IDS By-Laws

Name of the society

The Society will be known as the Immunology of Diabetes Society (IDS).

Objectives

The purpose of the IDS is to foster research related to the genetics and pathogenesis, prevention and cure of type 1 diabetes and to act as an international forum for scientific discussion of all aspects of the immunology of insulin-dependent diabetes, including studies of the genetics, immunology, prediction and prevention of the disease and of pancreatic transplantation, in animal models and humans. The IDS holds regular scientific meetings and workshops combining all these interests and runs laboratory standardization programs. Interest groups affiliated to the IDS coordinate laboratory and clinical investigations into special areas relevant to the overall objectives of the Society.

Goals of the Society

    To organize regular scientific meetings.

  • To organize assay workshops to evaulate new test procedures of potential clinical relevance.
  • To operate a proficiency program for assays clinically relevant to the prediction, prevention or cure of type 1 diabetes.
  • To facilitate exchange and joint analysis of clinical and laboratory data concerning individuals at high risk of progression to type 1 diabetes.
  • To facilitate discussion and exchange of data concerning strategies of prevention or cure of type 1 diabetes, including pancreas or islet transplantation.

Membership

Members shall be investigators who have contributed by their work to the advancement of knowledge in any area broadly relevant to the immunology of diabetes. This will normally mean authorship of at least one peer reviewed English language publication, or of an abstract published in an international journal.

General Assembly

A General Assembly of IDS will be arranged at each full IDS meeting, usually every 1-1.5 years. The members of the IDS elect by ballot the officers of the IDS Council and the Council decided on major issues of the Society, either at the General Assembly, or by mail between meetings

Officers of the Society

The IDS will have three officers, a President, a Treasurer and a Secretary. Each will be elected by ballot of all Members of the Society and will serve for a period of 3 years. Rotation of officers will be staggered to provide continuity, so that one is replaced each year. Replacements will be selected one year in advance. Officers will automatically become members of the IDS Council for the period of their tenure, and each “officer-elect” will join the Council for one year before he/she takes up office. If a new officer is already serving on the IDS Council in another capacity, e.g. as nominee of the Advisory Group, he or she should be replaced in that capacity by addition of a new member. Any member of the Society may stand for election as one of the three officers provided he/she is nominated and seconded by two other members.

The Executive Council

The IDS Council will assume overall operational responsibility for The Society, ensure that the Society continues to meet its objectives as set out in Article 2, and consider and propose ways in which the overall goals of the Society might be met more effectively. Specific tasks are:

  • To assist and advise local organizers of IDS meetings.
  • To monitor , coordinate and support the activities of the subgroups listed under Article 3, and extend such activities or develop new groupings consistent with the overall objectives of the Society.
  • To make regular reports, both in the form of newsletters and at open meetings, to the Membership of the IDS.
  • To further the aims of the IDS by any other initiatives.

Membership of the Executive Council

The Members of the Executive Council will be:

  • The three elected officers. One officer will be replaced each year, and his/her replacement will join the Council one year in advance as an “officer elect”. There will thus be three active officers and one officer elect on the Council at any one time.
  • The organizers of the IDS meetings. There will be one representative each on the organizing committee of (i) the last meeting held (ii) the forthcoming meeting and (iii) the next meeting after that.
  • Three individuals nominated by the membership of the IDS as ‘at-large’ council members.
  • Representatives of additional interest groups may be added to the Executive Council on the same basis as those mentioned in Article 8.3, provided that at least two thirds of the IDS Council vote for this change. Representation of interest groups may be terminated by the same mechanism. Each member will serve for a period of three years. The IDS Council will thus consist of 12 individuals, made up as follows: Officers, with one officer-elect (4), meeting organizers (3), representatives of interest groups (3), elected nominees (2).

Publication Policy

In the event of adoption of a journal, the responsible member of the editorial board would join the IDS Committee for the duration of his/her period as editor.

Other ad hoc publications, such as published proceedings of scientific meetings, will only have the sanction of the Society when approved by the IDS Council .