New England
Association of Parasitologists
About NEAP
It is somewhat surprising that until 1996 New England was one of the only areas of North America that lacked a formal regional parasitology group. The New England Association of Parasitologists (NEAP)—initially, albeit briefly, known as the Parasitologists of New England (PONE)—was established to bring together parasitologists of New England to help advance the disciplines of parasitology and to promote parasitological research and teaching, while providing a venue for informal discussions of all fields of parasitology. The first meeting was held at the University of Connecticut in Storrs on December 11th, 1996. The Program consisted solely of two keynote lectures, the first by John Hawdon and the second by William (Bill) Campbell—enough said!
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One of the immediate next goals was to become a formal affiliate of the American Society of Parasitologists (ASP) in order to be able to take advantage of the many benefits of affiliation with that National Society. To that end, the NEAP Constitution was crafted with the assistance of NEAP charter members Hugo James and Martin Ulmer and was formally adopted by a unanimous vote of the members present at the 5th annual NEAP meeting at Pfizer in Groton, Connecticut on November 21st, 1998. Leadership of NEAP was somewhat “informal” between 1996 and November 1998 when ratification of NEAP’s Constitution formalized the guidelines for the process of election of officers. Beginning in 1998, the first elected officers: were Janine N. Caira (President), T. V. Rajan (President-elect), Tami Bogéa (Secretary-Archivist), and Hugo James (Treasurer). Thanks to the hard work of our first Treasurer (who had been working on the paperwork informally prior to his formal election as Treasurer), NEAP obtained tax free status as a 501(c)(3) on December 08 of 1998. In 1999, NEAP petitioned ASP for, and was granted, affiliate status (see New Business JP 85: p 0121 of the ASP annual Council meeting minutes). Our first report to ASP Council as an affiliate Society was filed for 2001 activities. The President of NEAP or his/her/their designee serves as the representative of NEAP to Council at the ASP annual meetings.
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The Constitution of NEAP was emended at the 8th annual meeting held at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on October 21st, 2000. Modifications generally reflect a more realistic approach to Society endeavors. For example, meeting frequency was reduced from two meetings per year to one per year and the terms of both President and President-elect were increased from one to two years. The amount of our annual membership dues continues to be a point of discussion. Current dues are set at $20 for regular membership (faculty and postdoctoral fellows) and $10 for student membership (graduate and undergraduate students).
As a newly founded Society focused on parasites it seemed appropriate that we identify an imaginative, meaningful way to pass the mantle of leadership on between successive NEAP presidents. In truth, a gavel just seemed too mundane. The solution was provided by the late John (Dick) Seed, a former U.S. Army parasitologist, past president of ASP, and expert on trypanosomiasis, whose hobbies included carving parasite-themed walking sticks. At the ASP meetings in Puerto Rico in June, 2000 one of the items offered at the ASP student auction was a beautifully detailed walking stick carved by Dick Seed in the likeness of a tapeworm. Clearly, NEAP had found its “gavel”—the passing of which between consecutive Presidents continues to this day.
Passing of the NEAP "gavel" from 2006 President Kevin Bungiro (r) to 2007 President Patrick Skelley (l).
NEAP has continued to grow in membership and our annual meetings continue as informal, intellectually stimulating forums for scientific communication and discussion. Although the covid pandemic curtailed our interactions for several years, we look forward to resuming our annual meetings this summer.
