Welcome to

The Helminthological Society of Washington

Home Page


The Brayton H. Ransom Memorial Fund provides modest support to the Helminthological Society of Washington primarily through small grants to authors who are unable to pay page charges in Comparative Parasitology. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Ransom Fund president, Nancy Pacheco or secretary-treasurer, David Chitwood.


Our Mission

The Helminthological Society of Washington, the prototype scientific organization for parasitological research in North America was founded in 1910 by a devoted group of parasitologists in Washington, D.C. Forging a niche in national and international parasitology over the past century, the Society focuses on comparative research, emphasizing taxonomy, systematics, ecology, biogeography and faunal survey inventory within a morphological and molecular foundation. Interdisciplinary and crosscutting, comparative parasitology links contemporary biodiversity studies with historical approaches to biogeography, ecology and coevolution within a cohesive framework. Through its three meetings in the Washington, D.C. area annually, and via the peer-reviewed Comparative Parasitology (continuing the Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington in its 67th volume), the Society actively supports and builds recognition for modern parasitological research. Taxonomic diversity represented in the pages of the Society's journal treats the rich helminth faunas in terrestrial and aquatic plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as parasitic protozoa and arthropods. Parasitology, among the most integrative of the biological sciences, provides data critical to elucidation of general patterns of global biodiversity.

Our Vision

The Helminthological Society of Washington celebrates a century of tradition and excellence in global parasitology solving challenges and responding to opportunities for the future of society and the environment. Members of the Helminthological Society of Washington contribute to understanding and protecting human health, agriculture and the biosphere through comparative research emphasizing taconomy, systematics, ecology, biogeography and biodiversity assessment of all parasites. The Society projects the exceptional relevance of its programs to broader research and education in global biodiversity and conservation biology through the activities of its members and its journal, Comparative Parasitology.

Membership is open to all persons interested in the study of parasitic organisms and is NOT limited to individuals living or working in the Washington, D.C. area. Applications for membership can be obtained from the Corresponding Secretary-Treasurer, at the end of recent issues of the Journal, or by printing the form below. Annual dues (starting with 2009) are currently $32 per year for domestic active members, $35 for foreign members and $16 for students. The annual dues may accompany the Application for Membership (html) or PDF file and are payable on notification of election. The Helminthological Society of Washington is affiliated with the American Society of Parasitologists.


Comparative Parasitology

ISSN 1525-2647
formerly The Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington,

Currently in Volume 75 (2008), this international and peer-reviewed journal is published semiannually each January and July. Our journal is covered by several indexing and abstracting services. The editor will consider manuscripts on all phases of parasitology in either full article or research note format. Papers are accepted with the understanding that they will be published only in Comparative Parasitology. Information concerning manuscript preparation given below has been updated. Members of the Editorial Board serve three-year terms. Back issues of most numbers are available at Comparative Parasitology, P. O. Box 7065 , Lawrence, KS 66044-7065. E-mail iscp@allenpress.com; phone (785) 843-1235; FAX (785) 843-1274. Institutional subscriptions for 2009 to Comparative Parasitology are: U.S.A., $65; Canada and Mexico, $67; and all other countries, $70.

Editor: Dr. Tami Cook, Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2116. bio_tjc@shsu.edu

Associate Editor: Dr. Richard Clopton, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Peru State College, Peru, NE 68421. rclopton@oakmail.peru.edu


Contents of Comparative Parasitology

Volume 75(2) - July, 2008
Volume 75 (1) - January, 2008

Volume 74(2) - July, 2007
Volume 74(1) - January, 2007

Volume 73(2) - July, 2006
Volume 73(1) - January, 2006

Volume 72(2) - July, 2005
Volume 72(1) - January, 2005

Volume 71(2) - July, 2004
Volume 71(1) - January, 2004

Volume 70(2) - July, 2003
Volume 70(1) - January, 2003

Volume 69(2) - July, 2002
Volume 69(1) - January, 2002

Volume 68(2) - July, 2001
Volume 68(1) - January, 2001

Volume 67(2) - July, 2000
Volume 67(1) - January, 2000


Click Here for Contents of Volumes 57-66 of the Journal, 1990-1999


Click Here for Contents of Volumes 37-56 of the Proceedings, 1970-1989


Officers of the Society for 2008


Past Officers List


2008-09 Society Meeting Schedule

699th to 701st Meetings

699th - 2008 Anniversary dinner meeting (form) - November 7, 2008, 4 Seasons Grille, Gambrills, MD.
Contact person: John Hawdon, (202) 994-2652, mtmjmh@gwumc.edu

700th - 2009 Winter meeting - date and place TBA.

701st - 2009 Spring meeting - Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT - May 1-2, 2009. Contact person: Dennis Richardson.


Other Parasitological Meetings

First International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics December 1-3, 2008, Asilomar, CA. Go to www.epidemics.elsevier.com for more details on abstracts, etc.

Sixth International Symposium on Monogenea August 3-7, 2009, Capetown, South Africa. Go here For more information.

David Gibson's Parasitologcal URL's and the World Federation of Parasitologists are good sources for meeting information.


Society Reports

Report on the 97th ASP Council Meeting, June 21, 2007, Merida, Mexico


Anniversary Award

Established in 1960, the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Helminthological Society of Washington to one of its members is the Anniversary Award. Our constitution stipulates that the Anniversary Award can be given for outstanding contributions in parasitology, an exceptional paper presented at a meeting of the Society or published in its journal, or giving outstanding service to the Society. The Anniversary Award recipients comprise a distinguished group of parasitologists primarily from the Washington, D.C. area. Photos of recent Anniversary Award Recipients


Honorary Members

The following group of distinguished parasitologists were elected as Honorary Members in the Society by vote of the membership. The HelmSoc Consitution limits the Honorary Membership to 10 living members with no more than one member elected per year.



Manuscript Preparation:

The editor has produced a comprehensive Instructions to Authors which all authors must follow carefully in manuscript preparation. Please note that this document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader®.

The title page should contain a running head, the title of the article, and the author(s) full name(s), affiliation(s), e-mail addresses, and the name of the corresponding author for correspondance with the editor and to receive proofs.

Descriptions of new taxa and surveys will be published in Comparative Parasitology only if types and/or representative voucher specimens are deposited in a recognized museum such as the U. S. National Parasite Collection or the Manter Laboratory of the University of Nebraska State Museum. See this announcement from the July, 2000 issue of Comparative Parasitology for a more comprehensive list of museums. It is a pdf file requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader®.

It is understood that page charges, including those for corrections in proofs, are the responsibility of the author. Page charges are currently $50 per page for members and $100 per page for non-members of the Society. Members receive three pages free of charge in each volume (annually).


This page is maintained by Sherman S. Hendrix
Department of Biology
Gettysburg College
Getttysburg, PA 17325
shendrix@gettysburg.edu

Last updated: 8 October 2008