The American Society of Pharmacognosy Foundation and the American Society of Pharmacognosy are pleased to announce the establishment of the Audrey S Bingel Fellowship for Female Scientists.
Deadline - Applications will be reviewed twice a year with a May 15th and November 15th deadline. Please indicate if there is a special need that the application needs to be reviewed sooner.
Dr. Bingel was born in the Bronx, NY in 1942, received a BA from Hunter College, City University of New York in 1963, and pursued a graduate degree in reproductive biology under the guidance of Professor Neena B. Schwartz at the University of Illinois Medical Center. She defended her thesis, “The Timing of Cyclic and Post- partum Ovulation in the Mouse,” in 1968. She then joined the newly formed Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmacology in the UIC College of Pharmacy as an Assistant Professor in 1969. Dr. Bingel’s research focused on the biology of reproduction, and she became a member of a multidisciplinary, multicenter collaborative research project at UIC, where she worked with fellow UIC College of Pharmacy Professors Geoffrey Cordell, Djaja Soejarto, Donald Waller and Harry Fong.
Although trained as a reproductive biologist, Dr. Bingel became a pharmacognosist by choice and was a constant fixture at ASP meetings in the 1980s and early 1990s. As part of Professor Farnsworth’s UIC entourage, she embodied the spirit of working hard on the science, and then working hard on having fun at conferences, that pervaded the UIC group.
Aside from her love for research, Dr. Bingel also had a life-long love for music and was an accomplished pianist who loved playing all types of songs, from classical to popular. She was an avid fencer, a science fiction fan (especially of Star Trek) and a devoted fan of the New York/San Francisco Giants. Additionally, she loved to read and was fluent in several languages, including Portuguese, Italian, and German. Dr. Bingel, though, will be remembered most for her dedication and long-lasting contributions to science.
Those of us who knew Audrey have missed her at our meetings for some time and regret that we cannot thank her in person for this extraordinarily generous gift. She is yet another ASP member who found collegiality, stimulation and friendship in the growing, always changing family that is this unique scientific society.
Dr. John Cardellina
Dr. Bingel was instrumental in the development of the pharmacognosy program at UIC, including “the pharmacological aspects of what was entered into the NAPRALERT database from the very early beginnings. She reviewed and coded thousands of papers which form the pharmacological background of the database.” He continued on to say that Dr. Bingel “was humble. She kept a low profile. She was not a global traveler. She was, however, incredibly dedicated to supporting Norm Farnsworth and his efforts to build the program, especially whenever in vivo pharmacology was involved. When we first put together (no computers in those days!!) the list of fertility-regulating plants which led to the WHO program, it was her expertise that sorted the biological ‘wheat from the chaff’ and she recommended the in vivo protocols for the whole program with Don Waller.
Dr. Geoff Cordell
Audrey was a unique research collaborator. She had an encyclopedic knowledge on the subject of reproductive biology, was highly detail-oriented and laser-focused on the task at hand. She was thorough and meticulous in designing the bioassay protocols adopted and man- dated by the World Health Organization’s Task Force on Plants for Fertility Regulation for its international network of collaborating centers in their research for antifertility agents from plants.
Dr. Harry Fong
Dr. Bingel felt pharmacognosy was an underappreciated and misunderstood science. It was important to her to emphasize the value of natural products in coping with problems of the modern world. I know that Audrey relished participation in the ASP meetings, no matter where they were held, and regretted that her declining health prevented her from attending in her later years.
Ms. Carol Lewandowski, Laboratory Manager at UIC and worked with Dr. Bingel when ASP held its annual meeting in Chicago in 1991
Compiled from an article appearing in the ASP Newsletter, 2018 54(3)
The Audrey S. Bingel Fellowship is intended to provide funds, up to $25,000, to assist a female scientist in transitioning from a current career track to another, or to bolster the likelihood of success in her current, preferred career path. This fellowship is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Professor Audrey S. Bingel to the American Society of Pharmacognosy Foundation and was inspired by her keen interest in women’s health, other issues of concern to female researchers, and mentoring young female scientists.
Applicants must be ASP members in good standing for at least 3 years prior to the application.
The funding for the Bingel Fellowship is not sufficient to maintain the award in perpetuity. So, while the ASPF Board of Directors seeks substantial support in the form of co-sponsorships, we invite and encourage ASP members to consider making contributions to the Audrey S Bingel Fellowship in the annual gift to the ASPF.
Any questions please contact asphcog@gmail.com.
Applications will be reviewed twice a year with a May 15th and November 15th deadline. Please indicate if there is a special need that the application needs to be reviewed sooner.
Audrey S. Bingel Fellowship Directions
The Audrey S. Bingel Fellowship is intended to provide funds, up to $25,000, to assist a female scientist in transitioning from a current career track to another, or to bolster the likelihood of success in her current, preferred career path. This fellowship is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Professor Audrey S. Bingel to the American Society of Pharmacognosy Foundation and was inspired by her keen interest in women’s health, other issues of concern to female researchers, and mentoring young female scientists.
Despite significant increases in the number of women entering the broad field of natural products over the past 30-40 years, there remain formidable challenges for women to succeed (or, in some cases, even enter or gain a foothold) in certain career paths in natural products. Further, women can face obstacles that do not appear to impact men to the same extent. Sometimes, these issues prompt women to consider alternative career paths. Such issues may include, but are not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal childcare; care of an elderly or ill parent, which disproportionately falls to daughters; and gender bias in the workplace.
The funds could conceivably be employed for, but are not limited to, additional time for research, formal training, a sabbatical or an internship in a laboratory or other organization with a new focus for the applicant, seed money to initiate a truly new research direction, course buy-outs, bridging funds for childcare, and time for grant writing/job hunting/attendance at scientific meetings.
In developing the Audrey S. Bingel Fellowship, the Board sought to be flexible about what constitutes a challenging situation constituting need for financial help and how a female colleague might use the fellowship to achieve her objective(s); consequently, the Audrey S. Bingel Fellowship selection committee will be expected to exercise due diligence and concern in evaluating the details of each proposal/application. [It should be noted that, as with all the ASP awards and grants, the ASPF Board, individually or collectively, will have no involvement in the selection of awardees.]
The key to a successful application, then, will be making a clear, cogent case for the need for funding and a well-designed plan for the use of the funds to attain the desired outcome.
Application Process
Eligibility: The applicant must be an American Society of Pharmacognosy member in good standing for at least three years. Trainee applicants with less than three years of membership will be considered with appropriate justification.
The application form will be comprised of:
- A narrative (2-5 pages including citations) which must include the following:
- circumstances prompting the proposal (and need for support)
- plan for intended use of funds
- anticipated outcomes
- how this fellowship will impact career path of applicants
- Brief budget outlining timeframe and use of requested funds
- Curriculum vitae including:
- summary of current position and activities
- current and pending grants/other funding
- complete list of publications
NOTE: The fellowship will not be subject to indirect costs by the parent institution/employer of the awardee. Should the awardee not be employed in academia, this fellowship might be vulnerable to taxation by federal, and possibly state, authorities.
The Fellowship is intended to assist female researchers at critical points in their careers to allow them to remain active in the broad field of Pharmacognosy. Proposals that seek to continue research along established directions for the applicant, without clear justification of the need and circumstances why the funds cannot be obtained through other funding sources, will not be considered responsive to the Fellowship.
Decision Process
An ad hoc committee, appointed by the ASP president and comprised of 3 to 5 members of the ASP (with a majority female), will review any pending applications twice a year. The deadlines for the normal review cycles are 15 May and 15 November. However, proposals can be submitted at any time and if the applicant make a case that her circumstances warrant a more rapid review, the committee chair may exercise discretion in arranging an accelerated committee review. The name(s) of selected awardee(s) will be forwarded to the Executive Committee for approval. Awardees will be publicly announced at the next annual ASP meeting.
Follow Up Reporting
After completion of the award timeframe (anticipated to be 1-2 years), each awardee must submit a brief report (2-4 pages) to the ASPF Board within two months, summarizing the specific impact(s) of the fellowship with regard to career development and advancement.
ASP Bingel Fellowship Recipients
Melany Puglisi-Weening
