Teratology Society Council Meeting IB
West Palm Beach, Florida
June 25, 2000

Council I reconvened at 7:30 AM on June 25, 2000. In attendance were George Daston, Tony Scialli, Dave Wise, Bob Kavlock, Jan Friedman, Tonia Masson, Tom Knudsen, Bob Seegmiller, Ken Jones and John Rogers. George Daston presided.

Membership Committee - George Dearlove
George Dearlove proposed that the Society provide funding for a tabletop pop-up display to promote our society and to increase its membership. The booth would be set up by one of our members who would also hold membership in the society being targeted.

Motion: Jan moved that we allocate $4000 to develop the display and to take it to two or more meetings during the coming year, e.g., Developmental Biology. John seconded the motion and proposed that the Membership Committee be responsible for carrying out this action. Motion carried.

Teratology Editor - Lew Holmes
Lew stated that Wiley-Liss has been very responsive to the requests of the editor. He mentioned that there are still problems with electronic submission of manuscripts. While submission to the editor via email is not a problem, the publisher is still not able to accept electronic versions. Tom suggested that the symposium reviews be published within a reasonable time following the meeting at which they are presented. Tony proposed that the symposia chairs write up the reviews. Jan suggested that Lew develop a list of guidelines to be given to the symposia chairs prior to the symposium. Concerning the journal, color plates are available free of charge, and are to be used at the editor's discretion. The cover can also be printed in color. The look, content, timeliness, thickness, and quality of the journal have shown improvement. Lew mentioned the need to reach out to other societies, and especially to our own presenters at the annual meetings. Session chairs should invite presenters to publish their work in Teratology. Lew mentioned the possibility of getting the Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) individuals to submit their reviews to Teratology.

Publication Committee (review of Bill Slikker's report)
Three major activities of the committee were discussed: (1) organization of the Wiley-Liss Symposium (2) establishment of the Annual James G. Wilson Publication Award and selection of the winner, and (3) initiation of marketing efforts with Wiley-Liss. The committee developed some reasonable criteria for the award. Bill's term is ending this year and Rochelle Tyl has accepted the new role. Concerning the journal, Rebecca Morton of Wiley-Liss has submitted details on what has been done to market the journal.

Web Site Committee - Dave Wise
The effectiveness of the Web site for handling questionnaires was mentioned. The Web's "Discussion Forum" apparently is underutilized. Jan suggested that teratology-related issues be put on the web to solicit interest in the Society. Such items of interest as "book of the month" are already on it. Concerning the issue of how to handle comments and questions, Tony suggested referring such individuals to MOD where such questions will be responded to by their resources center set up to entertain this type of information. OTIS is also a good place to send these kinds of concerns. Bob Veneziale will assume Dave's position as Web committee chair.

Nominations & Elections Committee - Bob Clark
The committee developed a list of 4-5 candidates for each office, ranked them, and the first two were asked to submit resumes. Members of the committee were satisfied with this year's slate of candidates. The incoming president was reminded to appoint the new committee members, and the importance of having overlapping two-year terms was discussed. Bob emphasized the importance of encouraging society members to serve on committees.

Student Affairs Committee - Kit Keller
The committee, consisting of three student members each having a likelihood of continuity, has developed a high level of function. Regarding student awards, the committee developed a list of objective criteria for judging the students' presentations.

Society Liaison - Karen Filkins
Karen represented the Society at ACOG and other related science meetings. She requested a list of speakers to make available to other societies, and suggested making our journal, including instructions for submission, known to such groups. She suggested that we should provide a discounted membership fee to individuals of related societies, and offer attendance at our meetings at member rates. George suggested that Karen should provide Tonia with a list of ACOG members and that Tonia then could send them an email hyperlink to our position papers.

Education Committee - JoLynda Jones
A sponsor for publishing the workbook is needed. Her committee suggested that selected review articles be published in Teratology. JoLynda should discuss this with Lew H. Jan suggested putting slides on the Web site. Several topics for next year's continuing education course were mentioned-neuroscience, basic teratology, and data analysis/interpretation.

Constitution & Bylaws Committee - Deb Hansen
Proposed changes to the constitution were submitted to the membership for consideration 60 days prior to the meeting. They will be discussed at the annual business meeting.

Public Affairs Committee - Ken Jones
The position paper on thalidomide is now in press in Teratology and the alcohol position paper is currently being rewritten. The "Developmental risks of herbal remedies" symposium is very timely inasmuch as very little is known about the issues and there is increasing public concern. It was proposed that a summary of the symposium be sent to the FDA to assist them in developing their consensus statement. National Toxicology Program is planning to provide support for studies on the use of herbal and natural remedies. The committee is looking at a second position paper, i.e., oxytetracycline. Melissa Tassinari was asked to obtain the FDA slides and have Dave post them on the Web site.

Fraser Award Committee - review of Ed Lammer report
The Selection Committee needs to evaluate candidates early. Bob K. suggested putting a list of awardees on the Web site.

Miscellaneous business - George Daston
Tony mentioned that most submissions for the Handbook/Primer have been received and edited.

Motion: Dave moved that $100 be given to Bill Landau to establish a generic password-protected site for soliciting input on the Primer from the Society members. The motion was seconded by Bob K. and unanimously approved by Council.

Action item: Bob K. was asked to follow-up with Barbara Hales.

Jan moved to adjourn, 11:07 AM.

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