December 18, 2019
FABBS held its Annual Council of Representatives meeting on December 9th, 2019. This meeting is an opportunity for representatives from our member societies and our Board members to be updated on FABBS Advocacy efforts, discuss a range of topic affecting FABBS fields of sciences, and hear from and engage with colleagues from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Carrie Wolinetz, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science Policy, NIH, Acting Chief of Staff, presented information about NIH initiatives and provided an update on the status of Basic Experimental Studies involving Humans (BESH) with regards to their clinical trials policy. Lisa Nichols, Assistant Director for Academic Engagement, OSTP, spoke about current OSTP activities, such as the report from Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE), and the extension of the deadline for the Request for Information on the American Research Environment.
Two representatives from NSF, Alan Tessier, Deputy Assistant Director, Biological Sciences (BIO) Directorate, and Karen Marrongelle, Assistant Director, Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate, shared information about relevant NSF Big Ideas, as well as specific areas of interest for behavioral and brain scientists – neuroscience and cognitive systems work in BIO, and STEM education and the use of brain activity data to study learning in the classroom in EHR.
The meeting also featured a panel on science communication, chaired by Rose Hendricks, the Kavli Civic Science Fellow and featured representatives from member societies societies — Katherine Milkman, Society for Judgement and Decision Making; Louis Shomette, Psychonomics Society; Tresa Roebuck Spencer, National Academy of Neuropsychology. Panelists spoke about the potential and challenges in communicating science to a broader audience, especially through social media.
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