Short Takes
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Francis Collins has appointed Dr. Richard P. Woychik as Director of NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) located at the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. NIEHS conducts and supports environmental health sciences research to address real-world public health needs. Dr. Woychik had been serving as the Acting Director of NIEHS since October 2019. Dr. Woychik earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Case Western Reserve University and has extensive expertise in mammalian genetics and environmental epigenetics.
The Ocean Studies Board of ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Now Online: AIBS Communications Boot Camp for Scientists
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is offering a professional development program designed to enhance the communication skills of scientists, particularly those interested in communicating with decision-makers and the news media. The program is an excellent way to develop new communication skills and identify effective methods for broadening the impact of research and education programs.
The AIBS Communications Boot Camp for Scientists expands on AIBS’s highly successful media and science policy training workshops. The Boot Camp meets the needs of everyone from graduate students to senior researche...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
NSF Extends NEON Operations and Management Competition Deadlines
In response to the uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has further extended the deadline for submission of full proposals for the competition of management and operations of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) until September 2021.
“Extending the deadline is necessary to ensure a fair and equitable process, allowing all applicants to participate in activities such as NEON site visits at a time when we can better maintain the health and safety of everyone involved including NEON employees,” stated Assistant Director for the Biological Sciences...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
NIH Updates Sexual Harassment Reporting Policy
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued new guidance on reporting cases of sexual harassment by grant recipients. Grantee institutions will now be required to report to the agency when an investigator is removed from an NIH grant because of findings or allegations of sexual harassment.
In an editorial for Science, NIH Director Francis Collins and his colleagues wrote: “In 2019, the NIH began to bolster its policies and practices to address and prevent sexual harassment. This included new communication channels to inform the agency of instances of sexual harassment related to NIH-funded research. This week...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
USDA Announces Modernization Blueprint for Forest Service
The Secretary of Agriculture has issued a memorandum to the United States Forest Service that serves as a blueprint for modernizing the agency’s systems and approaches.
“It is the first priority of the Forest Service to serve the American people and work in ways that exemplify the values of Shared Stewardship. We need modern systems and approaches and less complicated regulations to serve our customers and improve our delivery of the goods and services that the American people want and need from the Nation’s Forest System,” said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
According to the Secretary, ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
NOAA Leadership Violated Scientific Integrity Policy, Report Says
According to a review conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration that was released on June 15, 2020, leaders of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) violated the agency’s scientific integrity policy by issuing a statement contradicting the National Weather Service after President Trump claimed that Hurricane Dorian would impact Alabama.
Last September, it was reported that the President pressured White House aides to have NOAA publicly correct forecasters at the Birmingham office of the National Weather Service (NWS), who insisted that Alabama was not actually at risk from Hurri...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
National Survey Shows Significant Improvements in Evolution Education
A recent survey from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) and Penn State University found that public high school biology teachers are more likely to teach evolution as settled science today than they were twelve years ago.
The 2019 survey of 752 public high school biology teachers, conducted by Eric Plutzer, a political scientist and polling expert at Penn State University, was designed to replicate a similar national survey that Plutzer and his colleagues had done in 2007. Results from the survey were recently published by Plutzer and NCSE’s Glenn Branch and Ann Reid in the journal Evolution: Education...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
New Legislation Introduced to Address Foreign Influence in
As highlighted in an April 2019 editorial in BioScience, U.S. lawmakers are increasingly concerned about foreign threats to the U.S. scientific research enterprise, including threats to national security and the theft of intellectual property. Policymakers in Congress and federal agencies continue to explore how to maintain an open and collaborative scientific environment that simultaneously prevents foreign interests from stealing U.S. research. The most recent proposal from Congress comes in the form of bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate.
The Safeguarding American Innovation Act (S. 3997) was introduc...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 22, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Short Takes
On June 3, 2020, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved President Trump's nominee to lead the National Science Foundation. The White House nominated Dr. Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan, a computer scientist and Chief Research and Innovation officer at Arizona State University, to serve as the next NSF Director back in December 2019. Dr. Panchanathan will now need to be confirmed by the full Senate. Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is currently serving as Acting Director for the science agency.
The Ecosystems Mission Area at the U...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Increase Your Career Opportunities: Writing for Impact and Influence Online Course
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is once again offering its popular professional development program to help scientists and students hone their written communication skills to increase the power of their message.
Writing for Impact and Influence combines practical instruction and hands-on exercises to improve participants’ general writing proficiency and their ability to reach large audiences. The program will provide participants with the skills and tools needed to compose scientific press releases, blog posts, emails, and memoranda.
Learn to write for stakeholders, decision-makers, and the gen...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Now Online: Enabling Interdisciplinary and Team Science
Reports abound from professional societies, the Academies, government agencies, and researchers calling attention to the fact that science is increasingly an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international endeavor. In short, science has become a “team sport.”
There is a real and present need to better prepare scientists for success in this new collaborative environment. The American Institute of Biological Sciences is responding to this call with a new program for scientists, educators, and individuals who work with or participate in scientific teams.
Team science is increasingly...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Now Online: AIBS Communications Boot Camp for Scientists
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is offering a professional development program designed to enhance the communication skills of scientists, particularly those interested in communicating with decision-makers and the news media. The program is an excellent way to develop new communication skills and identify effective methods for broadening the impact of research and education programs.
The AIBS Communications Boot Camp for Scientists expands on AIBS’s highly successful media and science policy training workshops. The Boot Camp meets the needs of everyone from graduate students to senior researche...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
AIBS Webinar Series: Building Resilient Scientific Societies and Organizations
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused significant economic and operational disruptions for scientific societies and science-serving organizations. Some of the effects of the pandemic will be relatively short-lived, but other impacts will influence the sustainability and operations of scientific societies for years to come.
While some organizations may withstand economic losses from meeting cancellations, they may not weather the effects of reduced revenue from journal subscriptions or member dues. Other organizations are struggling to retain engagement from volunteer leadership and to ensure that future leaders are prepared ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
NSF BIO Shares Impact of No-Deadline Proposal Submission Policy
In October 2017, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO) had announced a no-deadline system for proposal submissions with the goal to reduce the number of rejected proposals that were later resubmitted without major changes and to encourage collaborations between scientists. On June 2, 2020, BIO shared impacts of that policy change.
Proposal data from fiscal years (FY) 2018 and 2019 were analyzed by BIO with the help of a subcommittee of the BIO Advisory Committee. The analysis provides a review of the impact of the no-deadline policy on the number of proposal submissions, fundi...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Lawmakers Propose $100 Billion Investment in Technology at NSF
Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have introduced legislation that would establish a new Directorate for Technology within the National Science Foundation (NSF) and provide the agency an additional $100 billion over 5 years.
The Endless Frontier Act (S. 3832), sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D NY) and co-sponsored by Senator Todd Young (R-IN), aims to ensure American leadership in innovation. “For over 70 years, the United States has been the unequivocal global leader in scientific and technological innovation, and as a result the people of the United States have benefitted through good-payin...
Source: Public Policy Reports - June 8, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
