The President

Dear ASPET members,

This is my last message to the ASPET membership as President. I am amazed at how quickly my time in this role has passed and the many milestones ASPET has experienced as we have collectively worked to build a stronger Society.

ASPET 2023, our first stand-alone meeting in over three decades, was held a few weeks ago at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, Mo. It was a delight to see so many friends and colleagues, as well as meet many new ASPET members and first-time meeting attendees. Based on the feedback I have received thus far, our annual meeting was a smashing success! More than 1,000 attendees enjoyed the engaging venue, numerous social/networking activities and compelling scientific programming during the meeting. Our new meeting format, that was designed based on member feedback, facilitated standing-room-only attendance at all the oral symposia and vibrant poster sessions. The timely and thoughtful keynote presentations by Holden Thorp, William Kaelin, and Yasmin Hurd were also very well received and will likely become a recurring feature of our annual meetings going forward. Melissa Huston, ASPET Meetings Director and the entire ASPET staff are to be congratulated for all their hard work to put on this truly remarkable meeting. Their efforts have also built a great foundation for future meetings. As we discussed during the meeting in St. Louis, a key long-term strategy for ASPET is to provide a home for the science and profession of pharmacology. This year’s meeting fully embodied this aspirational goal, and I am very much looking forward to ASPET 2024 (May 16-19) at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va.

I also want to remind everyone about the upcoming IUPHAR World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, occurring July 2-7, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. A link to the meeting program is provided here: https://wcp2023.org/programme/. This important international meeting is hosted by our British Pharmacological Society colleagues this year and will feature many cutting-edge topics covering all aspects of pharmacology and translational medicine. ASPET is a platinum sponsor for the event, and I invite those attending to stop by and say hello at the ASPET Booth D31.

During the past year, ASPET has accomplished several key milestones that will serve to further strengthen the Society and facilitate greater opportunities for engagement with our membership. Our revised Bylaws modernize the operation of ASPET and provide greater transparency for our members. The 2023-2027 Strategic Plan is both aspirational and mission-driven with a focus on advancing all aspects of pharmacology through research, education, innovation, and advocacy. Fundamental to this new plan is the commitment to enhance our collective sense of belonging to ASPET as the home for pharmacology. The evolution of ASPET’s IDEA Taskforce into a standing committee with representation on the ASPET Council, the Call for Volunteers Initiative, and our Volunteers Appreciation Recognition event at the annual meeting serve as great examples of ASPET’s focus in ensuring diversity and membership involvement in all of ASPET’s activities.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge outgoing and incoming ASPET Council members. Peggy Gnegy (Past-President) and Randy Hall (Councilor) are leaving Council while Carol Beck is changing roles from Past-Secretary/Treasurer to President-Elect. Additionally, Pamela Hornby (Secretary/Treasurer-Elect) and Amy Arnold (Councilor) join Council effective July 1, 2023. Please join me in thanking these individuals as well as all our volunteers who serve on our committees and taskforces, Division Executive Committees, Division Communications Officers and our journal editorial boards. ASPET’s strength as a society is fully dependent on the dedicated contributions of all our volunteers, and I encourage our entire membership to actively seek opportunities to contribute to ASPET’s journey.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as President of ASPET. I am truly grateful for all the energy and wisdom of ASPET’s expert staff and our volunteer leaders for all their hard work to build such a great Society. I am confident, under the direction of ASPET’s next president, Namandjé Bumpus, that all our collective efforts will effectively build upon our past successes and serve our membership in good stead in the year ahead and beyond.

Sincerely,

Michael F. Jarvis, PhD ASPET President