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Defending Science and Scientific Integrity in the Age of Trump: a Session at the 2017 AAAS Meeting
(Note the title and content of this blog post are a reflection on a session at this years AAAS meeting and not an official position of the Academics for the Future of Science.) The message of keeping science as a top priority for the U.S. was evident from many conversations at the 2017 American Association…
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A Personal Perspective on Science; the AAAS President’s Address at the 2017 AAAS Meeting
As an introduction to this session, Dr. Geraldine Richmond (Presidential Chair in Science and Professor of Chemistry, University of Oregon) first spoke of the AAAS meeting as being an interdisciplinary meeting, and of global nature. To this latter point, Richmond‘s assertion that “science depends on openness, transparency, and the freeflow of ideas and people” is…
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Naomi Oreskes: The Scientist as Sentinel – a Talk at the 2017 AAAS Meeting
At this year’s AAAS meeting Dr. Naomi Oreskes, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, gave one of the meeting’s most inspirational talks; “The Scientist as Sentinel.” This title is in itself an interesting idea. If we think about the definition of sentinel, which is “a soldier or guard whose job is to…
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How Early Career Scientists Can Serve Science Through Policy: a Workshop at the 2017 AAAS Meeting
Early career researchers aspire to engage with society while still pursuing their research careers. They may engage by contributing directly to policy decisions or by becoming community advocates. This type of engagement is critical for making the public understand what science is and what scientists do. At the same time, it gives junior scientists multiple…
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Real world evidence and the 21st Century Cures Act
Late last year, US Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act,* a bipartisan bill that would increase funding for medical research, reevaluate the current mental health systems in the US and enhance the regulatory requirements for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. I am compelled to write a piece on a very interesting amendment to the law:…
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How can young trainees improve the scientific enterprise?
The scientific enterprise is at a crossroads. More and more young trainees are leaving academia every day. This is a very present phenomenon, which leaves me wondering what will happen to the biomedical research enterprise in the future. Will it become more sustainable because there are fewer researchers to support, or will it fall apart…
Academics for the Future of Science 