FASEB Updates Since 2003 ISCB has been a member society of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB; www.faseb.org), primarily for the high level advocacy that FASEB engages in with the U.S. government. This gives a voice to ISCB in issues related to science policy and funding that impacts scientists in the U.S. and around the globe. The following is an overview of the science policy initiatives FASEB has led on behalf of the biomedical research community during the last year. FY 2011 - FY 2012 Budget Update Although President Obama proposed a significant increase in funding for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other science agencies, Congress's attention was focused on cutting billions in federal spending. These cuts would have had global ramifications, as students and postdocs from all over the world conduct their training in the U.S. Without consistently strong U.S. government support for research, these opportunities for cross cultural collaboration and exchange could dry up. FASEB mounted a concerted advocacy campaign to prevent these cuts, sending letters from President William Talman, MD, to key legislative committees, issuing e-action alerts that generated thousands of emails and phone calls to lawmakers, and organizing a Capitol Hill Day attended by ISCB member Dr. Judith Blake. Success was achieved in April when Congress passed the final fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget without any major cuts in funding for the U.S. science agencies. Policymakers have now turned their attention to the FY 2012 budget. Once again, President Obama is seeking increased funding for NIH while Congress is considering significant cuts. FASEB will continue to press lawmakers to sustain funding for biomedical science. Research Information Technology and Infrastructure With information technology playing an increasingly prominent role in research, FASEB has been working to educate policymakers on the opportunities associated with adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and the development of a national health information infrastructure. Under the leadership of ISCB member Dr. John Wooley, FASEB developed several policy statements arguing that EHR data will be important not just to clinicians, but also to scientists working to improve human health. This message has been taken to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Science Training In addition to advocating for science funding, FASEB has been working to shape research training policy. We endorsed many of the recommendations made in the National Research Council's Research Training in the Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Sciences report, testified before an NIH task force charged with developing a model for a sustainable and diverse science workforce, and promoted policies incorporated into the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) strategic plan for training and career development. Specifically, FASEB has urged policy makers to facilitate training for a broad range of scientific careers, promote the creation of training plans by faculty mentors, and encourage trainees to develop individual career and professional development plans. FASEB continues to mobilize efforts to ensure that we maintain the quality of research training in the U.S. Animals in Research and Education FASEB is a strong proponent of the humane use of animals in research. We recently embarked on an international effort to help research institutions address the threat of animal rights extremism, and we are preparing comments on the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals. The principles provide a conceptual and ethical framework for countries using vertebrate animals in research. FASEB has also been leading an effort to defeat legislation pending in the U.S. Congress that would prohibit research on great apes, including chimpanzees. If adopted, the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011 could have a global impact as pharmaceutical companies based outside the U.S. frequently use U.S.-owned chimpanzees to test the safety of new compounds. Service to ISCB Sudent and Minority Members FASEB administers two multi-year NIGMS/NIH Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) grants to help U.S. citizens and permanent resident underrepresented minority students with the costs of attending conferences, including any official meeting of ISCB. The FASEB MARC Program provided ISCB student and post doc members with full travel and registration costs to attend ISMB 2010 in Boston (7 supported), Rocky 2010 in Colorado (2 supported), ISCB Latin America 2010 in Uruguay (1 supported), and GLBIO 2011 in Ohio (1 supported). For ISMB/ECCB 2011 in Vienna FASEB has confirmed travel and registration support for 6 ISCB students and post docs. FASEB MARC also sponsored the Student Council booth space at ISMBs in 2008, 2009, and 2010, including the travel, registration, and fees for participation by an expert who provided CV critiques for trainees seeking career advice. For the past three years, FASEB has sponsored ISCB's booth and travel costs for participation in the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students to broaden outreach to underrepresented minorities and foster interest in careers in computational biology and bioinformatics.  |
