For most of recorded history, the greatest threat to the armed forces has come not from battlefield injuries but rather from infectious diseases, for which effective drugs were needed.
An interview with three distinguished members of ASPET about the society, and how it helped them navigate their careers. As our field adapts to new technologies, unpredictable federal policies, and evolving academic structures, ASPET must similarly adapt to best serve our members. As these three interviews with distinguished ASPET members makes clear, change is something that every scientist must expect, and membership in ASPET can be an invaluable aid in both developing career paths and furthering research.
This month The Pharmacologist features ASPET’s 2024–2025 Washington Fellows written policy briefs. The Washington Fellows Program is dedicated to enabling developing and early-career scientists interested in science policy to learn about and become more engaged in public policy issues. As part of the program, the Fellows gain skills in writing policy briefs on topics that are of importance to each Fellow. In these briefs, the Fellows showcase compelling arguments for policy improvements on their issue choice.
In the 16th century, Paracelsus famously declared, “All things are poison…only the dose determines that a thing is not a poison.” Despite this edict, remedies derived from botanicals have long been considered not only “natural” but also wholesome and harmless. And consumers of pharmacologically active botanicals mistakenly think that “if some is good, more is better.” A case in point is ephedra: an herb that was used successfully for millennia, both as a natural folk medicine and a commercial pharmaceutical. But then it became so popular as an herbal remedy that it was abused, declared hazardous, and subsequently banned.
In May of 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) placed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register6 that would transfer marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to schedule III of the CSA. Although the current Administration of the federal government has not carried forth with the proposal, the Drug Policy Subcommittee of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) would like to make the membership aware of the ramifications of such a rule change and especially for those with preclinical and clinical research programs involving cannabis.
After his final contributions to the ASPET Journals Task Force wrapped up in 2024, long-time ASPET member Michael Jarvis, PhD, FASPET, HonFBPhS,
found himself in an unusual position. Having completed his term as Pharmacology Research & Perspectives Editor-in-Chief and member of ASPET’s Publications Committee in 2023, and having completed his three-year term on ASPET’s Council as President-Elect, President, and Past-President (2021–2023), also previously having served two consecutive terms as Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (JPET) Editor-in-Chief (2010–2015), Mike finally had a rare chance to breathe.
In 2023, CDC received reports of 89,000 Lyme disease cases but cautioned that many other cases were likely not reported. Surveillance efforts are difficult, many individuals are treated as outpatients, and diagnostic lab tests have limitations. CDC estimates that about 476,000 Americans may actually be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year.
A Recap of the ASPET 2025 Annual Meeting. On behalf of the ASPET Council, the ASPET Program Committee, the ASPET 2025 Organizing Committee, and the ASPET staff, thank you for making the ASPET 2025 Annual Meeting a resounding success!
Laura Eghobamien is a cellular biologist who offers expertise in cellular immunology, antibody therapeutics, and high throughput screening to small biotech companies. Eghobamien is also the founder of the Black Medical Scientific Network (BMSN) in the United Kingdom. She established it in 2020 after a close friend in the science field revealed her frustration with having to constantly prove her worth and was considering quitting the field altogether.
Since its founding in 1636, Harvard University had remained an all-male institution. Then, in 1919, Alice Hamilton was appointed to the Harvard faculty. She did not seek the post. Rather, she was actively and enthusiastically recruited by leaders in the medical school. The 50-year-old physician had amassed expertise and an international reputation unmatched by anyone else. She was simply the best person for the job.
