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Fall 1999 |
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Archive of Newsletters |
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENTDear SSPD Members, It is difficult to believe that 1999 is nearly over, the new millennium is nearly here, and my year as President of the SSPD is rapidly coming to an end. 1999 follows on the heels of a very active 1998 for the Society. The drug discrimination meeting in Beerse was an outstanding success and was followed by an equally well attended, satisfying European Behavioural Pharmacology Society meeting in Brno -- not to mention a well attended, science-filled evening at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Los Angeles! Quiescence might be expected after such a flurry of behavioral pharmacology. Quite the contrary, 1999 has been yet another exciting year for behavioral pharmacology and SSPD in particular. The recent Joint Meeting of the Behavioral Pharmacology Society and the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society in Boston was, by all accounts, an excellent meeting. The organizers should be congratulated for not only an excellent program but also a most pleasant venue. Whoever was in charge of the weather should get a bonus! The SSPD sponsored a symposium at the Boston meeting, entitled "Drug Discrimination: A Unique Tool in Drug Discovery." The symposium was extremely well attended, particularly in light of the fierce competition from other high-quality competing sessions. I would like to give a special thanks to Drs. Ator, Kleven, Meert and Olivier for their excellent presentations and for providing convincing, thoughtful, data-packed endorsements of drug discrimination research. Yet another star on the horizon for the SSPD is the upcoming issue of Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior which will highlight many of the presentations from the drug discrimination meeting in Beerse. Keeping with tradition, the SSPD will once again sponsor an evening social and paper session during the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Miami Beach. On 26 October, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in room D234 of the Convention Center, there will be a social hour/business meeting, followed by oral presentations. I strongly encourage you to attend the meeting for the socializing, the business and the science. One issue that we will discuss at the meeting is the SSPD website, which has been developed by Ian and Dominic Stolerman. Several members of the Society have accessed the site and made recommendations for changes. At the Miami Beach meeting, we will discuss what should be included on the site, who will maintain the site, how much the Society should spend on the site, whether a membership directory should be available through the site.... So, please give us your input regarding the SSPD website, please submit your nominations for President Elect of the Society, and, most importantly, please consider submitting a paper for presentation at the evening session. For those of you who have attended in years past, you will recall that the informal nature of the SSPD evening session has often provided a spirited and entertaining venue for scientific presentations. Lastly, thank you for giving me the honor of standing at the helm of the SSPD for 1999 -- I trust that our ship stayed relatively close to its preferred course. Thanks as well to Jenny Wiley who, like her predecessor David Gauvin, handles much of the work and most of the difficult issues that confront our society. Yours Sincerely, Charles France, Ph.D. |
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Summer 2004