ASPB members share a common goal of promoting the growth, development, and outreach of plant biology as a pure and applied science. This column features some of the dedicated and innovative members of ASPB who believe that membership in our Society is crucial to the future of plant biology. If you are interested in contributing to this feature, please contact ASPB Membership at info@aspb.org.

Membership Corner

Name: Jennifer Henry
Title: Managing Editor, Functional Plant Biology
Place of Work or School: CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia
Research Area: Somatic hybridization, protoplast fusion, and tissue culture in Pisum and Lathyrus
Member since: 2005

1. Why has being a member of ASPB been important? 
I really value being a member of the ASPS in Australia, so I felt ready to demonstrate my commitment to extending my networks internationally. Membership in ASPB helps me feel more connected to plant biology communities outside my own country, giving me an inside view into the personalities, career paths, and types of research carried out internationally. I particularly like the consistent efforts that the Women in Plant Biology Committee (WIPB) puts toward promoting and encouraging women in plant sciences to get together and network. In fact, I was invited to write this issue’s WIPB column!

2. Was someone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB? 
John Kiss approached me about contributing to the WIPB column in the ASPB News, which increased my awareness of the outreach programs established by ASPB. Then John Long, ASPB’s managing editor, sealed the deal by getting me to sign up for membership. This all happened at Plant Biology 2005 in Seattle, and I’m pretty sure those foot massagers at the ASPB exhibit had something to do with it (see photo). 

3. What would you tell colleagues to encourage them to join? 
I would recommend that plant scientists join if they are interested in increasing their networks outside their own plant science community and if they want to access interesting features such as the newsletter and the online Job Bank. I am impressed that ASPB does not limit itself to U.S. members, but recognizes and includes its international membership.

4. Have you enhanced your career using ASPB job postings or through networking at an ASPB function? 
Definitely. I love attending the Plant Biology meetings whenever I can (Honolulu 2003, Seattle 2005, aiming for Chicago 2007!), and I really enjoy meeting so many friendly, switched-on, and intelligent people. The friendships and professional relationships forged at these meetings endure. I love the States, particularly New York, and would move there in a flash if the right job came up (hint, hint!).

5. Have you had any success at finding candidates as a result of a job posting at the meeting or on our online Job Bank? 
I haven’t actively searched for a candidate or for a new job for myself in a while, as I absolutely love the job I have right now. However, I would consider posting a vacancy or my résumé on the Job Bank in the future, and I’m impressed with the volume of jobs posted there.

6. Do you read print journals? If so, where do you usually read them?
One of the perks of being a journal editor is the exchange schemes I set up with other plant science journal editors. I regularly flip through the contents pages of The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. I admire their beautiful covers and have several cover posters on my office walls. If I want to read a paper in more detail, I will find it online or take it on my next flight.

7. What do you think is the next “big thing” in plant biology? 
I have already seen really exciting research coming out of inter-faculty tearoom discussions! There is great potential for discoveries through increased collaboration across disciplines (e.g., physics + cell biology), where scientists can swap ideas and apply them to other fields.

8. What person, living or deceased, do you most admire? 
The character I most admire is Elle Woods from the Legally Blonde series of movies (played by Reese Witherspoon). She is energetic, throws herself with enthusiasm into projects in which she believes, and is not afraid to remain feminine throughout. There is a temptation to be “blokey” if you are working in a male-dominated environment, and Elle works toward her audacious goals bravely and with style. Scientifically, I admire Richard Feynman for his ability to think outside the box, and my high school chemistry master, Jack Kent, for teaching science to girls with such passion.

9. What are you reading these days? 
At work, reviewer’s reports on manuscripts submitted to Functional Plant Biology. At home, childrearing books for tips on how to teach my toddler not to be afraid of the dark! My book club is currently battling its way through The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson (a high-profile English lawyer who married an Australian romance novelist and defended Salman Rushdie). The last fiction we read was The Kite Runner, and I absolutely love anything by Tim Winton or Ian McEwan.

10. What are your hobbies? 
Reading to my daughter, and I enjoy riding my bike to work and running 5 km on foggy mornings with my iPod (but am currently putting those activities on hold for the second half of this pregnancy!). The daily routine of a full-time working mother dictates that most weeknights, dishes must be prepared in 20 minutes or less, so I like to do the opposite when I have time on a weekend and roll up my sleeves to cook a complicated dish that takes a few hours. Opera-going and singing (karaoke and choral) are also on the list, and I am a member of the Melbourne Chorale. We’ve sung background vocals for artists such as Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli to packed stadiums when they tour Melbourne, and perform regularly with the Melbourne Symphony (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, The Messiah, etc.).

11. What is your most treasured possession? 
I was taught never to become attached to a “thing,” so I take less pride in my beautiful old mugs or snow globes (even my Twin Towers snow globe) than I used to. I treasure my health, my wonderful daughter Rose, and the love of my husband Mark.

12. What do you still have left to learn? 
 Science-wise, is there any substance in the Intelligent Design debate? Career-wise, I am gradually learning that plant science journals and editors need not necessarily be enemies! We are competing for the same pool of excellent papers but can learn so much from each other. I want to be Plant, Cell and Environment when I grow up! Personally, I am trying to learn to be more forgiving of people when they aren’t perfect.