Association for Academic Surgery • SPRING 2008

Ne w sl e t te r
Pr e si de n t ’ s M e s s ag e
Dr. Herb Chen
I am humbled and honored to serve as the President of the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) for
2008-2009. I want to start by congratulating our Immediate Past President, Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku, on the
spectacular job that he did this past year. He always kept me in the loop, and I will continue to implement
many of the programs he started.

The annual Academic Surgical Congress (ASC), held in February 2008, was the third joint meeting of the
AAS and the Society of University Surgeons (SUS). The success of this meeting exceeded all expectations.
We had a record attendance of 1020 surgeons, residents, scientists, and students! Please see the message from
our Recorder, Dr. Daniel Albo, for a comprehensive summary of the meeting. Many AAS members worked
extremely hard to insure the continued vitality of the meeting, especially Dr. Albo; our former Secretary
Dr. Herb Chen (now President-Elect), Dr. Kevin Staveley-O’Carroll; our Treasurer, Dr. Max Schmidt; our Immediate Past
President, Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku; and many others.

I also want to thank the leadership of the SUS, including Past President, Dr. Mike Longaker; Secretary,
Dr. Ravi Chari; and former Publications Chairman (now President-Elect), Dr. Dave Geller. The strong
collaborative efforts between the AAS and SUS have had a synergistic effect on academic surgery. I am very
pleased to have the good fortune to work with the SUS President, Dr. Diane Simeone. We have already begun
In this Issue to organize more collaborative efforts between the AAS and SUS, including a new mentoring initiative. Dr.
President’s Message Simeone and I have created a joint task force to develop a mentorship program between senior SUS members
and young AAS members. I have appointed Drs. George Sarosi, Kim Kirkwood, and Rebecca Sippel to lead
1 this effort from the AAS side. You will be hearing more about it in future newsletters.
Summary of the
2008 ASC Meeting I am particularly excited about the outlook for the upcoming year. At our annual business meeting, the
membership elected a talented group of officers, representatives, committee chairs, and committee members.
2 For the first time, we elected candidate AAS members to serve on our committees. This initiative is consistent
Secretary’s Report with our mission of reaching out to medical students and surgical trainees with the goal of attracting them to
Election Results & Appointments careers in academic surgery. Our newly elected Secretary, Dr. Scott LeMaire, summarizes the election results
AAS Committee Members on page 3 of this newsletter.
Research Fellowship Award Over the course of the year, you will continue to receive the AAS newsletter every 3 months. Each issue
3 will not only update you about the activities of the AAS leadership but also provide more details about
the projects on which the various AAS committees and representatives are working. In this issue, our
West African representatives to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Drs. Ruth Bush and Kathrin Troppmann,
Fundamentals Course our representative to the National Association for Biomedical Research, Dr. Emily Robinson, and the
5 Co-Chairs of the AAS Global Affairs Committee, Drs. Ben Nwomeh and Evan Nadler, tell you how
the AAS is participating at the national and global levels.
Association of American
Medical Colleges On a personal note, I want to let you know that our superb Executive Director, Christina Kasendorf, had
6 a baby boy, Noah Charles Kasendorf, on February 20, 2008. While she is on maternity leave, her shoes are
being ably filled by Maribeth Balon, who I hope will continue to have a significant role in supporting the
National Association for AAS. Under her guidance, the management support has been seamless.
Biomedical Research
I look forward to seeing each of you at the AAS Fall Courses in October, in San Francisco, and at the 4th
6 Annual ASC at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, Fort Myers, Florida, in February 2009!

– Herb
 SU M M AR Y O F THE 2 0 0 8 AS C M EETING
Dr. Daniel Albo, AAS Recorder & Program Committee Chair
The 3rd Annual ASC Was a Huge Success!

On behalf of the AAS Program Committee, I would like to thank all of the presenters, moderators,
discussants, members, guests, residents, and medical students who helped make the 3rd Annual ASC one
of the best meetings the AAS has ever had! A record number of persons attended (more than 1000), and a
record number of abstracts were presented (664–a 33% increase from last year). I especially want to thank Dr.
Dave Geller, the SUS Publications Chair, for his leadership and collaboration in maintaining the AAS and
SUS meetings as one joint scientific congress. I also want to thank the other members of the 2007 ASC Core
Committee—Drs. Nwariaku, Longaker, and Chari—for their dedication and hard work. Putting together
the ASC required a total team effort!
Dr. Daniel Albo The program consisted of the AAS and SUS plenary sessions, as well as joint scientific oral sessions
involving both societies. The combined efforts of both societies led to a synergistic increase in the depth
and quality of the meeting. New this year were the quick-shot oral presentations, in which 449 abstracts
“The 3rd were presented. By all accounts, these new sessions were a great success. They encouraged participation
from the audience and were very well attended. Many attendees commented on how the combined format
Annual ASC was a in all the scientific sessions promoted discussion, collaboration, and scientific exchange between the two
organizations. This was especially evident in the Education Committee Session, “The Changing Face of
huge success!” Surgical Education: Simulation As The New Paradigm,” in which the AAS Education Committee and
SUS Committee on Surgical Education worked together to coordinate an extremely stimulating session,
and in the AAS Issues Committee Session, “Debt Burden Among Academic Surgeons: The Problem
and Some Possible Solutions,” in which, again, the AAS Issues Committee and the SUS Committee on
Social and Legislative Issues jointly put forth an excellent program. Also new this year, the State-of-the-
Art Lectures showcased some of the most exciting advances academic surgery has to offer. Drs. Busuttil,
Evans, Gurtner, and Tanabe truly defined the state of the art in their respective fields of expertise. Last, but
not least, Dr. Fogarty, Mr. Weldon, and Dr. Russell led a very exciting Clinical Topics Session entitled
“Innovation and Commercializing New Technology: What Academic Surgeons Should Know.”
For the first time this
Although many of the ASC sessions were held jointly, the program was
year, the AAS started similar to that of last year, allowing the AAS to maintain many of the
events that have been popular at previous AAS meetings. This year’s AAS
an international Founder’s Lecture, “Will Personal Genomes Impact Medical Care?” was
exchange program with delivered by Dr. Richard Gibbs. Dr. Gibbs gave an outstanding presentation
about factors likely to reshape the future of our profession. In addition,
the Taiwan Surgical Dr. Nwariaku gave a superb AAS Presidential Address entitled “Mind
the Gap: Workforce Disparities and Global Health.” His counterpart
Association and the from the SUS, Dr. Longaker, also gave an excellent presentation during
Younger Fellows the SUS Presidential Address entitled “Leadership, Teamwork & SUS
Dr. Richard Gibbs and AAS
Brand Extension.” The AAS Leadership Committee led the Resident/
President, Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku.
Committee of the Student Meet-the-AAS-Leadership Forum and Luncheon. The AAS
Dr. Gibbs delivered this year’s AAS
Membership Committee hosted a New-Member Breakfast that provided Founder’s Lecture, “Will Personal
Royal Australasian new AAS members with an opportunity to get involved in the Association. Genomes Impact Medical Care?”
The Committee also initiated a joint project with the SUS designed to
College of Surgeons create a DVD that will highlight what academic surgery is all about. In addition, the AAS Information and
Technology Committee moderated an Emerging Technologies Quick-Shot Session.

For the first time this year, the AAS started an international exchange program with the Taiwan Surgical
Association (TSA) and the Younger Fellows Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
(RACS). Dr. Tzu-Chi Hsu and Mr. Richard Hanney attended the ASC this year as representatives of the
TSA and RACS, respectively. During the ASC, the first AAS International Visiting Professor Awards were
presented to Drs. Scott LeMaire and Daniel Albo. These two AAS officers will be representing the AAS
during the RACS and TSA meetings, respectively, early this year.

2
 One of the additional highlights of the 3rd Annual ASC was the recognition of the many outstanding
presentations and manuscripts by AAS members and their trainees. Dr. Sebastian Schubl, of the Weill
Medical College-Cornell University, Dr. Jonathan Wilks, of Baylor College of Medicine, and Christopher
Platta, of the University of Wisconsin, were recipients of the AAS Resident Research Awards.
The Best Oral Presentation by a New AAS Member, entitled “IL-17 Neutralization Prevents Autoimmune
Diabetes in NOD Mice but Does Not Delay Allograft Rejection in Islet Transplantation,” was delivered by
Juliet Emamaullee, of the University of Alberta, Canada, while the Best Quick-Shot Presentation by a
New AAS Member, entitled “Mediastinal Parathyroid Adenomas: What Is the Best Operative Approach?”
Save the Date! was from Dr. David Greenblatt, of the University of Wisconsin. The Best Manuscript Award went to Dr.
Gerald Lipshutz, of the UCLA Medical Center, for “Evaluation of Gene Promoters for Liver Expression by
The 4th Hydrodynamic Gene Transfer.” Dr. Peter L. Abt, of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, won the
Annual ASC! Best Manuscript by a New AAS Member Award for his paper, “The Accumulative Effects of Cold Ischemic
Time and Older Donor Age on Liver Graft Survival.” New this year was the AAS Outstanding Medical
Febrary 4-6, 2009 Student Award Session, in which the top ten abstracts submitted by AAS medical students competed for
an award in front of the AAS leadership. The winner was Juliet Emamaullee, of the University of Alberta,
Fort Myers, FL
Canada, for her work “IL-17 Neutralization Prevents Autoimmune Diabetes in NOD Mice but Does Not
Delay Allograft Rejection in Islet Transplantation.”

Please mark your calendars for the 4th Annual ASC, which will be held on February 4-6, 2009, in
Fort Myers, Florida, and which promises to be an even more outstanding meeting. The abstract deadline
is Monday, August 25, 2008. See you there!

SE C RETAR Y ’ S RE P O RT
Dr. Scott LeMaire
2008 ELECTION RESULTS AND APPOINTMENTS
The following AAS members were elected to leadership positions during the annual AAS business meeting
held at the 3rd ASC or by subsequent ballot vote. For a full list of the AAS Executive-Council members, please
visit www.aasurg.org.
President-Elect (2008-2009): Kevin F. Staveley-O’Carroll, MD, PhD, MBA
Secretary (2008-2010): Scott A. LeMaire, MD
Education Committee Co-Chairs (2008-2009): Lillian S. Kao, MD, and Carla Marie Pugh, MD, PhD
Dr. Scott LeMaire
Issues Committee Co-Chairs (2008-2009): Carlton C. Barnett, Jr., MD, and Cataldo Doria, MD, PhD
Councilors (2-year term to begin in 2009):
1999 Representative: Gary B. Nackman, MD
2001 Representative: Selwyn O. Rogers, Jr., MD, MPH
2003 Representative: Joseph Cuschieri, MD
2005 Representative: Taylor S. Riall, MD
2007 Representative: Rebecca Sippel, MD

The following AAS members were appointed to leadership positions by President Herb Chen:
Visit us online at Information and Technology Committee Chair (2008-2010): Gretchen Purcell, MD, PhD
www.aasurg.org Membership Committee Chair (2008-2010): Nipun Merchant, MD
Leadership Committee Co-Chair (2008-2010): Peter R. Nelson, MD
Representative to the Association of Women Surgeons (2008-2010): Tara M. Breslin, MD
Representative to the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (2008-2011): Malcolm V. Brock, MD
Representative to the Journal of Surgical Research (2008-2011): Herbert J. Zeh, MD
Deputy Treasurer (Ad Hoc, 2008-2010): Kathrin M. Troppmann, MD
Ad Hoc Global Affairs Committee Co-Chairs (2008-2010): Evan P. Nadler, MD, and
Benedict C. Nwomeh, MD
Resident-Fellow Councilor (Ad Hoc, 2008-2010): Scott Pinchot, MD 3
2008 AAS COMMITTEE MEMBERS Membership Committee
The AAS Executive Committee would like to thank all of the committee Chair: Nipun Merchant, MD (2008-2010)
members for their dedication and hard work in ensuring that the work Joel Adler (Ad Hoc Candidate Member, 2008-2009)
and mission of the AAS is being fulfilled. Following is a list of the AAS Jamie Cavallo, MD (Ad Hoc Candidate Member, 2008-2009)
committees and their members. This list, along with the objectives of each Jason S. Gold, MD (2008-2010)
committee and the contact information for the members, can be found at William G. Hawkins, MD (2008-2010)
www.aasurg.org. Sergio Huerta, MD (2007-2009)
Vikram S. Kashyap, MD (2007-2009)
Education Committee
Evan P. Nadler, MD (2007-2009)
Co-Chair: Lillian S. Kao, MD (2007-2009)
Lisa S. Poritz, MD (2007-2009)
Co-Chair: Carla Marie Pugh, MD, PhD (2007-2009)
John E. Phay, MD (2008-2010)
FSR Course Director: Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MSc, MPH (2007-2009)
Taylor S. Riall, MD (2008-2010)
Adam C. Berger, MD (2008-2010)
Steven Rose, MD (Ad Hoc, 2008-2010)
Clifford S. Cho, MD (2008-2010)
Stanley B. Sidhu, MBBS, PhD (Ad Hoc, 2008-2010)
Mary E. Klingensmith, MD (2008-2010) Richard A. Sidwell, MD (Ad Hoc, 2008-2010)
Shu S. Lin, MD, PhD (2008-2010) Bhuv Singh, MD (Ad Hoc, 2008-2010)
Carmen C. Solorzano, MD (2008-2010) Rebecca S. Sippel, MD (2008-2010)
Shirin Towfigh, MD (2007-2009) Jose G. Trevino, MD (Candidate Member, 2008-2010)
Mark J. Truty, MD (Candidate Member, 2008-2010)
Brian S. Zuckerbraun, MD (2008-2010) Nominating Committee
Chair: Herbert Chen, MD (2007-2009)
Information & Technology Committee Daniel Albo, MD, PhD (2007-2009)
Chair: Gretchen Purcell, MD, PhD (2008-2010) Karen J. Brasel, MD (2008-2009)
Harry L. Anderson, III, MD (2007-2009) Oscar J. (Joe) Hines, MD (2008-2009)
John T. Anderson, MD (2007-2009) Clifford Y. Ko, MD (2008-2009)
Juan A. Crestanello, MD (2008-2010) Scott A. LeMaire, MD (2008-2010)
Patrick G. Dean, MD (2008-2010) Rebecca M. Minter, MD (2008-2009)
Julie R. Fuchs, MD (2007-2009) Timothy M. Pawlik, MD, MPH (2008-2009)
Gregory D. Kennedy, MD, PhD (2008-2010) George A. Sarosi, Jr., MD (2008-2009)
Melina R. Kibbe, MD (2008-2010) Christian M. Schmidt, MD, PhD, MBA (2007-2010)
Dave R. Lal, MD (2008-2010) Kevin F. Staveley-O’Carroll, MD, PhD, MBA (2008-2010)
Sonia L. Ramamoorthy, MD (2007-2009) Sonia L. Sugg, MD (2008-2009)
Bryan A. Whitson, MD (Candidate Member, 2008-2010) Jeffrey S. Upperman, MD (2008-2009)
Issues Committee Program Committee
Co-Chair: Carlton C. Barnett, Jr., MD (2007-2009) Chair: Daniel Albo, MD, PhD (2007-2009)
Co-Chair: Cataldo Doria, MD, PhD (2007-2009) Ari D. Brooks, MD (2008-2010)
Karl Y. Bilimoria, MD (Candidate Member, 2008-2010) Andrew C. Chang, MD (2007-2009)
Joseph Cuschieri, MD (2008-2010) Mark S. Cohen, MD (2008-2010)
Paul S. Dale, MD (2008-2010) Alan Dardik, MD, PhD (2007-2009)
Robin D. Kim, MD (2007-2009) Dev M. Desai, MD (2008-2010)
Mahesh H. Mankani, MD (2007-2009) Buckminster J. Farrow, MD (2008-2010)
Benedict C. Nwomeh, MD (2007-2009) Jon C. Gould, MD (2008-2010)
Terence O’Keeffe, MB, ChB, BSc (2008-2010) Charles P. Heise, MD (2008-2010)
Elizabeth A. Peralta, MD (2008-2010) Electron Kebebew, MD (2008-2010)
Dinesh Ranjan, MD (2008-2010) Panos Kougias, MD (2008-2010)
Atul K. Madan, MD (2007-2009)
Leadership Committee
John C. Mansour, MD (2008-2010)
Co-Chair: Eric T. Kimchi, MD (2007-2009)
Julie Ann Margenthaler, MD (2008-2010)
Co-Chair: Peter R. Nelson, MD (2008-2010)
Barbra S. Miller, MD (2008-2010)
Christopher D. Anderson, MD (Candidate Member, 2008-2010) James Francis Pingpank, Jr., MD (2007-2009)
Alessandro Fichera, MD (2007-2009) Roderich E. Schwarz, MD, PhD (2008-2010)
Louis L. Nguyen, MD, MBA, MPH (2007-2009) Shimul A. Shah, MD (2007-2009)
Niraj J. Gusani, MD (2008-2010) Sonia L. Sugg, MD (2007-2009)
Alysandra Lal, MD (2008-2010) Christoph Troppmann, MD (2008-2010)
Robert C. G. Martin, MD (2008-2010) Patricia L. Turner, MD (2008-2010)
Paul J. Mosca, MD, PhD (2008-2010) Thomas N. Wang, MD, PhD (2007-2009)
Seth A. Spector, MD (2008-2010) Herbert J. Zeh, MD (2007-2009)
Wei Zhou, MD (2007-2009)
4
 Ad Hoc Ethics Committee AAS/SUS Mentoring Task Force
Chair: Leila Mureebe, MD (2007-2009) Kimberly S. Kirkwood, MD (2008-2010)
Ciaran T. Bradley, MD (Candidate Member, 2008-2010) George A. Sarosi, Jr., MD (2008-2010)
Oscar J. (Joe) Hines, MD (2007-2009) Rebecca S. Sippel, MD (2008-2010)
Timothy M. Pawlik, MD, MPH (2007-2009)
2008 AAS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AWARD
Ad Hoc Global Affairs Committee The AAS is pleased to announce the winner of its 2008 Research
Co-Chair: Evan P. Nadler, MD (2008-2010) Fellowship Award. Dr. Sung W. Cho has been selected to receive
Co-Chair: Benedict C. Nwomeh, MD (2008-2010) $30,000 from the AAS over a 2-year period for his work entitled “The
Wayne Frederick, MD (2008-2010) Role of Calcium/calmodulin-dependent Kinase in High Mobility Group
T. Peter Kingham, MD (2008-2010) Box 1 Mediated Liver Inflammation.” Dr. Cho is currently a surgery
Heitham T. Hassoun, MD (2008-2010) resident at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his Medical Degree
Jason A. London, MD, MPH (2008-2010) from the University of London, England and a MSc in Immunology
Robert Riviello, MD, MPH (Candidate Member, 2008-2010) from the University of Oxford, England.
Selwyn O. Rogers, Jr., MD, MPH (2008-2010)

AAS P RESENTS F UNDA M ENTA L S C O URSE

T O W EST A F RI C AN SURGE O NS
Drs. Benedict Nwomeh & Evan Nadler, Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Global Affairs Committee
On February 10th, 2008, the AAS, in partnership with the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), presented
the inaugural Fundamentals of Surgical Research and Career Development Course to physicians gathered in
Freetown, Sierra Leone, for the 46th Annual Conference of the WACS. The program was held at the Bintumani
Hotel and Conference Center.

Adapted from the traditional annual AAS Fall Courses, the Fundamentals course was presented by a faculty that
included nine AAS members—Drs. Susan Brundage, Electron Kebebew, Lawrence Kim, Evan Nadler, Fiemu
Nwariaku, Benedict Nwomeh, Oluyinka Olutoye, Selwyn Rogers, and Jeffrey Upperman—and three local surgeons Drs. Evan Nadler, Jeffrey Upperman,
and Benedict Nwomeh participated
who are Fellows of the WACS. The participants were drawn from several countries in the subregion, including
as faculty members at the inaugural
Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and the host country, Sierra Leone. More than 120 physicians attended, nearly doubling
AAS Fundamentals Course in
the original number of registrants. Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The idea of taking the Fundamentals course to West Africa was initiated by AAS Past President, Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku,
who also led the AAS faculty on this mission. According to Dr. Nwariaku, teaching of research skills to physicians
in developing countries is “crucial for improving the knowledge base of the local medical workforce.” In his welcome
address, the WACS President, Dr. Eusebe Alihonu, expressed gratitude to the AAS for bringing the course to local
surgeons. Over the years, a few surgeons from West Africa had traveled to the United States to attend the AAS Fall
Courses. Dr. Alihonu stated that, by offering the course locally, it would be possible for more attending physicians
and residents to benefit from this vital training. The high level of interest in this program was demonstrated by the
The course included material that is
traditionally presented during the broad representation of diverse specialties, including general surgery, pediatric surgery, orthopedics, otolaryngology,
annual AAS Fall Courses. neurosurgery, radiology, gynecology, and radiation oncology.

During the trip, the AAS delegation was granted an audience with several Sierra Leonean government representatives including the Honorable Minister for
Health and Sanitation, Dr. Soccoh Kabia. The Minister was grateful that the AAS provided free course registration to 10 physicians from the host country.
He noted that after nearly two decades of civil war, his country was in the process of rebuilding its infrastructure and acquiring skilled personnel. He further
outlined potential areas for collaboration, especially in the realm of knowledge and skills transfer to local physicians.

Feedback from course attendees was very positive. In evaluating the course, 98.6% of the attendees rated the program good or excellent, and 97.5%
stated that the course objectives had been met. However, most participants requested that the course be extended from 1 day to 3 days to allow more
material to be covered. Nearly all the participants requested that the course be offered on a regular basis.

The AAS faculty members were gratified by the positive reception of the program. According to Dr. Nwariaku, “We have identified an area of
great need in the continuing education of physicians and surgeons in the West African subregion. This course has been crucial in providing us with
some perspective regarding the extent and depth of the gap in professional knowledge and skill in healthcare . . . and reminded us of our immense
responsibility to bolster efforts to narrow that gap.”

The Freetown course was the first of what is hoped to be an annual AAS program in West Africa. The Ad Hoc Global Affairs Committee has commenced
planning for the 2009 course, to be held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. The committee has also initiated the necessary contacts and groundwork for
future courses in developing regions of Asia and South America. 5
 ASS O C IATI O N O F A M ERI C AN
M EDI C A L C O L L EGES
Drs. Ruth Bush & Kathrin Troppmann, Representatives to the AAMC
Founded in 1876 with 22 members, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) was reorganized
into its current form in 1969. It is governed by an executive committee (7 members) and an executive council
(30 members), as well as three governing councils: the Council of Academic Societies (CAS), Council of
Deans, and Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems.

Formed in 1965, the CAS comprises 89 academic societies, including the AAS, which has two appointed
representatives. The CAS is a powerful forum for discussing and exchanging information of common interest
to medical school faculties and for evaluating and recommending policy initiatives to the AAMC. The CAS
has a chairperson and an administrative board, which meets three times a year. As a member of the CAS, the
Dr. Ruth Bush AAS has access to the AAMC Speakers Bureau, which allows senior AAMC staff members to serve as speakers
at meetings. The AAS utilized this resource at this year’s ASC, at which Dr. Paul Jolly was an invited expert
speaker on student and resident indebtedness.

The mission of the AAMC is to “help faculty of medical schools and teaching hospitals to pursue their
primary responsibilities of research, education, and patient care” with an overall goal to “improve the health
of all Americans.” These ideals are integral to the existence, progress, and success of the AAS because medical
schools, students, residents, and researchers contribute to the Society and, thus, are crucial to its future.
Candidate membership—an effort to increase resident and student participation in AAS activities—is a
successful new AAS initiative. These young participants are important in disseminating novel research at the
annual ASC.

Several AAMC resources are of great benefit to AAS members. The AAMC website presents up-to-date
information and announcements concerning the AAMC, the NIH, and a myriad of legislative issues
pertinent to all physicians. Also, the AAMC Data Book has statistical information about medical schools,
teaching hospitals, graduate medical education, and faculty and physician compensation. The AAMC Salary
Dr. Kathrin Troppmann Survey lists faculty salaries by degree, rank, region, department, mean, median, and 25th/75th percentiles.
Websites that may be of interest to AAS members include www.aamc.org/newsroom/aamcstat and
www.aamc.org/advocacy/washhigh.

NATI O NA L ASS O C IATI O N

F O R B I O M EDI C A L RESEAR C H
Dr. Emily Robinson, Representative to the NABR
The National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) is the only national, nonprofit organization
dedicated solely to advocating sound public policy in support of the responsible use and humane care of
laboratory animals in biomedical research, higher education, and product safety testing. Founded in 1979,
the NABR provides a unified voice for the scientific community regarding legislative and regulatory matters
affecting laboratory animal research––issues of vital importance to AAS members. The NABR’s membership
comprises more than 300 public and private universities, medical and veterinary schools, teaching hospitals,
voluntary health agencies, professional societies, pharmaceutical companies, and other animal research-related
firms. The NABR membership believes that research projects should use only as many animals as necessary;
that animal pain or distress should be minimized; and that alternatives to the use of live animals should be
developed and employed whenever feasible.
Dr. Emily Robinson
The NABR provides a mechanism by which its members may contact the United States (US) Congress
regarding issues that pertain to animal research. The Association also serves as a sounding board for the
US Legislature when questions of animal usage and regulation arise. Via a bimonthly electronic update,
the NABR keeps its membership apprised of animal-rights campaigns, public policy, legal issues, and
other information related to biomedical research involving laboratory animals. The Association’s website
(www.nabr.org) provides materials about animal law and crisis management, as well as links to government
and nongovernment sources pertaining to the welfare of animals.