There was a sentiment that Dr. Neil Granger should stay on for a second term. However, Dr. Granger expressed his view that editorial turnover is good for the Journal as it removes the problem of the Journal being considered as "his Journal". Dr. Durán stated that he thought Dr. Granger's continuing as editor would help build on the momentum he created. Dr. Granger reiterated he believes it is not in the best interests of the Society. It was agreed that the Publications Committee should begin the process of identifying a new editor by a majority vote. Dr. Gore informed the Council of the two publication awards for 2001: The Curt E. Wiederhielm Award which was given to Unsu Jung and Klaus Ley, and the Mary Gerritsen Award which was awarded to Thomas Skalak and Richard Price. Dr. Gore proposed that the both awards be limited to papers published in the last five years, primarily for practical considerations. A five year limitation was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Journal Editor's Report:

Dr. Neil Granger provided the Editor's Annual report. He began by introducing Ms. Julia Schulhof, Executive Editor of Nature Publishing and Ms. Sue Deeley, Associate Editor, Editorial Division, from the United Kingdom. Julia indicated that the restructuring of Nature publishing should help the Journal as will electronic submission and more non-member and Institutional subscriptions. In total there are 49 Institutional and 9 personal subscriptions (21 NA (3 personal); 23 European (3 personal); 4 Japan (3 personal); 1 Australia). Papers published in the Journal are mostly from US. (35 US, 7 Europe; 3 rest of the world). The Journal is getting a lot of exposure, many ads in other Nature Journals, Web site ads etc. Financially, the Journal did slightly better than "break-even" due in part to the Industry sponsorship. Dr. Steve Segal pointed out that the Europeans tend to submit to J. Vascular Research which likely accounts for the lack of European submissions. The Journal still needs to be promoted positively. It has a good Impact factor (2.25); Peer review time is short (7.5 weeks), Publication time is short (4 months) compared with many other journals.

Sue Deeley followed by indicating that the financial status of the Journal is still in need of bolstering. The losses in '98 ($20,000) and '99 ($23,000) with it breaking even this year mean that there is still approximately a $40,000 shortfall which needs to be covered to make the Journal profitable and enhance its future viability. Electronic publishing is being developed. They are looking at a number of possible strategies. Implementation of this aspect should save money and time and will also increase the international nature of the Journal. Electronic access via Web site 1-2 months prior to print publication. The World Congress organizers are interested in publishing in Microcirculation, would be a good idea as it would enhance visibility. We can't cover the cost but might be willing to assist. Down the line it was suggested that we increase the number of international editors. It was suggested that discussions be opened with the Journal of Vascular Research regarding possibility of joining forces. There was not a lot of enthusiasm that concept, but a motion to open preliminary discussions was approved with 4 in favor and none opposed. Klaus Ley suggested increasing the number of high interest topics such as: angiogenesis, tissue engineering, cytokines. Such topics would enhance industry support. Jeff Falcone suggested increased advertising of special issues to those outside the Society to increase exposure. Ingrid Sarelius reiterated that the Society needs to increase the visibility of "what we do" via Journal Visibility and new members. Sue Deeley indicated that there are "sample" issues available for publicity purposes.

Website Committee Report:

Dr. Gore put on his hat as the "Web Guy" and provided his report on the status of the Web site. Some of the goals for the Web site overlap those of the Publications Committee stated earlier. The major projects for 2000-2001 were to improve and refine the Searchable Database and design and implement the secure, on-line credit card system for dues payment. These were completed and are proving to be most successful. He requested continuation of the Council allocation of up to $4000 for improvements to the web site. He was encouraged to use it as needed. Dr. Paul McDonagh suggested increasing the number of links to other Societies as well as increased number of links to our Society if possible. Dr. Gore is planning other additions to the Web site including awards, an updated "Purpose of the Society". Also the inclusion of a "members only" area.

Historical Committee Report:

Dr. Paul C. Johnson provided the Historical Committee report for the Committee Chairman Eugene Renkin who was unable to attend. The main goal of this committee for 2000-2001 was to begin consolidating the archives and locate a permanent site for their housing as well as access. One possible site is at the Zweifach library at UCSD. The question of the Zweifach medal location was brought up and where it should be housed. It was decided that the treasurer would keep it. Roland Pittman currently has the mold and is going to forward it to Ann Baldwin.

Liaison and International Committees Reports:

Dr. Ingrid Sarelius reported on the activities of the Liaison Committee. Our Society has a large presence on International Committees and we fall short of really using our influence. The International Liaison committee which decides where to have meetings needs to solidify itself, define itself and make itself a real presence in the International Community. The make up of the Committee needs to be determined, and will require modification of the By-Laws to include this information. Ingrid is going to take charge of this task. This brought up the 2005 World Congress which MCS has the job of hosting. We need to reconfirm our commitment to hold and get busy as time is running short. Bruce Klitzman had agreed to spearhead the effort but the Society as a whole seems less than committed. Council endorsed Bruce to head the effort, he needs volunteers (committed) to help ASAP. Bob Gore suggested putting together a committee to work on this. There needs to be a plan in place prior to Sydney in August. Virginia Huxley suggested working with the National Committee. Finances are a big reason why it needs to be done early. It was suggested that there be a "recertification" that this is going to happen by Mid June and a commitment from a number of people as to how it is going to happen.

Nomination Committee Report: 

Sarah Yuan reported on the Activities of the Nominating Committee. There is a need to improve the workings of the Nominating committee and empower it to enable it to function more efficiently. The electronic submission of nominations and ballots might help. Only 15 members submitted nominations making compiling the ballot difficult with one nomination for a number of people. We also need to enhance participation in the voting process. Most members don't vote!

Dr. Sarah Yuan reported on the outcome of the election. The new officers are:

President-Elect: Paul F. McDonagh
Secretary: Cynthia Meininger
Councilors: Matthew Boegehold and Robert Hester.

Membership Committee Report: 

Debbie Damon reported on the activities of the Membership Committee. The committee received 28 new applications (19 regular, 7 student and 2 associate). 23 have been approved, 5 are currently pending. She thanked the committee for their efforts. This year the membership applications were accepted and processed throughout the year. It has been good for the committee but does not seem to have facilitated recruitment. Suggested maybe financial incentives for first year members, a membership drive and possibly handing out membership applications at EB and other meetings where there is overlap with our activities.

Long Range Planning Committee Report:

The Long Range Planning Committee proposed and received unanimous support for continuing our association with Experimental Biology until at least 2004.

Finance Committee Report:

Finance Committee Report was given by Dr. Ann Baldwin. Its activities this year related to the setting up of the credit card payment for dues (banquet will be added) and the decision to leave our money in Vanguard despite the downturn in its value. In it or the long term. Mary Ellsworth brought up the issue of selling our database to outside folks as she is frequently approached by firms to do so but has always turned them down. Walter Durán indicated that APS does sell their list for 1 time use at $0.12 per label. It was decided that MCS would not sell that database information.

Program Committee Report:

The Program Committee indicated that we were meeting with APS (EB) through 2004. The question as to future associations was discussed. It was suggested that MCS integrate more with EB. To accomplish this we would try and move our sessions to Saturday and Sunday but still maintain a localized area for our posters. A motion was made to fold more into EB. It passed unanimously. The future of the Young Investigator Session is in Dr. Sarelius' hands as Program organizer for 2002 in New Orleans.

It was also discussed that APS currently provides MCS with $10,000 for our participation in EB. It was suggested by Dr. Durán that we try and increase that to $15,000 for future years. There was very little support for that idea. Most members felt that APS has been most supportive of our Society and that it would be more appropriate to first talk privately with Dr. Frank at the APS to get his opinion. If we join more closely with APS, then a request for additional support might then be worth further discussion.

Awards Committee Report:

The Awards Committee reported on the 2001 Society awards. The Awardees for 2001 were:

The Landis Award was presented to Dr. Donald Heistad
The August Krogh Young Investigator Award went to Dr. Fuzsina K. Johnson
The MCS Travel Award to Dr. David Stepp
The Christian Crone Travel Award to Dr. Vladimir V. Matchkow
Excellence in Lymphatic Research to Dr. Randolph H. Stewart
The Zweifach Student Awards to Michael B. Kim and Zoltan Ungvari.
The Zweifach Award, the Societies highest award (to be presented in Sydney Australia) was given to Dr. David Shepro.

Additional Business:  

Ingrid Sarelius outlined her plans for her year as President of the Society which include recruitment if new members, enhancement of enthusiasm for the Society, retention of current members.

Jeff Falcone suggested that we need to improve MCS visibility and pointed to the need to make a new Statement of what our Society is and does.

Klaus Ley suggested that MCS sponsor a Senior Investigator talk at EB, someone who is not necessarily from MCS and get Industry support for it. This would enhance visibility of the Society.

Adjournment:

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Dr. Walter Durán at 12:07 P.M. EDT.

Respectfully Summitted
Outgoing Secretary,

Dr. Mary Ellsworth