President’s Corner: Advocating for Developmental Biology — ROAR

11/10/2025

I know I am preaching to the choir, but developmental biology is a fascinating field of research. Discoveries made in the field of developmental biology provide fundamental knowledge about how organisms form and fuel biomedical research for new therapeutic strategies for human disease. However, you may have heard your colleagues or administrators at your institution disparage our beloved field of developmental biology. I have heard from a biochemist that “developmental biology is boring” or rumblings that our field is in decline. There appears to be a trend to emphasize translational approaches over basic research.

A couple of years ago, upon hearing a research overview from a developmental biology lab in my department, an upper research administrator at my institution asked, “Is it only development?” I was shocked to hear this and didn’t think quickly enough to educate this individual on why studying developmental biology has been and is so important. This inspired me to create a series of talking points in graphical abstract form about developmental biology studies that resulted in fundamental discoveries.

Among these 12 talking points are discoveries that led to 5 Nobel Prizes, 4 of them using C. elegans. They cover a wide range of topics, including cell cycle, apoptosis, pluripotency, in situ hybridization, microRNAs, RNA interference, cell reprogramming, transgenic animals, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), fluorescent proteins, RNA vaccines, and cancer. All these topics have made significant impacts on therapeutic approaches for human disease. You can download these talking points as PowerPoint slides (modify them as you see fit), postcards, and posters you can print and hang in your labs. Now you have the ammunition to list 12 developmental biology discoveries to educate people who are unfamiliar with the impact of our field.

Some of you may know that I am an endurance athlete, completing Ironman triathlons, an intercontinental open water swim in Turkey, and week-long multi-stage ultramarathons in exotic locations around the world. Recently, when I was suffering during a training session in the Houston summer heat, Katy Perry’s song “Roar” came up on my playlist. This song is played at many sports events because of its message of inner strength, standing up for yourself, and not being silenced by others. As I listened to the lyrics, it struck me that these could be our motivations to advocate for our field.

Developmental biologists are generally very nice and supportive, especially for trainees. That’s why I love our field and the annual and regional SDB meetings. However, I think we might be too polite. When I heard that administrator ask if “it was only development,” I didn’t say anything. Next time I hear something like this, the individual will get an earful from me.

What else can we do to actively advocate for our field. Maybe something simple like adding a byline to our email signature. For example, Developmental Biologist; member of the Society for Developmental Biology; or Developmental biology discoveries fuel biomedical research. I would very much like to hear your ideas.

Developmental biologists, let’s hear you ROAR!

See you at the annual meeting in Las Vegas next year.

Richard R. Behringer, Ph.D.
SDB President

Last Updated 11/11/2025