From the ASTDA President: What's Happening?

From the ASTDA President: What’s Happening?

At the start of the second year of my two-year tenure as ASTDA’s president, this is a good time to take stock of the Association’s accomplishments this past year and also tell you about some things on the immediate horizon.

First, I hope you will join me in celebrating the 2015 ASTDA recognition award winners at the ISSTDR meeting in Brisbane, Australia during the annual ASTDA Awards Luncheon. At this event, the ASTDA Distinguished Career Award will be presented to Dr. Anna Wald from the University of Washington, while Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, also from the University of Washington will be the recipient of the ASTDA Achievement Award, and Dr. Robert Kirkcaldy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will receive the ASTDA Young Investigator’s Award.

Congratulations to all!

The event will take place on Tuesday, September 15 from 12:30 – 2:00 PM. Please be reminded that the early bird registration for this conference ends July 6 and that IUSTI members receive a considerable discount that will more than cover the expenses of the two-year membership.

This year’s ISSTDR has a special focus on young investigators and, in addition to the luncheon, ASTDA is also sponsoring a special session: “Surviving and Thriving” that specifically aims to assist young investigators in the process of writing an publishing scientific articles. The keynote speaker at this symposium will be Dr. Bill Miller who took over as the editor in chief of ASTDA’s journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases in January. 

Talking about the STD journal, a few weeks ago, the journal received a nice shot in the arm with a significant increase in its impact factor in 2014, a metric used to compare scientific journals.  In a previous blog I have raised some concerns about using this metric as a sole measure of impact. Nonetheless, it is good to see the needle moving in the right direction and I am confident that growth will continue under the leadership of Dr. Miller.

As regards young investigators, ASTDA is working closely with the National Network of STD Prevention Training Centers (NNPTC) to support their new fellowship program, a wonderful opportunity for the development of new STD leadership. Past ASTDA president, Dr. Brad Stoner has taken the lead to work with the new fellows and their NNPTC mentors on the parts of their training where the Association has specific expertise, including mentorship in the editorial process such as journal review and writing of scientific review articles.

For many years now, the ASTDA has supported young investigators through its Developmental Awards program, a two-year support grant. We have recently completed a survey among the program’s 12 alumni that will help guide the future continuation of the program. Results will be out soon.

This past year also saw the continuation of our quarterly STD Prevention Science series in collaboration with CDC, including webinars by Dr. Myron Cohen (December 2014), Dr. Bill Miller (March 2015), and Dr. Adaora Adimora (June 2015).  In case you missed any of these, all webinars area available on the ASTDA website: www.astda.org.

Finally, something of a “first” for the Association: a document containing a set of recommendations to guide herpes research solicited by the U.S Preventive Services Task Force and co-signed by ASTDA, the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) and the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD).  Thanks to ASTDA Executive Committee member Dr. Hunter Handsfield for taking the lead in drafting these recommendations and to Bill Smith and Stephanie Arnold Pang at NCSD and Lynn Barclay and Deborah Arrindell at ASHA for their policy development expertise.

In my view, this document is a great example of what it is we can do as an organization, but it also shows the importance of our ongoing partnership with sister organizations like ASHA and NCSD. I am convinced that this document would not have seen the light of day if we did not have Lynn and Bill on our ASTDA Executive Committee. When ASTDA president-elect Dr. Dennis Fortenberry and I met last August to develop our vision for the Association, we discussed ideas to more formally recognize the importance of ASHA and NCSD in helping us achieve ASTDA’s goals.  We have therefore proposed, and the Executive Committee has agreed, to amend ASTDA’s bylaws to create permanent “ex-officio” voting positions for the president of ASHA and the Executive Director of NCSD on ASTDA’s Executive Committee.

These bylaw changes will be submitted to an ASTDA membership vote in the next month and I will come back to this in a letter that will be more specific to the issues.  I strongly believe that these changes will move ASTDA into a more inclusive and effective organization and I hope you will support me.  Really, this is an excellent reason to become an ASTDA member or to renew your membership should you not have done so already!

Best wishes for a great summer & hope to see you in Brisbane!

Kees