Mary-Ann Bjornsti Named to Lead FASEB Board

Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Garvy, Lehman, Clemens, and Bhatt Also Begin New Terms on FASEB Board

Mary-Ann Bjornsti, PhD, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), was named president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). FASEB is the largest coalition of biological and biomedical research associations in the United States. 

Bjornsti holds an additional appointment as Newman H. Waters Chair of Clinical Pharmacology, and she served as associate director for translational research at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. Her research interests are in the mechanisms of anti-cancer drug action and in pathways that regulate tumor growth and cellular responses to replicative stress. 

“I am honored to take on this expanded role in FASEB,” Bjornsti says. “I look forward to working with a dedicated team of leaders and staff to leverage their talents, expertise, and energy to carry out our mission to advance health and well-being by promoting research and education in the biological and biomedical sciences.”

Bjornsti has been an active member of FASEB for several years, having served as president-elect in 2022-23, vice president for science policy in 2021-22, and vice president-elect for science policy in 2020-21. She is also a member of three FASEB member societies: the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Genetics Society of America, and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). She is a past secretary and treasurer of ASPET.

Her term begins July 1. 

Beth Garvy, Michael Lehman, and Thomas L. Clemens also move into new officer positions on the FASEB Board with Bjornsti.

Beth A. Garvy, PhD, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Education at University of Kentucky (UK) College of Medicine, was named president-elect. Garvy has held several appointments at UK, including Hellman Endowed Professor of Infectious Diseases; associate professor and then chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics before assuming her current role. She joined the FASEB Board in 2018 as the representative for the American Association of Immunologists. 

Michael Lehman, PhD, was named vice president-elect for science policy. Lehman is director of the Brain Health Research Institute at Kent State University. An active member of FASEB, Lehman was appointed to the FASEB Board as a representative for the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM) in 2019 and has served on the Meetings Committee since 2021. He was named an SEBM Fellow in 2018. 

Thomas L. Clemens, PhD, Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, was named treasurer-elect. He moves to this new position after serving on the FASEB Finance Committee since 2017. Clemens is also a member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), a FASEB member society. In 2013, he received ASBMR’s Louis V. Avioli Founders Award. 

Joining the newly named officers on the FASEB Board is Vrushank Bhatt as an early-career representative. The FASEB Board created the early-career representative position to foster dialogue between current and future generations of biological and biomedical researchers. Bhatt is a scientist in the pharma industry and a member of ASPET. 

The 2023–24 FASEB Board of Directors Executive Committee includes Mary-Ann Bjornsti of University of Alabama at Birmingham, President; Beth A. Garvey of University of Kentucky College of Medicine, President-elect; Kevin C. Kregel of University of Iowa, Immediate Past President; Eric E. Kelley of West Virginia University, Vice President for Science Policy; Michael Lehman of Kent State University, Vice President-elect for Science Policy; Cherié L. Butts of Biogen, Treasurer; Thomas L. Clemens of University of Maryland School of Medicine, Treasurer-elect; Marcelo Bonini of Northwestern University, Vice President for DEAI; Lauren Walker of Colgate-Palmolive, Vice President-elect for DEAI; and Diane Robins of University of Michigan Medical School and Michael Schaller of West Virginia University Medical School, Board Representatives.