From the President 

Mark Dow, Ph.D., HCLD/ELD(ABB)

The CRB membership is continuing to grow within the AAB community. We are nearly 800 members strong and growing!  With this growth we are actively challenging the AAB to adapt to meet the needs of the CRB community. Until I was elected to the CRB board, I didn’t have a good handle of how the AAB Board is organized and how it functions. My sense is a majority of CRB members don’t have a good understanding as well. Therefore, I wanted to take an opportunity to explain the form and function of the AAB National Board of Directors, a group with significant representation from CRB members.  The AAB National Board of Directors is responsible for the direction of the AAB, and any suggestions, compliments, or concerns should be directed their way, most principally AAB National Board of Directors members who are also CRB members.

Representatives to the AAB Board of Directors are elected by the AAB membership and these individuals volunteer their time for the benefit of the AAB, which is a non-profit organization. The AAB Board of Directors meets twice a year, once at the annual AAB meeting and once in November in St. Louis to review and suggest changes to the policy and procedures of the AAB. The day-to-day operations of the AAB are handled by the paid management service of Birenbaum & Associates, Inc. Currently, there are 16 board members on the AAB National Board of Directors, 6 of which are currently CRB members. These positions include a President, President-Elect, 1^st Vice President, and 2^nd Vice President. These leaders start in the position of 2^nd Vice President and serve a 4-year term through the Presidency followed by a year as Secretary/Treasurer (5 total years). To be eligible to be on the ballot for 2^nd Vice President, the member must first serve 4 years as a Regional Administrative Secretary. Therefore, members voted as a Regional Administrative Secretary who move into a leadership role have a 9-year term on the AAB Board! 

The Secretaries who represent the Eastern, Midwestern, Southern and Western Regions are elected within their region to a 4-year term followed by succeeding to the another 4-year term in succession starting from the 2^nd Vice President listed above. In addition to the Regional Secretaries, there is a Manager Representative, a Supervisor Representative, the Chair of the AAB Proficiency Testing Service, an AMS Liaison Representative, the Chair of the National Independent Laboratory Association (NILA), an Associate Member Section (AMS) Representative and the Chair/President of each of the two special interest groups including the College of Reproductive Biology (CRB) and the Environmental Biology & Public Health Section (EBPH). 

I strongly encourage CRB members to send suggestions for improvement of the CRB to any of the CRB Executive Board members, or Chairs of the Credentialing & Membership, Legislative, Nomination or Publications committees, or other AAB National Board of Directors! If you are interested in becoming a Regional Administrative Secretary, Manager, or Supervisor Representative or CRB Board member, you should contact the AAB office.    

Submissions should be sent via email (aab@aab.org) AND confirmation fax (314)241-1449. Also look for the Call for Abstracts on the AAB website and Embryomail posting soon!

I also strongly encourage CRB members and non-CRB members (including REI fellows) to submit their clinical or laboratory research abstracts for the 2013 17^th Annual CRB Meeting and Educational Conference. The deadline is April 4, 2013. The two best abstracts will receive a $250 cash award compliments of Origio!!! The top five abstracts will be presented during a 15-minute oral session. The AAB meeting is a small, low stress venue that is great for first time presenters to get their feet wet!

Respectfully,