FABBS reports on items of interest to many communities – scientists, policymakers, and the public. In our news, you will see updates on science funding and policy, articles that translate research for policy, and descriptions of the research contributions of scientists at all stages of their research careers.
NIH Announces UNITE Initiative to End Structural Racism
On March 1st, the Director of NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, announced a new NIH initiative called UNITE:
U — Understanding stakeholder experiences through listening and learning
N — New research on health disparities, minority health, and health equity
I — Improving the NIH culture and structure for equity, inclusion, and excellence
T — Transparency, communication, and accountability with our internal and external stakeholders
E — Extramural research ecosystem: changing
read moreScience of Behavioral Change (SOBC) Celebrate a Decade of Advances
The NIH Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program celebrated its tenth anniversary with a Capstone Research Conference. SOBC’s objective is to promote behavioral change science with an emphasis on processes and the incorporation of fundamental research into applied/ interventional research. The capstone conference provided critical examples of behavioral modification experiments that had an impact on health outcomes.
On February 22nd, three panels of scientists
read moreHouse Science Committee Holds Hearing on Building Back the U.S. Research Enterprise: COVID Impacts and Recovery
The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee met on Thursday, February 25th to discuss the impact that COVID-19 is having on research and researcher productivity, including the science pipeline. Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) began the hearing by outlining challenges to researchers caused by the pandemic including: time and financial constraints; losing graduate and future researchers; a reduction in productivity; the challenges of resuming paused research; and elevated stress
read moreNSB Meets to Discuss Vision 2030, Inclusion Initiative, and STEM Retention
The National Science Board (NSB) held its quarterly meeting on February 23rd and 24th. First on the agenda was a report from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Director Dr. Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan. The director spoke about NSF values and how they align with both the NSB’s and the new Administration’s vision, specifically in leadership, partnership, innovation and research. Dr. Panchanathan characterized this as a new and exciting time for the organization. He emphasized
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