At AIBS, especially when planning our annual meetings, we're always having to keep in mind that we are no one's primary-affiliation society. People don't join AIBS in order to conduct their research or other primary professional activities in their chosen disciplinary speciality--that's the role served by our member societies and by many of our member organizations (listed here). Rather, we're an umbrella organization offering meta-level services and coalition activities for societies and organizations as well as for individuals--that's our mission: "...to advance biological research and education for the welfare of society...to facilitate communication and interactions among biologists, professional biological societies, and biological and other scientific disciplines, as well as to serve and advance the interests of biology in the broader scientific community and in other components of society."

Welcome to the Executive Director's blog for the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Watch this site for future postings by AIBS Exec. Director Richard O'Grady; comments are welcome.

AIBS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, with headquarters in Washington, DC, and a staff of approximately 50, AIBS is sustained by a robust membership of some 5,000 biologists and 200 professional societies and scientific organizations; the combined individual membership of the latter exceeds 250,000. AIBS advances its mission through coalition activities in research, education, and public policy; publishing the peer-reviewed journal BioScience and the education website ActionBioscience.org; providing scientific peer review and advisory services to government agencies and other clients; convening meetings; and managing scientific programs. Website: www.aibs.org.

AIBS core documents, including its Constitution, Bylaws, and Mission Statement are online here.

The most recent report to the AIBS membership on our activities can be found under "Briefing Book and AIBS Report to the Council, May 2006" here.

RICHARD T. O'GRADY holds degrees in zoology from McGill University, Montreal, and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Ph.D., 1987). His research specialty is parasitology and systematics. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, he worked in scientific publishing for a number of years in Baltimore and Washington DC. In 1997 he was named Executive Director of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Contact: rogr...@aibs.org; 202-628-1500 x 258.

Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/rogrady