The Public Affairs (PA) committee has undergone a number of changes in the past year. With Bill Talman's term as chair ending at the end of 2005, I assumed the chair at the beginning of 2006. The committee continues to hold monthly conference calls, which have lately focused on implementation of the strategic plan. Bill Talman continues to serve as the APS representative to the FASEB Science Policy Committee. In addition to Bill Talman's representation, I have also begun participating in the Clinical Research Issues Subcommittee, with activities including preparing a powerpoint presentation to educate others about issues in clinical research, and encouraging the NIH to collect data on K awards.
Public Affairs and Animal Care and Experimentation Committee Chairs visit Capitol Hill
Last August, Bill Talman and Kevin Kregel traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress. As Iowa constituents, they met with Rep. Jim Leach, and staff for Senators Grassley and Harkin to discuss federal funding for research and possible animal research legislation.
Collaboration with the Cardiovascular Section's NIH Liaison Subcommittee
PA committee member David Gutterman recommended that the committee initiate collaboration with the NIH liaison subcommittee of the cardiovascular section. Since then, Bill Talman and APS Science Policy Analyst Rebecca Osthus have been participating in the NIH liaison subcommittee's conference calls, and Virginia Miller (head of the subcommittee) has participated in this Committee's meetings and calls. Collaboration between the two committees allows for coordination of activities and being able to avoid duplication of effort, as both committees deal with issues related to peer review at the NIH.
Comments submitted on behalf of the Society 2005-2006
Comments were submitted to the NIH on the agency's proposed policy to allow multiple principle investigators on grants. PA committee members Clark Blatteis and Bridget Brosnihan worked together with APS public affairs staff to draft and submit comments. Comments were also submitted to the NIH on proposed changes to tuition policies for NRSA fellows. Commenting on NIH policies that are relevant to APS members is in keeping with the objectives of the strategic plan and will continue to be an area of focus for the committee.
In addition to the comments on specific policies at NIH, APS also submitted testimony on the proposed FY 2007 biomedical research budgets for the NIH, NSF, VA and NASA. Testimony was drafted by public affairs staff, and then edited and approved by the PA committee.
Coalition activities 2005-2006
Earlier this year, the APS joined a new coalition of scientific societies to support a research and polling initiative that will investigate the public�s views on the teaching of evolution in public schools. The goal of this coalition is to better understand how societies can be advocates for the teaching of evolution, which serves as a foundation for understanding biological principles. The coalition includes a diverse group of organizations such as FASEB (and several of its constituent societies), the American Chemical Society, the National Academies of Science, and the American Physical Society. Preliminary polling results should be available by this July.
Experimental Biology 2007 - Opportunities in Washington, D.C.
In addition to the Capitol Hill Day activities outlined above, the PA committee is planning a symposium entitled, �Human Subject Research Ethics: Issues for going from bench to bedside.� The symposium will be chaired by Virginia Miller and I, and we are collaborating with the APS Liaison with Industry Committee to identify appropriate speakers. Planning is also underway for a joint public affairs symposium involving all the societies participating in EB 2007. The symposium will feature NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni and former Congressman John Porter. The discussion will focus on the FY 2008 NIH budget and how scientists can become advocates for research.