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The ɬÀï·¬ Council held its summer council meeting August 15–16. The purpose of this new, annual summer meeting is to devote extended time to strategic, generative and longer-term thinking, with more limited regular business items as needed. This meeting focused primarily on new financial frameworks and directions for initial programming priorities.

Financial planning

The majority of the Council’s time was devoted to reviewing, discussing and approving a multi-year financial plan and exploring how associations are approaching sustainable business models to ensure continued strength for decades to come. “Growth and financial sustainability” was established as a primary goal as part of the Council-approved strategic plan, which reflects the impact on ASBMB of trends over the last 10+ years. During the meeting, ASBMB staff and advisors presented a thorough analysis of ASBMB’s recent and evolving financial position and proposed a five-year Financial Framework. The findings documented the likelihood of substantially growing deficits if no action is taken to change ASBMB’s current path and also highlighted program revenue trends that could one day affect ASBMB’s nonprofit tax status if not addressed in the coming years. They also noted that ASBMB’s strong reserves provide capacity for strategic investment to change course and outcomes.

The proposed framework incorporates twin pillars, which (a) authorize ASBMB to undertake significant investment for innovation and revenue growth, yet also (b) require operational discipline and modernization in current programs to contain and ultimately reduce the current operating deficit. The overall goal will be to establish a responsible balance between important revenue-generating and non-revenue-generating programming.

Council approved the framework and charged the Finance Committee to develop detailed innovation fund management and allocation policies, with first investments planned in the 2026 budget. Council also established a strategic alignment working group, co-chaired by two council members, that will help guide the coming work of committees to implement the framework with Council oversight and guidance. Council will continue communication with the membership about next steps.

Council also welcomed an evening guest speaker from McKinley Advisors, a respected association consulting firm, who shared findings from the firm’s recent report about emerging trends and changes in association business models. The report highlights how important it is for societies to remain relevant in creating concrete member value, reinforcing member communities, broadening the reach of valued programs and driving rapid operational modernization and efficiency.

Fostering an inclusive molecular life science community

On day two of its meeting, Council welcomed Membership Committee chair Rick Page. Page presented proposals from the Membership Committee that will advance ASBMB’s efforts to support broader, more inclusive membership goals. The proposals recommended combining ASBMB’s Regular and Industry member types into a single member type called Professional and removing the requirement for regular members to have earned a Ph.D. and published a paper in a peer-reviewed journal. Council voiced strong support for removing existing structural divides between industry and regular members and approved the change for 2026. Council also enthusiastically approved a dues and registration discount structure for individuals from lower-income countries. Learn more about both membership updates.

Pursuing higher education strategy

Council approved a significant strategic investment over the next two years to consider the rapidly changing higher education environment, including undergraduate and graduate level emphases and how ASBMB might reinforce and enhance its leadership in this area. An externally led review will begin in fall 2025, with active engagement from members of ASBMB’s higher education faculty community and broader stakeholders. The review will assess ASBMB’s strengths, challenges and opportunities across the higher education spectrum and guide the society in shaping a more intentional strategy for serving relevant audiences. Council affirmed that ASBMB is fortunate to have great strengths on which to build, including the accreditation process, valued faculty professional development programming such as the Transforming undergraduate education in the molecular life sciences, or TUEMLS, conference, the proficiency exam and a robust community of dedicated and innovative higher education faculty among our membership.

Important activity updates and approvals

On the public affairs and policy front, Council discussed the deeply concerning environment for science in the U.S. and the ongoing advocacy work led by ASBMB’s Public Affairs Advisory Committee. The PAAC has been highly engaged throughout the year to communicate the value of basic science research and the importance of inclusive perspectives in science through grassroots organizing, member engagement, communicating with congressional staff, coalition building and advocacy at all judicial levels up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Council heard updates from a working group charged by Council earlier in 2025 to guide continued innovation in ASBMB publishing, including expansion of ASBMB journal scopes, optimizing author satisfaction and increasing global representation in ASBMB journals. The working group, which is engaging editorial boards, staff and expert consultants, reported progress to date.

Council also approved a three-year renewal of the Journal of Lipid Research co–editors-in-chief, Nicholas Davidson and Kerry-Anne Rye, who began their terms in 2019. Both have been highly effective leaders for JLR and have been instrumental in advancing the journal's marketing strategy and strengthening its position. Davidson and Rye’s first five-year appointments were previously extended by two years, and the Publications Committee unanimously recommended renewing both editors for an additional three-year term, for a total of 10. The renewal will provide continuity in editorial leadership and support the Society's continuing publishing leadership.

In support of its goals to support scientific excellence and recognizing the breadth of biochemistry topics, the Council approved a novel partnership on a webinar series focused on transcription. Council agreed that the series, developed by Kai Ge of the National Institutes of Health, is an opportunity for ASBMB to strengthen ties with the transcription community and foster dialogue across disciplines.

Finally, as an important part of their fiduciary duties, Council reviewed and voted to accept the financial audit results for 2024, which presented a clean audit and no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.

The next scheduled Council meeting is Dec. 5–6, 2025, in Rockville, Maryland.