What inspired you to become President of the FABBS board?
I am deeply honored to have been nominated for and elected to this role. I have been engaged with FABBS since 2010 and served a term on the board from 2018 to 2021. FABBS is an incredibly efficient and effective organization, with an impact that far outpaces its tiny staff and modest budget. When I talk with colleagues in scientific societies and in the federal government, their respect and appreciation for our work is universal. The challenge of bringing the behavioral and brain science to bear on society and policy is as important and as timely as anything I could work on. How could I say “no” to pitching in for such a cause? And as a bonus, the Governing Board, Council, and staff are an absolute pleasure to work with!
As President of the FABBS board, what do you hope to accomplish during your two years in this role?
My broad goal is to build our capacity as a trusted resource for policy advice and as a catalyst for collaboration across the behavioral and brain sciences. We do this by briefing elected officials and staff in government, by convening working groups on important issues, and by advocating for research funding and for effective policies grounded in science. An important component of increasing our impact is to increase our membership and sponsorship, so I will spend some of my time on that.
What, in your opinion, are some of the biggest current challenges facing behavioral and cognitive scientists in 2024?
Many of us are troubled by broad trends in society toward distrust of authority and skepticism about expertise. Once we as researchers do the tough work of figuring out how something works and what that means for real-life applications, how do we get our fellow citizens to take advantage of our hard-won knowledge? Another current challenge is our highly volatile and divisive political environment. As I write this, Congress has just passed another short-term continuing resolution. Funding the federal government—including all of the science agencies—for long stretches on short-term, budget-limited continuing resolutions makes it really tough for funding agency staff and for researchers to plan for the long term.
Biggest opportunities?
That’s the great thing about being in science! Every year there are exciting new developments with transformative implications for society. That doesn’t change. In addition, I am optimistic about trends I see in media and entertainment, as leading indicators of the impact of the behavioral and brain sciences to improve quality of life. I see more frequent and more realistic depictions of behavioral and brain science in TV and movies, and I see regular coverage of not just new findings, but also of the metascience of improving research reliability and generalization.
What are three things that you would like behavioral and brain scientists to know about FABBS?
- You are probably already a member! Check out the list of member societies – if you belong to one of the societies on that list, you are a member!
- FABBS is here for you. If you are trying to connect to government or build bridges across disciplines, the FABBS staff and board can be an invaluable resource.
- FABBS takes donations. Seriously – we don’t spam our members with requests so you might not think of it, but you can give directly to FABBS at the link under “Who We Are” on the website.
