-- Election results were announced!
Congratulations to Ora Pescovitz, who was elected
Vice President, and to James Bristrow and Lisa
Guay-Woodford, who were elected to Council. A special
thanks was extended to outgoing Council members Dan
Bernstein, Alan Krensky and Gary Fleisher, for their
years of service to the society.
-- Pediatric Research Foundation.
The members were informed that SPR Council approved
the action to amend the by-laws of the Pediatric
Research Foundation (established in 1988 to support
research activities of the SPR and summarized in the
last newsletter) to include the APS as a beneficiary
of its activities. All members were encouraged to
support this endowment effort to provide financial
security for both societies.
-- Finances. Gail Demmler,
Secretary-Treasurer, reported that the total assets
of the SPR, as of March 31, 1998, were $266,472. The
activities of the SPR are supported by membership
dues, the annual meeting, and by generous donations.
-- Meeting Support. The following
companies were acknowledged and thanked for providing
support to the SPR or the PAS annual meeting: Ross
Products Division, Abbott Laboratories, Inc; Mead
Johnson Nutritionals; Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines and
Pediatrics; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals,
Inc.; Pharmacia and Upjohn; and Roche Diagnostics.
The following organizations also generously donated:
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and
International Pediatric Research Foundation.
-- Meeting Statistics. The annual
meeting was once again a huge success! There were
3,107 advance registrants, and over 4,000 attendees
were expected. Educational Seminars continued to be
very popular, and new initiatives, such as the Hot
Topics held at the close of the meeting, and the Mini
Courses, held in conjunction with the AAP at the
beginning of the meeting, were very successful, as
well. The number of commercial exhibits also
increased. A total of 1,989 abstracts were submitted,
up from 1,854 submitted last year, and over 80% were
submitted electronically. Way to go!! It also was
noted that future meetings will be held in San
Francisco (1999), Boston (2000), Baltimore (2001 and
2002), and Seattle (2003).
-- Articles of Incorporation. An
action item to change "younger men" to
"younger investigators" was voted upon and
approved by the membership. Thank you!
-- A new SPR logo was unveiled! The
new logo was submitted by new member Mark Dennison,
who will receive complimentary registration to the
1999 meeting and complimentary membership dues for
one year.
-- Membership. Candice Fike,
Membership Secretary, introduced the 77 newly elected
members for 1998 by reading their names before the
membership in attendance at the business meeting. The
Society has 814 active members who have a mean age of
43.6 years, and 2,456 total members (the mean age of
whom will remain a secret).
-- Code of Ethics. Dan Bernstein
reported on his task of writing a Code of Ethics
Statement for the SPR and APS. This important
document outlines professionalism and responsibility
in research and science, and was approved by the
Joint Council in November of 1997. A round of
applause to Dan for all of his hard work on this
project!
-- Reports. Reports. Reports.
Dennis Bier reported that the International Pediatric
Research Foundation, which sponsors our journal,
Pediatric Research, named Alvin Zipursky from the
Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, as the
new editor. George Lister was thanked for his many
years of service to the Journal. George Lister,
Editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Research, reviewed the
activities of the journal and emphasized it remains
active and solvent. Jon Abramson reported the
Multicenter Trial Program funded 3 proposals for
1998. Since 1996, 8 projects have been funded, and
the program will continue to support clinical
research. Myron Genel reported on the activities of
the Public Policy Council. He emphasized reports are
included in the newsletter and stressed that Karen
Hendricks is available to discuss issues at the
Public Policy Council Information Desk at each annual
meeting. Tom Hansen reported on the Student Research
Program, which is jointly sponsored with the APS.
Since 1991, the program has funded over 230 medical
students from 83 different medical schools to work in
laboratories all over the United States.
-- Special Thanks! Special thanks
was given to Magda Fong, SPR Executive Secretary, who
will be leaving to go back home to Chicago. The
Society welcomed Kathy Crews, our new Executive
Secretary.
-- Meeting Adjourned. Our incoming
President, Sam Hawgood, was introduced, and, as his
first official duty, thanked Maureen Andrew for her
many years of service and adjourned the 1998 SPR
business meeting. Good luck Sam during your year as
President!