About us / join

The aims of the BSDB are:

1. To advance research and teaching in those aspects of animal and plant biology that are connected with developmental processes
2. To further public education
3. To bring together scientists interested in developmental biology by holding high quality scientific meetings

In furthering these aims, the Society also undertakes the following:

• Represents developmental biology to external organisations in the UK and Europe
• Offers limited travel grants to members
• Negotiates reduced subscriptions to key developmental biology journals for members

The full BSDB Constitution can be viewed here.

BSDB History & Newsletters

• The BSDB’s history started with the foundation of “The (London) Embryologists’ Club” in 1948. To learn more, download the article “A short history of the BSDB“ by Jonathan Slack or read the blog post by Andreas Prokop about the BSDB Archive.
• The BSDB Newsletter is published twice a year and informs about meetings, the financial status, a summary of news items of the term and any other matters arising. All Newsletters back to issue No. 1 from 1979 can be downloaded from the BSDB Archive.

Funding

• The BSDB is supported by membership subscriptions, and by a generous grant from The Company of Biologists, who publish Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology and Biology Open (BiO), an Open Access journal that aims to facilitate rapid peer review for accessible research.

Promote the BSDB & Developmental Biology!

• Students and postdocs are often not aware of the conference/travel grants that the BSDB has on offer for them. To spread the news, a simple start can be made by putting up this poster at your institute or inserting this PowerPoint slide into your lecture file. Also, the BSDB has started an initiative together with The Company of Biologists to advocate Developmental Biology research – please, support us in this effort (more information)

Membership benefits

• Being a member of the BSDB entitles you to a number of conference/travel grants.
• Members enjoy significantly reduced registration fees on all BSDB conferences.
• The Company of Biologists offers special personal subscription rates to members of the BSDB on all their journals.

How to join the BSDB

• The BSDB welcomes new members with an interest in Developmental Biology (professional or amateur, research or teaching).
• Membership costs are £35/year for an ordinary member or £15/year for undergraduate or postgraduate students (only as long as you have student status and for maximally 4 years), and payment is usually by a standing order.
• To apply, simply download the BSDB Membership Application form and return it completed by post to the BSDB Secretary: Kim Dale, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH. Note, that two current BSDB members must endorse your application by signing the form.
• As soon as your membership has been processed, you will become eligible for member benefits.

Inform us about address or status changes

• If your contact details or membership status have changed, please email your new contact details to the BSDB Secretary (secretary@bsdb.org).

The BSDB is run by a committee elected by its members.

Officers

• Chair – Ottoline Leyser (Cambridge; 2014-19)
  • responsible for the overall running of the BSDB
  • chair@bsdb.org
  • interest: shoot branching control in Arabidopsis
• Secretary – Megan Davey (Edinburgh; committee since 2014; secretary 2018-23)
  • deals with the membership list and the election of new committee members
  • secretary@bsdb.org
  • interest: cilia during neural tube & limb development in chick & mouse
• Meetings Officer – Sally Lowell (Edinburgh; 2013-18; meetings officer 2018-23)
  • arranges meetings and venues, and liaises with the scientific meeting organisers
  • meetings@bsdb.org
  • interest: early embryonic lineage specification in ES cells
• Treasurer – Christopher Thompson (London; 2014-19)
  • handles the membership subscriptions and awards travel grants
  • treasurer@bsdb.org
  • interest: evolutionary & developmental Genetics in Dictyostelium
• Communications Officer – Benjamin Steventon (Cambridge; 2017-23; officer since 2018)
  • assembles the Newsletter, maintains the BSDB site including news posts
  • comms@bsdb.org
  • interests: neuromesodermal progenitors in zebrafish
• Graduate Representative – Jessica  Forsyth (PhD at The Univ. of Manchester; 2018-21)
  • a contact for BSDB students discussing student issues/views with the BSDB committee
  • running the BSDB graduate student Facebook page
  • students@bsdb.org
  • importance of DLK family gene dosage
• Postdoc Representative – Charlotte Sophie Louise Bailey (Working in the lab of Elke Ober at DanStem in Copenhagen; 2018-21)
  • a contact for BSDB postdoctoral researchers discussing issues/views with the BSDB committee
  • running the BSDB graduate student Facebook page
  • postdocs@bsdb.org
  • interest: circadian rhythms in Huntington’s disease mouse models

Other committee members

• Andy Oates (Lausanne; 2014-19) – vertebrate segmentation in zebrafish
• Alistair McGregor (Oxford; 2015-20) –  evolution of animal development & morphology in arthropods incl. Drosophila
• Berenika Plusa (Manchester; 2015-20) – early mammalian embryogenesis in mouse
• Tristan Rodriguez (London; 2015-20) – cell fate & survival in early mouse & ES cells
• Rita Sousa-Nunes (London; 2015-20) – neurogenesis and cancer in Drosophila & mammalian cells
  
• Cynthia Andoniadou (King’s College London; 2017-22) – pituitary stem cells in mouse
• Clare Baker (Cambridge; 2017-22) – neurogenic placodes and the neural crest in a range of vertebrates

Incoming committee members

Three new committee members were elected during the AGM at the Spring Meeting 2018. They will officially take office at this year’s autumn committee meeting, but feel free to contact them already now with any queries or issues you might have.

• Tanya Whitfield (Univ. Sheffield; 2018-2023) – development and function of the inner ear, zebrafish
• Jens Januschke (Univ. of Dundee; 2018-2023) – Dynamics of cell polarisation, Drosophila
• Shankar Srinivas (Univ. of Oxford; 2018-2023) – Patterning and morphogenesis of the early mammalian embryo, mouse

Committee nominations

• Members are encouraged to make nominations for candidates for the committee at any time. Nominations should be seconded and sent directly to the Secretary (secretary@bsdb.org). Elections occur at the Annual General Meeting and terms are generally for five years. If the committee member subsequently becomes appointed as an officer, then the five year term is reset from that point.

Past committee members (from 2015)

(for a complete list of BSDB chairs & officers since 1948 see here)

• Michelle Ware (Cambridge; 2015-18) – Postdoc Representative
• Alexandra Ashcroft (Cambridge; 2015-18) – Graduate Representative
• Josh Brickman (Edinburgh/Copenhagen; 2013-18; Meetings officer) – early embryonic lineage specification in ES cells
• Andreas Prokop (Manchester; 2013-18; Communications officer) – axon growth & maintenance in Drosophila
• Kim Dale (Dundee; 2013-18; BSDB secretary) – vertebrate segmentation in chick and mouse
• Anna Philpott (Cambridge; 2012-17) – neurogenesis in mouse & Xenopus
• Jo Begbie (Oxford; 2012-17) – neurogenesis in chick & mouse
• Henry Roehl (Sheffield; 2012-17) – musculoskeletal development in zebrafish
• Magdalena Stasiulewicz (Dundee; 2013-2015) – Graduate Representative
• Malcolm Logan (Communications officer until 2014; London; 2008-2015) – limb development in chick & mouse
• Jenny Nichols (Cambridge; 2010-2015) – embryonic pluripotency in ES cells
• Lynda Erksine (Aberdeen; 2010-2015) – axon guidance in mouse
• Andrew Chalmers (Bath; 2010-2015) – epithelial cancers in cell culture models