General Assembly
Minutes of the general assembly of July 2nd 2012
All the members of the ARMGHM association have met at the « Maison de la Gibauderie » on July 2nd 2012.
The agenda was:
- moral and activity report from the President,
- financial report,
- approval of the accounts,
- appropriation of the result.
Besides, an extraordinary general meeting also took place to proceed to the amendments to the Articles given the ongoing projects.
The President presents the activity of the association in respect of the 2011 Financial Year as well as the difficulties and current projects.
He provides the moral and activity report of the association.
He presents the annual financial statements being a loss of € 26.670,49.
After discussion, he moved on to the vote of the following resolutions:
First resolution
The general Assembly, approved at voters’ unanimity, the moral and activity report of the association as well as the financial statement for the year ending 31.12.2011 and operations relating to this exercise.
The association discharge the President and the members of the management board in respect of the previous financial year.
The association decides to carry forward the losses of € 26.670,49.
Second resolution (extraordinary general assembly)
The members of the association decide the revision of the statutes and finalise their text according to the project attached as an appendix.
Third resolution
The general assembly proceeds to elect its management board.
Are designated by the Scientific Council:
Mr Hossein MOSSAFA
Geneticist,
Are designated by the founding members:
Monsieur Franck VIGUIE,
lecturer-researcher and medical geneticist,
Monsieur Philippe DESSEN,
bio-informatician,
In addition, are elected by the assembly:
Monsieur Jean-Loup HURET
lecturer-researcher and medical geneticist,
Monsieur Jean-Marie NICOLAS,
Chamber vice president at the commercial court of Evry
Monsieur Alain BERHEIM,
researcher and medical geneticist,
Monsieur Philippe MISSEREY,
lawyer,
Monsieur Bernard DROCHON,
public accountant,
Madame Marie-Christine BOLINCHES,
general delegate of an occupational trade union,
Monsieur François DESANGLES,
geneticist,
Madame Martine JAMMET,
company manager,
Fourth resolution
Full powers are granted to the President to ensure the disclosure formalities stipulated by legislation.
The President - Jean Loup HURET
An administrator - Martine JAMMET
Minutes from the General Assembly of the ARMGHM Association – Cancer Genetics of the 27/05/2013
Members present at the Annual General Meeting:
Jean Loup Huret, President, Bernard Drochon, Treasurer, Martine Jammet, Secretary, Dominique Penther, Representing the French speaking Group of Hematologic Cytogenetic, Anthony Brouard, Accountant of the association, Jacques Wintrebert, Retired, Jean-Louis Duchet, Honorary Dean , Marc Mesnil, Professor, Joelle Roche, Professor, Franck Viguié, Cytogeneticist, Sébastien Guilbault, Jeune Chambre Economique / Young Economic Chamber.
Notably Absent : Hossein Mossafa, Vice-President, Lucienne Michaux, Representing the Belgian Society of Human Genetics, Philippe Dessen, Director of the database, and numerous members of the association, especially those living overseas, but having given their proxy.
2012 Moral and activities Report from the Atlas of Cancer Genetics’ association - ARMGHM
I- Drafting of the new statute of the association, presented July 2nd 2012 at the general assembly. Henceforth, the association’s name is "Atlas of Cancer Genetics- ARMGHM", instead of "Association for the Research on Genetic Diseases and Mental Disability".
The 2nd article of the statute, defining the object of the association, stipulate: « The purpose of the association is to promote information on genetic anomalies acquired in the cancer field by developing the Atlas and any scientific or research activity related to the field. The association is notably in charge of carrying out the management, updating, edition, publication and distribution of the online encyclopaedia referred to as “ Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology “as well as its content and by all means. Accessing this internet database is public and free of charge.
The management board is composed of:
Alain Bernheim,
Marie-Christine Bolinches,
François Desangles,
Philippe Dessen,
Bernard Drochon, Treasurer,
Jean Loup Huret, President,
Martine Jammet, Secretary,
Lucienne Michaux, representing the Belgian Society of Human Genetics (BeSHG), and President of the Belgian Cytogenetics Group in Haematology and Oncology (BCGHO),
Philippe Misserey,
Hossein Mossafa, Vice-President,
Jean-Marie Nicolas,
Dominique Penther, Representing the French speaking Cytogeneticist Association (ACLF), and member of the board of the French speaking Group of Hematologic Cytogenetic (GFCH),
Franck Viguié.
II- A three-year agreement on objectives and resources has been signed in March 2012 between the Association, the University of Poitiers and Poitiers’ University Hospital.
III- Signing a three-year patronage agreement with CERBA laboratory.
IV- Continuation of the collaboration with the “CRITT informatics” for the setting-up of a new database which will replace the current website.
V- The Atlas’ Progress:
The cards created by Poitiers’ group are released on-line (generally on a weekly basis).
229 cards over 2012 (145 Genes, 43 Leukaemia, 21 solid Tumours, 8 Cancer Prone Diseases, 7 Deep Insight and 5 Clinical Case Reports)
The list of potentially implicated genes is weekly updated (based on the annotations from Entrez on NCBI (more than 8400 non annotated genes on top of the 1200 annotated genes).
Update of the database concerning the annotation of these genes and allowing the creation of the external hyperlinks.
Moreover, several improvements on the standardisation and nomenclatures have been made to the cards: Classification tree of tumours’ name, assignment to translocations or genes fusions.
Besides the tremendous work on the validation of the cards’ identifiers (Atlas ID), a work on the interlinking of the anomalies with Mitelman website led to the definition of common thesaurus between the Atlas and the Mitelman database, this allows a better interconnection between the two highly complementary databases. We started to generate several tables with hyperlinks allowing visualising the different aberrations and the associated genes by chromosomal bands (This task should be completed within few weeks).
As part of the evolutions from the cytogenetic to the cytogenomic domain, going towards the descriptions of the aberrations at the DNA sequence level with new technologies, a reflexion on the necessity to comprehend this more precise new information is essential. We need to follow-up the literature and the databases in order to report the maximum of chromosome rearrangements or gene fusion at the DNA sequence level.
Search for new partnership with other European groups in order to develop new European projects. Discussions are engaged on human proteomic database and the role and expertise that the Atlas could provide in cytogenetic anomalies in cancer.
Finally, a follow-up on the progression of the new database developed by the CRITT must lead to integrate new tools facilitating its management and its ongoing evolution. This has to be conducted in conjunction with a regional decision to put the database online on Poitiers’ University website.
Electronic Journal of the Atlas: collaboration with the INIST from the CNRS for the online publication of the archives of a quarterly journal published at an international level which started in1997, then went from 4 to 6 issues in 2008, and reached 12 issues in 2009. At the end of 2012, the Electronic Journal was comprised of 2 307 articles in 101 issues, and 8 264 ‘peer reviewed’ articles pages. 209 articles in 12 issues (representing 1095 pages) were added in 2012 (http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/15655). We filled an application to be referenced on PubMed, the American database referencing the world biomedical literature.
Financial Report (abstracts)
I- outturn account
The operating revenues (€ 183 201) are mostly composed of subsidies (136 818 €)
- Grant from FEDER (€ 101 818)
(Representing 55 % against 72 % upon 2011)
- Social subsidies (€ 5 394)
- Divers Grants (€ 56 615)
And other products (€ 19 383)
The Operating expenses amount to € 177 701, which is 14 % less than in 2011, they are constituted at 81 % by staff cost (€ 144 415) and at 8 % by CRITT informatics services and support (€ 13 900).
There were no significant variations of any other items of expenditure.
Under these conditions, the net income for 2012, after financial result (+ € 737) and extraordinary result (+ € 766) is a gain of 7004 Euros.
II- Comments
The forecast of the ARMGHM association activity is established for a four-year duration (from 2013 to 2016 included).
It is related to the operating items as part of the accounting of the commitment from the 2011 annual accounts and the 2012 achievements (before the end of the fiscal year for the final order).
The operating revenue are estimated according to what has already been achieved, intentions that have been expressed to the association and negotiations under way.
The budgeted cost is carefully estimated according to the structure directed by the purpose of the association but also according to constraints linked to it, in particular with regard to the staff costs.
The item of expenditure "other charges" includes uncertainties linked to events external to the association, mainly general cyclical effects or specific to the nature of its activity.
Into those conditions the summary operating accounts are self-balancing but subject to:
- the releasing of the estimated resources
- the good management of the estimated expenses
- and the realisation of the expected revenues and estimated in "other products". They constitute in fact, to say the least, the real needs of the association.
Each views expressed have been recorded hereto and no objections were made.
The items on the agenda having been covered, the meeting was declared closed.
Official record of the ARMGHM general meeting, May 2014- Atlas of genetics in cancer
Maison de La Gibauderie
Poitiers, 12 May 2014
Present: François Desangles, Philippe Dessen, Bernard Drochon, Jean Loup Huret, Martine Jammet, Philippe Misserey, Hossain Mossafa, Jean-Marie Nicolas, Jacques Wintrebert.
Annual moral and activity report
Jean Loup Huret, president of the association presented a synthesis of the moral and activity report of the Atlas Génétique des Cancers - ARMGHM association, providing details on the financial difficulties we encountered in October 2013 and on our successful appeal to the Fondation Neila et Amadeo Barletta (FNAB), through which we quickly obtained 30 000€ and then 60 000€ for January-June 2014, and were promised the same amount of money for July-December 2014 in return for a structured project.
He then explained that the president of the foundation wished to see the Atlas reorganized and placed under the trusteeship of the IUH (Institut Universitaire d’Hématologie of l'Hôpital Saint Louis in the EA3518 reception team). Jean Loup Huret added that unlike the Paris-Diderot university, the IUH is not a legal entity, and he mentioned that in addition to or in the place of the IUH, a new foundation is being set up. To conclude, Jean Loup Huret asked us to think over what was being proposed. The initial FNAB project FNAB would be a devolution of the association in favor of the IUH, but during the most recent association-IUH-FNAB meeting, the IUH appeared to appreciate an advantage of the associative system: the fact that the IUH would not be legally compelled to offer long-term (CDI) contracts to staff, following the maximally 6-year short-term (CDD) contracts provided for in the Sauvaget law. At the very least, keeping staff within the association "buys time" for the IUH.
Financial report
Bernard Drochon, treasurer of the association, provided comments on the financial report, indicating that the results for the financial year 2013 showed a deficit of 30245€, while the net financial situation of the association came to +55 932€ He added that for 2014 no grant from any source other than the FNAB was anticipated, and that, more specifically, we would no longer benefit from the financial support of the DRIRE (FEDER European funds). Bernard Drochon also mentioned that during the previous year, we had asked the Fédération des Banques for support, which was refused due to the difficulty of raising funds. Bernard Drochon concluded that were devolution not to occur, he would resign as treasurer. He would like to receive mail from the IUH indicating their intention to finance the association (amount of money, number of years).
Hossain Mossafa raised the issue of the association's 5 salaried employees. Bernard Drochon and Hossain Mossafa insisted that it was out of the question to leave things as they were, given the fact that in 2013, financial problems greatly hindered and hampered the efforts of Jean-Loup Huret.
Who is to take charge of the devolution project?
Bernard Drochon explained that it was not normal for us to be the only ones to carry out the devolution project and said it was necessary for is to engage discussions with a jurist representing the IUH. Philippe Dessen and Jean Loup Huret pointed out that we would not have as an outside interlocutor a lawyer, ready to dialogue with our lawyer, but rather an anonymous provider of legal services, who would reject or accept our proposed project.
What are the key constituents of exchanges between our association and the IUH?
According to Philippe Misserey, four highly important constituents need to be taken into account:
- The salaried employees
- The management of electronic information tools (hosting)
-The affiliation of the group (Atlas) (note: If the CHU is not interested, management will be simpler)
- The geographical site
Once these 4 key points have been clearly determined, it will be easier to defined the right type of governance.
What solution(s)?
Jean-Marie Nicolas stated that as we no longer had the means to proceed as previously, there were only two possible solutions: 1-the solution that we desire and that we should try to impose: the transfer of all the salaried employees to the IUH; if not, 2 -in the event that we were compelled to continue to have employees under contract, we should demand, in exchange, written assurance from the FNAB of their financing over a period of X years.
Hossain Mossafa pointed out that in any case, we shall require a validated 5-year project, which would evidently be parallel to a structured scientific project.
If the association has to retain its salaried employees, it is possible to imagine allocating sums of money sufficing to cover possible severance payments (27681€ on 31/12/13).
Philippe Dessen affirmed that a hybrid solution - some employees in Paris, others in Poitiers and, more particularly, two distinct employers, the IUH and the association - would be unsatisfactory.
Philippe Misserey expressed concern over the fact that were the solution mandating the IUH to finance salaries were to be adopted, at a time when the IUH would not have - or wish to have - a budget permitting these salaries to be paid, it would be necessary to explore the means of recourse of which our association could avail itself.
Hossain Mossafa pointed out that we should be partially reassured by the fact that just like large pharmaceutical corporations, the IUH is keenly interested in the works of the Atlas.
Should members of the foundation and of the IUH be members of the Bureau of the association?
The president of the FNAB foundation has awarded us money without asking for anything in return; Bernard Drochon does not consider this normal. Hossain Mossafa pointed out that a foundation's role consists not in managing, but rather in monitoring the funds it has awarded; in any case, that is the model to be found in our research structures. François Desangles proposed active participation of the IUH in Atlas governance, while Bernard Drochon suggested that members of the foundation and the IUH should be members of the Bureau of the association. Jacques Wintrebert expressed agreement with this recommendation, affirming that it would induce our interlocutors to get more closely involved in the activities of our association; all participants at the general meeting were of the same opinion.
Once a given number of years shall have elapsed, it might be possible to envision devolution to the IUH, the terms of which would be defined in a convention.
Devolution of the association in favor of the IUH, or convention?
Philippe Misserey said that devolution was a figment of the imagination, and asserted that it would be more reasonable to draw up a convention by elaborating a contract of objectives.
The participants agreed that as a first step, a convention would be the best solution for the association.
A meeting with the FNAB and the IUH, to be held by the end of the week, was recommended.
It was consequently put to the vote of the general assembly that, on the occasion of the meeting with the FNAB and the IUH:
Confirmation be given to the FNAB and the IUH that: 1- We are ready for devolution to the IUH; 2- Were the IUH to deem this devolution to be premature, we would commit ourselves to remunerated activity in the association, on the strict condition of a written financial commitment from the FNAB with regard to salaries over the periods of employment of possible short-term (CDD) employees, and for a period of 2 years of salaries + severance pay and month of notice for long-term (CDI) employees. In the second case, conventions would be signed with the IUH and the FNAB. It would also be requested that a representative of the FNAB and a representative of the IUH sit on the board of directors (conseil d'administration) of the association.
Vote on a resolution
After having heard the report by Jean-Loup Huret entitled "projet ATLAS-IUH", the participants at the general meeting approved both the contents and the proposed strategy.
The general assembly consequently authorized the president to implement all solutions and operations envisioned in the framework of this project and, more generally, do proceed as necessary in view of prolonging the activities of the Atlas in partnership with the Institut Universitaire d’Hématologie.
The resolution was unanimously approved.
Vote on the resolution: 48 votes for (the 9 members present and the 39 members "good for proxy"); 0 votes against, 0 abstentions, out of fee-paying 61 members.
Report devolution 01-2015
The association 'ARMGHM Atlas de Génétique des Cancers' was founded in 1993. It is a not-for-profit organization under French law (law 1901), whose purpose is to host and handle the Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology, to facilitate its editorial process and to ensure the propagation of its contents.
The Atlas is a peer-reviewed journal / encyclopaedia / internet database aimed at genes involved in cancer, cytogenetics and leukemias, solid tumours, and cancer-prone diseases. It also comprises educational items in genetics for students.
It presents structured reviews (cards) or traditional review papers (Deep insights), a portal towards genetics and/or cancer databases and journals, teaching items in Genetics for students in Medicine and in Sciences, and a Case report section. It is made for and by: clinicians and researchers in cytogenetics, molecular biology, oncology, haematology, and pathology. Contributions are reviewed before acceptance. It deals with cancer research and genomics. It is at the crossroads of research, virtual medical university (university and post-university e-learning), and telemedicine. It contributes to "meta-medicine", this mediation, using new information technology, between the increasing amount of knowledge and the individual, having to use the information. Towards a personalized medicine of cancer. It is in free access on the Internet.
However, its management requires financial resources that are more and more difficult to obtain.
The Association has four employees (Mohammad AHMAD, Mélanie ARSABAN, Vanessa LEBERRE, Anne MALO).
Accounts were hardly balanced in 2012, and showed a deficit of 30.000 € for 2013.
The bureau of the executive board was therefore in search for a sustainable and perennial source of funding.
Various actors (local authorities and public international bodies such as Europe, the University and University Hospital of Poitiers, charities, scientific societies) tried to find appropriate solutions, but could not ensure the long-term at a sufficient level.
The only perennial solution was to join and build on a University structure. This is how we met with the
University Institute of Hematology (IUH) Saint-Louis-Paris VII.
Members of the IUH decided to create a new association, called: association 'Atlas de Génétique des Cancers', hosted within the IUH, bâtiment George Hayem, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1, avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France. This new association is directed by Raouf BEN ABDELALI, Associate Professor, Professor Catherine THIEBLEMONT is treasurer of the association, and Professor Hervé DOMBRET (who is also Director of the IUH) is secretary of the association.
The goal of future association 'Atlas de Génétique des Cancers'is to pursue the mission and goals of our association 'ARMGHM - Atlas de Génétique des Cancers'.
We herein propose that the association 'ARMGHM - Atlas de Génétique des Cancers' is dissolved, that all debts are paid, and that a devolution of the Atlas to the new association 'Atlas de Génétique des Cancers'occurs.
In accordance with Article 9 of the law of July 1, 1901, the devolution will give effect to the transfer to the new association so that the Atlas will continue to be available to the medical and/or scientific community, given that our association will lapse.
The devolution of the Atlas consists in a number of entities:
1- Atlas developments, since it has been created, consist in articles (individual cards, classified into various categories (Genes, Leukemias, Solid Tumors, Cancer-Prones Diseases, Case Reports, Deep Insights, Educational Items), the content of which remains the property of the authors, and the structure of this content the editorial process.
This content, on-line at the INIST server, is part of the devolution (a transmission of archives files at the date 12/31/014 may be done).
2-The structuration, articulation, and navigation between the data is made of a series of scripts and computer programs, including scripts and computer programs for updating at an individual and / or at the global level. A collection of these scripts and computer programs may be included in the devolution. However, new scripts and computer programs will replace them in a new/future database, programmed for being effective before July 2015.
3- Archives of the editorial group (mails with authors, addresses of authors, list of subjects to be addressed …) are part of the devolution.
4- The staff devoted to this editorial work.
5- The name "Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology", as well as domain names registered by our association : "atlasgeneticoncology.org", "chromosomesincancer.org". Even in the case these domain names would not be used anymore, it is essential that they are maintained in the property of the Atlas, to avoid that they are misused.
6- The Atlas is hosted by the INIST (Institute for scientific and technical information of the CNRS, French National Center for Scientific Research), although there is no current web hosting agreement. The continuity of web hosting will need renegotiation with INIST. Meanwhile, to ensure continuity of service, the current website will continue to be administered by the former senior team.
7- The equipment (computers, office chairs ...).
8- The cash.
The advantage of the project for our association is to be liable for all legal and financial commitments towards the Atlas.
The disadvantage is the lack of clarity concerning the project; the new structure will be enabled to what they want, without constraints or commitment to us.
But we have tried and exhausted seeking alternative solutions and we cannot continue 2015 under the same conditions as 2014.
I, Jean-Loup HURET, President of the association, propose you to vote in favor of this project.
Done in Poitiers,
December, the 31st, 2014br />
Jean Loup HURET
Official record of the 30 June 2015 general meeting of the ARMGHM - Atlas of Genetics in cancer
Present or represented (having given a proxy) at the general meeting:
Jean Loup Huret, President, Hossein Mossafa, Vice-President, Bernard Drochon, Treasurer, Martine Jammet, Secretary, Philippe Dessen, Database Director, Adriana Zamecnikova, Aurelia Meloni-Ehrig, Baptiste Gaillard, Brenda Lauffart, Charles Bangs, Chrystèle Bilhou Nabera, Claus Kerkhoff, Dan Van Dyke, Diane Jordan, Holly H Hobart, Jacques Wintrebert, Jean-Marie Nicolas, Jean-Michel Dupont, Jing Liu, Julia Bridge, Julie Sanford Biggerstaff, Katrina Vanura, Marc De Braekeleer, Nathalie Nadal, Nyla Heerema, Orjan Petersson, Oskar Haas, Paola Silvia Dal Cin, Roberta Vanni, Roberto Rosati, Susana Raimondi,
, in total 31 persons.
Number of members: 50. The quorum has been reached.
I- 2014 moral and activity report
On 27 January 2015: First there was first a board of directors meeting, and then an extraordinary general meeting in which it was decided to conclude the devolution of the Atlas to a new association, inspired by the Institut Universitaire d'Hématologie (IUH) Paris VII- Hôpital Saint Louis, in view of gradually transferring the Atlas and its management to a new structure with new actors and a new data base. However, the FNAB foundation, which had been financing our activities, brutally withdrew its support, the decision being made arbitrarily, apparently without any prior meeting of its scientific committee. Not a single FNAB director formalized the decision in writing. The FNAB had previously forced our association to hire on a temporary basis a new collaborator working under the authority of the FNAB itself (unusual interference in the universe of scientific grants!). In fact, it was through the intermediation of this double-hatted collaborator that we were notified of the FNAB decision to suddenly withdraw the totality of its support! As for the IUH, which had no specific financial means dedicated to the Atlas, it had no choice but to pull out. And on 13 March 2015, we in turn had no choice but to lay off all employees of the association for economic reasons. The editorial staff of the Atlas was consequently totally dismantled.
We have nonetheless carried on with the development of bio-informatic tools characterizing the Atlas, which has been kept online by the INIST (CNRS, Nancy). Several rounds of discussion have been devoted to renovation of the Atlas's IT structure. Numerous reactions to alarm signals concerning its possible disappearance (see: http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Supporting_Atlas_First_signatories.pdf) have induced a group of American cytogeneticists to put forward a number of proposals to either take over or closely associate themselves with the Atlas. Collaboration with an Italian group and continuation with the Amos Bairoch group are currently taking form. The creation of "mirror" or associated sites deserves further study, and discussions with a scientific press group have been undertaken.
Recent developments
Nosology, thesaurus and inventorying: Major work associating the ICD-03 (International Classification of Disease-Oncology) descriptors with various articles in the Atlas has been carried out. See http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Tumors/Solid_Nosology.html .
Resource integration: Online publication of work concerning: a) the integration of numerous resources on gene abnormalities and fusions originating in the international tumor programs (Mitelmnan, Cosmic, TicDB, ChiTars, TCGA and ICGC) and b) compilations from the published literature on tumor cell lines, with the development of a chromosomal band interface (440). Example: http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Bands/1p36.html.
Extension to 27000 genes: Extension of the list of accessible genes with "linked" information on an exceedingly wide variety of Internet sites. The Atlas presently contains close to 27000 genes (list limited to the genes located in the human genome) http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Genes/Geneliste.html .
Scripts: Improvement of the management scripts enabling generation of an Atlas on any computer equipment under UNIX or a similar operating system (Cygwin on Windows or MacOS) for use of locally usable versions (without Internet). This will allow the different persons potentially associated in a consortium to carry out an overhaul and proceed to further IT development.
Authors: To date, 3117 authors have written one or more articles for the Atlas.
II- Financial report
General financial statement
Following amortization, fixed assets are valued at 16€.
No movement was observed during the 2014 fiscal year. Assets valued before amortization at 80596€ consist mainly in a website valued at 72076€.
Current assets come to 78816€, including 77576€ of liquid assets on 31 December 2014.
Liabilities consist in normal and current debts and in provisions for accruals. The association has incurred no bank indebtedness.
Under these conditions and taking into account a deficit result amounting to 4373€, the net position of the association comes to 51558€.
Profit and loss account
Operating revenue (142,019€) is mainly represented by:
-grants 132,969€
-donations and membership fees 2050€
-sponsoring 7000€
Operating expenses, which come to 146,813€ (-1.19% compared to 2013) are represented 92% by personnel costs (135,983€).
None of the other budgetary items have undergone significant variation.
Under these conditions the net result for 2014, after the financial result (870€), comes to minus (-) 4373€.
Having come to the end of the agenda: Each of the opinions or suggestions presented was duly recorded herein, and no expression of opposition was put forward. As the agenda had been exhausted, the session was adjourned.
Official record of the 22 August 2016 general meeting of the ARMGHM - Atlas of Genetics in cancer
Present or represented (having given a proxy) at the general meeting: Jean Loup Huret, Président, Editeur de l'Atlas, Hossein Mossafa, Vice-Président, Bernard Drochon, Trésorier, Martine Jammet, Secrétaire, Philippe Dessen, Directeur de la Base de Données, Jean-Marie Nicolas, Paola Dal Cin , Katrina Vanura, Brenda Lauffart, Simona Panni, Mauricette Jamar, Christian Herens, Frédéric Lambert, Vincent Bours, Adriana Zamecnikova, Nathalie Nadal, Claude Viguié, Franck Viguié, Jacques Wintrebert.
Number of members whose subscriptions are duly up to date: 20. The quorum has been reached.
I- Annual moral and activity report
I-1. Administrative report
Due to a lack of reliably recurrent financial support, the Atlas had no choice but to separate itself from the publishing group, laying off 5 of its collaborators in March 2015.
Intensive lobbying was subsequently undertaken in view of developing permanent solutions ensuring continuation of the Atlas, which is highly appreciated by the cytogenetics community throughout the world (cf. http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Supporting_Atlas_First_signatories.pdf) with an average of more than 5000 visits a day; moreover, it has been conclusively shown that cytogeneticists, whatever their countries, are highly regular users of the Atlas (cf. http://chromosomesincancer.org/fr/utilisateurs-de-l-atlas.html). Indeed, the Atlas has become a worldwide reference and a daily tool comparable to the "Mitelman".
Following exchanges with the scientific director of the French national cancer institute (INCa), François Sigaux, discussions were launched with John Libbey, the publisher. In addition, the Atlas dossier was quite favorably received by the Direction de l'Information Scientifique et Technique of the CNRS (DIST-CNRS) and by its director, Renaud Fabre, who mandated a commission to assess the possibility of joint backing from the CNRS and the INSERM. Finally, the INSERM Transfert branch evinced pronounced interest in the Atlas and tried to promote this interest with inter-organizational structures (ITMOs).
As of mid-2016, however, no solution providing lasting reassurance on the future of the Atlas had been determined, and discussions remained ongoing.
On the other hand, Vice President Hossain Mossafa obtained funding by means of sponsoring from the CERBA Institute.
I-2. Scientific report
The president/editor-in-chief Jean Loup Huret and the data manager Philippe Dessen have continued to not only update, but also develop new documents on the INIST site (CNRS Nancy).
Even without collaborators, the number of new or updated documents has remained distinctly significant: genes (33 new, 11 updated), leukemias (17 new, 3 updated), solid tumors (3 new), hereditary diseases and increased risk of cancer (3 new, 2 updated).
Substantive work has led to the preparation of lists of the different forms presently “on stand-by”, and the results are materialized in the pages accessible to authors (http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Status.html). Incidentally, at present the Atlas is the fruit of the labors of 3252 authors.
Other work has consisted in providing increasingly precise definition of the classifications (in agreement with the WHO-ICD codes) (see the http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Anomalies/Anomliste.html and http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Tumors/Solid_Nosology.html) pages.
The “genes” pages of the Atlas has been expanded to cover the totality of the known and mapped genes of the human genome: all in all, 29333 genes.
Numerous links with new “cancer” portals (TCGA, ICGC ..) have been added to the forms and to the synthetic tables, as well.
An ongoing large-scale endeavor has consisted in adding to the sections of the Atlas dealing with genes, leukemia and solid tumors a large number of references to the fusion of genes associated with chromosomal alterations; work on these subjects is also accessible in a grouping of more than 440 pages devoted to genes and abnormalities in all of the chromosomal bands (ex. http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Bands/1p36.html).
International activities have consisted in our participation on a workshop in Nijmegen, Holland (early 2016) and in our presentation of an Atlas tutorial (http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Nimegue_2016/Practical_exercise.pdf ). In addition, Jean Loup Huret has been asked to write a chapter on bioinformatics resources in cytogenetics (Springer editions, to be published in late 2016).
A number of Associate Editors, each of them in charge of a specific section, have been named: "Lymphoma section Editor": Antonino Carbone (Aviano, Italy); "Urinary tumors Section Editor": Paola Dal Cin (Boston, Massachusetts); "Bone tumors Section Editor": Judith Bovee (Leiden, The Netherlands; " Cancer Prone Diseases Section Editor": Gaia Roversi (Milano, Italy). Other particularly talented colleagues have been or will be contacted.
II- Financial report
Following amortization, fixed assets are valued at 1€.
No movement was observed during the 2015 fiscal year.
Gross fixed assets valued before amortization at 80596€ consist mainly in a website valued at 72076€.
Current assets come to 36355€, including 31355€ of liquid assets on 31/12/2015.
Liabilities consist in normal and current debts and in provisions for accruals. The association has incurred no bank indebtedness.
Under these conditions and taking into account a deficit result amounting to 18134€, the net position of the association comes to 33424€.
Profit and loss account 2015
Operating revenue (45200€) is represented by:
- grants 20347€
-donations and membership fees 16853€
-sponsoring 8000€
Operating expenses come to 63434€ (-57% compared to 2014), and 90% are represented by personnel costs (56953€).
None of the other budgetary items have undergone significant variation.
Under these conditions the net result for 2015, after the financial result (238€), comes to minus (-) 18134€. The 2015 fiscal year was characterized by the exceptional costs entailed by staff restructuring.
As of today, revenue in 2016 has come to approximately 2200€, while expenses have neighbored 1100€.
Grants from other learned societies that regularly support the Atlas have recently been requested; so has the backing of our sponsor.
III- Orientations for the 2017 fiscal year
Uncertainty about possible grant renewal has led us to entertain three hypotheses:
I- The possibility of hiring a collaborator holding a MSc on a one-year contract, at a cost of about 30000€, is predicated on our obtaining corresponding financing;
II- The possibility of hiring a service provider who would be in charge of elaborating an editorial data base, at a cost of 80000€, is likewise predicated on our obtaining corresponding financing;
III- In any case, we have decided to resume publication of our "Pdf Journal", which was suspended after April 2015, (see http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/15655 ). In the final analysis, this publication is a vital precondition for our being indexed by PubMed, Scopus, Embase, etc…, and indexation is itself of crucial importance in our search for articles to replenish the Atlas. As of now, even though the number of pages will have to be reduced because of the absence of editorial collaborators, we still have enough articles to complete the Journal. What we need is the expertise of a person who was once a collaborator of ours, and who has agreed to resume work with us on a part-time basis. Costs for the employer would come to an estimated 5000€ a year.
Having come to the end of the agenda: Each of the opinions or suggestions presented was duly recorded herein, and no expression of opposition was put forward. As the agenda had been exhausted, the session was adjourned.
Official record of the board of directors meeting and general assembly of the 16 May 2017 of the ARMGHM association - Atlas of Genetics in Cancer
Present or represented (having given a proxy) at the general meeting: Jean Loup Huret, Président, Editeur de l'Atlas, Hossein Mossafa, Vice-Président, Philippe Dessen, Directeur de la Base de Données, Jean-Marie Nicolas, Paola Dal Cin, Adriana Zamekenekofa, Julie Sanford Biggerstaff, Brenda Lauffart, Christine Disteche, Claus Kerkhoff, Lubomir Mitev, Charles Bangs, Dan Van Dyke, Detlef Haase, Fléchère Fortin and the "Association de Cytogénétique du Québec", Jean-Michel Dupont, Katrina Vanura, Gilles Nicolas, Marie-Christine Nicolas, Ivan H Still, Vincent Bours, Mauricette Jamar, Frédéric Lambert, John Swansbury, Jacques Wintrebert, Anthony Brouard, Bernard Drochon
27 adherents were present or represented, the quorum was reached.
I - 2016 MORAL AND FINANCIAL REPORT
I-1. Administrative report
Due to a lack of reliably recurrent financial support, the Atlas had no choice but to separate itself from the publishing group, laying off 5 of its collaborators in April 2015.
None of the discussions undertaken in late 2015 and 2016 led to the emergence of a permanent solution for the Atlas. However, following talks with the DIST of the CNRS and its director, R. Fabre, a consensus was reached: The Atlas will continue to be hosted on the site of the INIST (Institute of Scientific and Technical Information).
The activities of the Atlas during 2016 were the fruits of the labors of the president, J-L Huret (editor-in-chief) and P. Dessen (data base manager), thanks to whom a minimum level of production was maintained.
Recently, a financial grant enabled us to rehire, on a decidedly part-time basis, one of our collaborators, whose task has been to restart the “Journal pdf”, the scientific edition of the Atlas (see http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/15655). Following its suspension in March 2015, and as planned last year (see 2016 report), publication has been resumed. This is the indispensable precondition for being indexed by PubMed, Scopus, Embase, etc...; indexation is itself of crucial importance in our search for articles to replenish the Atlas.
Marie-Christine Bolinches and Bernard Drochon did not request renewal of their mandates. On an interim basis, Jean Loup Huret has replaced the treasurer (Bernard Drochon) and has been mandated to seek out a new treasurer.
I-2. Scientific report
Even without the 5 collaborators laid off in 2015, in 2016 the number of new or updated documents remained distinctly significant: genes (37 new), leukemias (69), solid tumors (16), hereditary diseases at increased risk of cancer (2), case reports (5).
Section Editors have been assigned in charge of different themes
Lymphomas Section Editor: Antonino Carbone (Aviano, Italy)
Myeloid Malignancies Section Editor: Robert S. Ohgami (Stanford, California)
Urinary Tumors Section: Paola Dal Cin (Boston, Massachusetts)
Bone Tumors Section Editor: Judith Bovee (Leiden, The Netherlands)
Head and Neck Tumors Section Editors: Cécile Badoual and Hélène Blons (Paris, France)
Pediatric Tumors Section Editor: Frederic G. Barr (Bethesda, Maryland)
Cancer Prone Diseases Section Editor: Gaia Roversi (Milano, Italy)
AKT signalings Section Editor: Robin C.Muise-Helmericks (Charleston, South Carolina)
Cell Cycle Section Editor: João Agostinho Machado-Neto (São Paulo, Brazil)
DNA Repair Section Editor: Godefridus Peters (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Hormones and Growth factors Section Editor: Gajanan V. Sherbet (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
Mitosis Section Editor: Patrizia Lavia (Rome, Italy)
Substantive work has led to the preparation of lists of files presently “on stand-by”, and the results are materialized in the pages accessible to authors (http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Status.html). Incidentally, at present the Atlas is the fruit of the labors of more than 3300 authors.
Other work has consisted in improving classifications (in agreement with the relevant WHO-ICD codes) (see the http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Anomalies/Anomliste.html and http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Tumors/Solid_Nosology.html) pages.
Numerous links with new “cancer” portals (TCGA, ICGC ..) have been added to the files and updated; so have the synthetic tables.
An ongoing large-scale endeavor has consisted in adding references to the fusion of genes associated with chromosomal alterations (see the sections on Genes, Abnormalities and Solid Tumors); work on these subjects is also accessible in a grouping of more than 440 pages devoted to genes and abnormalities in all of the chromosomal bands (ex. http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/Bands/1p36.html).
In addition, Jean Loup Huret was asked to write a chapter on bioinformatics resources in cytogenetics (Springer editions, published in 2016).
II- Financial report
Overall summary
Fixed assets are currently fully depreciated.
No movement was observed during the 2015 fiscal year.
Gross fixed assets valued before amortization at 80596€ consist mainly in a website valued at 72076€.
Current assets come to 51814€, including 51575€ (???) of liquid assets on 31/12/2015.
Liabilities consist in normal and current debts and in provisions for accruals. The association has incurred no bank indebtedness.
Under these conditions and taking into account a profit result amounting to 17789€, the net position of the association comes to 51214€.
Profit and loss account 2016
Operating revenue (21534€) is represented by:
- grants 10823€
-donations and membership fees 2708€
-sponsoring 8000€
Operating expenses come to 3978€ (as compared to 63434€ in 2016). Under these conditions the net result for 2016, after the financial result (233€), comes to 17789€.
III- Orientations for the 2018 fiscal year
Uncertainty about possible grant renewal has led us to entertain three hypotheses:
I- The possibility of hiring a “Bac+5” (= 5 years of university studies) collaborator on a one-year contract, at a cost of about 30000€, is predicated on our obtaining corresponding financing;
II- The possibility of hiring a service provider who would be in charge of elaborating an editorial data base, at a cost of 30000-60000€, is likewise predicated on our obtaining corresponding financing.
The agenda having been exhausted and with no opposition having been put forward, each of the views expressed has been officially enacted.
The agenda having been exhausted, the session is adjourned.
Minutes from the Executive board and General Assembly meetings of the Association ARMGHM - Atlas Genetics Cancer of the 16/05/2018
Executive board
Present or represented: Jean Loup Huret, President of the Association and Editor in Chief of the Atlas, Philippe Dessen, Database Director, Martine Jammet, Treasurer and Secretary of the association, Bernard Drochon, Franck Viguié, Jacques Wintrebert.
The Executive Board was informed that talks were engaged between the Atlas and Robert Ohgami (University of Stanford, California, now Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Atlas), Paola Dal Cin (University of Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts), and Jesús María Hernández Rivas (HARMONYproject/University of Salamanca, Spain). These three University Hospital researchers and educators are working to build a new web site for the Atlas. The Executive Board gave its agreement on the continuation of the talks, provided that a full description of what the aim, purposes, editorial line, layout and organization will be is given to the Association Board, inasmuch as the project remains vague.
The Executive Board also agrees to finance a database project on the basis of a detailed cost estimate.
An address modification will be sent to the prefecture. The new address: "ARMGHM, Chez Docteur Jean Loup Huret, 10 rue des Treilles, Masseuil, F-86190 Quinçay, Fance" will replace: "ARMGHM, Chez Docteur Jean Loup Huret, Faculté de Médecine, 6 rue de la Milétrie, BP 199, F-86034 Poitiers, Fance"
General Assembly
Present or represented (having given a proxy) at the general meeting: Jean Loup Huret, President of the Association and Editor in Chief of the Atlas, Philippe Dessen, Database Director, Martine Jammet, Treasurer and Secretary of the association, Adriana Zamekenekova, Anil Yadav, Bernard Drochon, Brenda Lauffart, Carole Barin, Christine Disteche, Chrystèle Bilhou-Nabera, Claude Viguié, Colette Drochon, Dana Bangs, Diane Jordan, Franck Viguié, Frédéric Lambert, Holly Hobart, Irwin Gelman, Ivan Still, Jacob Barnhart, Jacques Wintrebert, João Agostinho Machado-Neto, John Swansbury, Katrina Vanura, Lubomir Mitev, Marina Lafage, Mauricette Jamar, Nagesh Rao, Nyla Heerema, Paola Dal Cin, Rita Calzone, Robert Ohgami, Simona Panni, Tatiana Gindina, Tobias Neff, Vincent Bours, Virginie Eclache-Saudreau.
37 adherents were present or represented, the quorum was reached.
I- Moral and activity report 2017
In spite of the small number of workers in the day-to-day work in the Atlas (mainly Jean Loup Huret (President of the Association and Editor-in-Chief of the Atlas) and Philippe Dessen (Database Director), the scientific production has remained stable.
The Atlas is still hosted for free by the Institute for Scientific and Technical Information of the French National Center for Scientific Research (INIST-CNRS http://www.inist.fr/?lang=en) and there are 4500 visits each open day (period April-May 2018).
A substantive work has been to provide a list of items that will need to be developed as papers/cards (e.g. list of chromosome rearrangements/fusion genes, according to a given disease, where an expert will be needed to write a monograph).
Numerous links toward portals devoted to cancer (TCGA, ICGC ...) and databases (Mitelman database, COSMIC, ArrayMap ...) have been added and/or updated on the front page and within each page when relevant.
The data formatting process for the "Atlas Scientific Journal" (see http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/15655), following its suspension in March 2015, is now again in progress. A data processing program is being built up (web application developed with PHPWord/MySQL/Symfony framework), to facilitate and speed up the data formatting process, so that it will be up-to-date again. The "Atlas Scientific Journal" is also frequently viewed.
A set of pages devoted to molecular and cellular biology, and to pathogeny (grouped into different thematics e.g. apoptosis, immunity …) make a census of genes involved in these processes. These thematics are being developed, and some of these have been covered by dedicated "Section Editors" (see: http://atlasgeneticsoncology.org/BackpageAbout.html#EDITORIAL). More Section Editors have been co-opted, to strengthen our Editorial task force.
The association's address will change.
Robert Ohgami (University of Stanford, California) has become Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Atlas.
Robert Ohgami, Paola Dal Cin (University of Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts), and Jesús María Hernández Rivas (HARMONYproject/University of Salamanca, Spain) are working to build a new web site, with a new home page, new data and updates, incorporating NGS data and other developments, such as "big data". A new database is necessary, using universal tools and free softwares.
The establishment of a database/web site and computer-assisted editorial process production have been made possible by the donations from the following Scientific Societies: Association des Cytogénéticiens de Langue Française, Berufsverband Deutscher Humangenetiker / Deutschen Gesellschaft für Humangenetik (BVDH/GFH), Werkgroep Hemato-oncologische Genoom Diagnostiek (WHGD), Società Italiana di Genetica Umana (SIGU), Australasian Society of Cytogeneticists (ASOC), Association de Cytogénétique du Québec (ACQ), Canadian College of Medical Geneticists.
Funding requests will be sent in 2018 as well to these Scientific Societies to enable us to pursue the development of the new database (Orientations for the 2018 fiscal year).
II- Financial report 2017
II-1. Balance sheet statement
The capitalized asset is completely depreciated.
No movement was observed during the 2017 fiscal year.
Gross fixed assets valued before amortization at 72,363€ consist mainly in a website valued at 72,076€.
Current assets come to 65,198€, all of them are liquid assets at the date of December the 31st, 2017.
Liabilities consist in normal and current debts and in provisions for accruals. The association has incurred no bank indebtedness.
Under these conditions and taking into account earnings of 12,459€, the net position of the association comes to 63,673€.
II-2. Profit and loss account 2017
Operating revenue (45,200€) is represented by:
- grants: 10,432€
- donations and membership fees: 2,396€
- sponsoring: 8,000€
Operating expenses come to 8,660€ (3,978€ in 2016).
Under these conditions the net result for 2017, after the financial result (+302€), comes to plus (+) 12,459€.
II-3. Orientations for the 2018 fiscal year
(see above).
Having come to the end of the agenda: Each of the opinions or suggestions presented was duly recorded herein, and no expression of opposition was put forward. As the agenda had been exhausted, the session was adjourned.
Official record of the board of directors meeting and general assembly of the 22/06/2019 of the ARMGHM association - Atlas of Genetics in Cancer
Executive board
Present or represented: Dominique Penther, Fléchère Fortin, Franck Viguié, Hossein Mossafa, Jean Marie Nicolas, Lucienne Michaux, Marina Laffage-Pochitaloff, Philippe Dessen, Philippe Misserey, Jacques Wintrebert, Jean Loup Huret, Martine Jammet
General Assembly
Present or represented (having given a proxy) at the general meeting: Dominique Penther, Fléchère Fortin, Franck Viguié, Hossein Mossafa, Jean Marie Nicolas, Lucienne Michaux, Marina Laffage-Pochitaloff, Philippe Dessen, Philippe Misserey, Jacques Wintrebert, Jean Loup Huret, Martine Jammet, Anil Yadav, Claude Viguié, Dana (Charles) Bangs, Diane Jordan, Ivan Still, Katrina Vanura, Lubomir Mitev, Nathalie Nadal, Nyla Heerema, Tatiana Gindina
22 adherents were present or represented, the quorum was reached.
Scientific Report Year 2018
The activity of the Atlas during 2018 was the result of the work of President J.L. Huret (editor-in-chief) and P. Dessen (database manager) to maintain a minimum level of production.
In spite of its very limited strength, the Atlas has managed to maintain itself through a significant production of new documents or updates. The Atlas is still hosted on the INIST-CNRS site and continues to have significant visibility (international consultation).
In order to improve production and quality, the Atlas has continued to add several "editors' sections" that have taken on various specialties.
The Atlas-Journal, which is widely consulted on the INIST website, is currently up to date.
Finally, as part of a transition of the Atlas to an international consortium with scientists from Stanford, Boston or Salamanca, a new version of the more "modern" Atlas is being developed at the University of Salamanca. This has led to a fairly large amount of work to formalize the structures and software developed over the last 20 years, in order to designate the new base more easily.
The end of 2019 should see the commissioning of this new tool.
Financial Report - Balance sheet 2018
For the 2018 financial year, a sum of €2,313 has been recorded as fixed assets, corresponding to two down-payments for the development of the website.
The gross fixed assets (before depreciation and amortization) amounting to 76,433€ are mainly comprised of the website for 74,389€.
Current assets amounted to €61,129, including €61,129 in cash and cash equivalents at 12/31/2018.
Liabilities consist of normal and current debts and provisions for accrued expenses. The association does not have recourse to any bank debt.
In these conditions and taking into account the profit of 190€ the net situation of the association amounts to 63 863€.
Income Statement 2018
The operating revenues (10 583€) are represented :
-by subsidies 6 000 €
-by donations and contributions 4 576 €
-other miscellaneous products 7 €
Operating expenses amounted to €10,805 compared to €8,660 in 2017. As a result, net income for 2018, after financial income (€412), was €190 higher.
Official record of the board of directors meeting and extraordinary general assembly of the 13/12/2019 of the ARMGHM association - Atlas of Genetics in Cancer
Excerpts from the Minutes of the Board of Directors and the Extraordinary General Meeting
Present or represented having given proxy to the Board of Directors: Dominique Penther, Fléchère Fortin, Franck Viguié, Hossein Mossafa, Jean Loup Huret, Jean Marie Nicolas, Lucienne Michaux, Marina Lafage-Pochitaloff, Martine Jammet, Philippe Dessen, i.e. 10 of the 11 members of the Board of Directors.
Present or represented and having given proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting: Dominique Penther, Fléchère Fortin, Franck Viguié, Hossein Mossafa, Jean Loup Huret, outgoing President, Jean Marie Nicolas, Lucienne Michaux, Marina Lafage-Pochitaloff, Martine Jammet, outgoing Treasurer, Philippe Dessen, Philippe Misserey, Ana Rodriguez, Anil Yadav, Atieh Hajianpour, Baptiste Gaillard, Claude Viguié, Charles Bangs, Diane Jordan, Ivan Still, Jesùs Maria Hernandez-Rivas, Joao Agostinho Machado Neto, Katrina Vanura, Kay Huebner, Lubomir Mitev, Margaret Booth, Nathalie Nadal, Nyla Heerema, Olgierd Ossowski, Roberto Rosati, Silvia Soriani, Simona Panni, Tatiana Gindina
That's 32 members. A quorum is present.
Election of a new President, a new Treasurer, and a new Secretary:
We announce the resignation of Martine Jammet and Jacques Wintrebert from their positions as Directors and note their replacement by Jesús María Hernandez Rivas and Ana Eugenia Rodriguez Vicente (Salamanca, IBSAL); and the resignation of Jean-Loup Huret from his position as President. We vote that Jesús María Hernandez Rivas be elected President, Ana Eugenia Rodriguez Vicente be elected Secretary and Jean-Loup Huret be elected Treasurer of the association.
The devolution of the Atlas to IBSAL was decided as well as the creation of an Atlas database in Salamanca to replace the current site, with data transfer to the new site. The new site will now have 3 Chief Editors: Jean-Loup Huret (Genes), Jesús M. Hernández (Haematology), and Paola Dal Cin (Solid Tumours).
These resolutions are adopted by the 10 members of the Board of Directors, and voted by the Extraordinary General Assembly by 32 votes in favour, 0 abstentions, 0 votes against.
The agenda having been exhausted: Each of the opinions expressed has been recorded herein and no remarks have been made against it. The agenda having been completed, the meeting is adjourned.
The Chairman of the meeting
Jean-Loup HURET