#expbio ASPET Blogging: ASPET Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony

Dr. David Lehr (Source: ASPET)

It's awkward to admit it but the only other time I have attended a business meeting at Experimental Biology was when I was a fellowship awardee. I was an undergraduate and the meeting seemed so boring. This year, I was fascinated! So *that's* where all the money comes from and goes through a society. We get to vote on bylaw changes? Neat! Wow, the award winners do such cool research!

A particularly moving moment at the meeting was when Mrs. Lisa Lehr told us about her late husband Dr. David Lehr and why she decided to make an endowment to ASPET in his honor. Dr. Lehr made significant advances in pharmacology and therapeutics as well as educating hundreds of scientists and doctors. The award, given every two years, is provided to clinical and preclinical researchers who are experiencing a gap in funding or need funds for preliminary data for a new grant proposal. Mrs. Lehr's story about her husband was inspiring!

A delicious little cup of clam chowda.

The undergraduate and graduate awardees received summer fellowships or travel awards and were also honored at the meeting. ASPET's outgoing president, Dr. Annette Fleckenstein was a student awardee and encouraged students to get as much out of the meeting as possible. It was also inspiring to see how far Dr. Fleckenstein has come since her student years.

After the business meeting, there was the food. It was fantastic.

Thanks ASPET for a great meeting, awards ceremony, food, networking opportunity, and of course for organizing the annual meeting!