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(ASHI Quarterly, 4th Quarter, 2001)
Dear
Friends and Colleagues, The
27th Annual ASHI meeting has come and gone and with it the passing of
another year. For this year, more so then in years past, I would like to
thank each and every one of you who made the trip to San Francisco. I
realize that in these uncertain times it would have been perfectly
understandable to decide against attending the meeting. However, this
year’s meeting was very well attended and, I believe, stands as a
testament to the dedication and courage of the individuals in our field.
I sincerely hope that all who traveled to the meeting had a safe and
uneventful return home. For those of you who, for whatever personal
reason, decided against travel at this time, we recognize the importance
of your decision and hope that you will continue to support ASHI and
that you will consider attending next year’s meeting in Nashville,
Tennessee. This
past year has seen many changes in the world and in our own lives. While
some of us were directly affected by the events of September 11th, all
of our lives were, in some way, changed by these tragic events. Our view
of the world has changed and our beliefs in mankind may have been shaken
but, I hope, not irreparably damaged. One could spend hours
contemplating why such tragic things happen. Are they random events in
history? Is there a grand plan? The unfortunate reality of life is that
such events do occur. Time spent pondering the depths of these questions
or their origin may be consoling but is not always productive. We must,
however, cope with and confront these new challenges and circumstances.
We must not forget these events but must make our own personal
adaptations and move forward. With
this in mind, ASHI has embarked on a new mission to move our society
forward. These efforts will present ASHI with many new opportunities and
challenges. With the help of many of you, ASHI has already made great
strides this past year in moving the society in a positive direction. As
our needs have grown, so too has our need for professional support and
management. In an effort to obtain the best possible support for the
society we have selected a new management company. Beginning on January
1, 2002, Association Headquarters, located in Mt. Laurel, NJ, will be
our new management firm. We are confident that they will be an
invaluable partner in helping ASHI attain its goals. Many of these goals
were set forth as part of a strategic planning session held last spring.
Among the many goals for the society, one common theme was “Better
Recognition of ASHI.” We have decided that, for the most part, ASHI
was not considered a major entity in transplantation immunobiology and
immunogenetics. There have been several indications that support this
perception. First, ASHI was initially excluded from focus groups and
workshops that were designed to address clinical practice that directly
involved histocompatibility. Such focus groups are critical for bringing
together all individuals within a certain area to discuss important
issues. Also, there were important scientific meetings that ASHI was
initially left out of, not deliberately, but because ASHI was not
consciously thought of. Also, ASHI is not well known among our patient
groups. Lastly, in the legislative/regulatory arena, we are only
recognized by a few select groups. Hence, it is obvious that we must
make concerted efforts to correct these misperceptions of our society.
ASHI, as a scientific society, has much to offer. I believe that, more
so than many other societies, ASHI can offer a variety of things to many
different groups. Our mission statement clearly states that we are: “…a
professional society dedicated to advancing the science and practice of
immunogenetics and its impact on the quality of human life.” The
key points in our mission statement are: “Professional Society,”
“Basic Science” and “Clinical Practice.” These aspects have been
the cornerstones of ASHI since its inception and they are the dynamic
basis that has kept ASHI viable. However, we have, for the most part,
remained in the background. ASHI must be willing to put forth the
efforts that will move the society forward. In the clinical arena, we
will be participating in several upcoming conferences that are designed
to make recommendations regarding clinical practice. ASHI must be
willing to bring forth and defend ideas that are supported by sound
scientific data. Based on such data, we must then be willing to present
this information to our colleagues and, more importantly, prepare
informative publications for scientific groups as well as for patients
and other non-scientific support groups. Our position, however, must be
founded in good science. To this end, ASHI has added some new
sub-committees. Dr. John Thompson is chairing a subcommittee on clinical
trials and ASHI is in the early stages of developing a data
sub-committee. Both of these committees will be charged with providing
ASHI with the latest information that will help support appropriate
clinical testing. These sub-committees are in line with the society’s
Big Audacious Goal which is: “…to
be acknowledged as global leaders in generating and translating
immunogenetic knowledge to improve human health.” In addition to this major focus area, we have identified 4 other key focus areas. These key areas are:
Within
each of these key focus areas we have identified many challenges and
opportunities. I have outlined only a few in the area of “Making
Ourselves Known.” For the key focus area of “Re-engineering
Ourselves,” we are approaching this with two major initiatives: 1) our
new management firm, and 2) restructuring the leadership positions of
ASHI. In the past, the entire responsibility for running the society
seemed to fall on one individual, the president. While this was an
apparently efficient way to run the society, in actuality it was not in
the best interest of the society. The job of running ASHI is more than
one individual can effectively handle. Hence, issues did not always get
the full attention they deserved. Moreover, with only one person holding
the reins, there tended to be a lack of continuity with respect to
ASHI’s direction. In more recent years we have attempted to spread the
work around by essentially involving all of council on most of the
decisions. However, this still was not the most effective way to run the
society. Hence, we have put forth a new initiative that can have a
significant positive impact on our society. The proposal for
restructuring the ASHI leadership was presented in San Francisco. The
task force that was charged with this task did an outstanding job of
listening to all the input as they prepared their model. Even then,
there were changes and the task force responded admirably. The task
force consisted of Dr. Sandra Rosen-Bronsen, Joan McAuley, Cathi Murphey
and Dr. Paula Romano. The details of the re-structuring will be sent out
shortly and its fate will be in your hands. We need all ASHI members to
comment on this proposal so that we can move forward. In
the areas of “Scientific Leadership” and “Restructuring Laboratory
Practice” we have many miles to travel. There are many challenges
ahead of us; challenges such as HIPPA, CLIA, and CPT coding just to name
a few. We have begun addressing these issues by forming subcommittees on
clinical trials and on data collection/analysis. Only through a thorough
understanding of data can we best offer scientific leadership. Last,
but by no means least, is our membership. We need to provide services
and support to our members such that membership in ASHI is highly
desirable. Here too, we are making strides. We have completely redone
the ASHI website. Hopefully, this will make access to information easier
for our members. We are also moving forward with other member
initiatives in the areas of continuing education and publications. We
hope these initiatives will bring more value to your ASHI membership.
However, we do need to hear from you and are interested in your needs as
ASHI members. What are the items that you value in your ASHI membership? In
short, ASHI needs to be doing a number of things differently and better
than before. During the strategic plan roll-out at the annual meeting in
San Francisco, Dr. Dolly Tyan told us of a saying her minister uses from
time to time. I think it bears repeating here. “If
you always do what you always did, then you will always get what you
always got.” ASHI
cannot continue as usual and we cannot move forward without your input.
So, as Dr. Tyan did last year, I too challenge each and every one of you
to become involved and make a difference. I am certain that if we all
work together, ASHI can achieve its goals. I look forward to working
with all of you during this upcoming and exciting year.
Robert A. Bray, Ph.D., dip.ABHI President
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