Biophysical Society Bulletin | December 2023

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BPS Congressional Fellow Joins Office of Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)

Joseph Long , the BPS Congressional Fellow for 2023–2024, accepted a placement in the office of Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) in October to work on the Senator’s economic policy team. Long has a degree in biomedical engineering from Cornell University. When asked what his goals for the fellowship year were, Long said, "During my fellowship, I hope to learn more about how de cision-makers interface with experts to write impactful policy for the scientific workforce and technological innovation. My goal is to support economic policy in areas such as biotechnology development, small business growth, and scientific workforce training. I was drawn to this path by my desire to promote equity and ethics in biotechnology development, and an increas ing awareness of the need for evidence-based policy to build public trust in our institutions in addressing national and global challenges." Joseph will join outgoing BPS Fellow Elmer Zapata-Mercado , who works on Coons’s appropriations team, for a few weeks before he transitions to his Executive Office Fellowship at the Department of State. Luyi Cheng , also an outgoing BPS Congressio nal Fellow, has also accepted a position at the Department of State through the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Executive Office Fellowship Program. You can learn more about the BPS Congressional Fellowship Program at https:/ www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship.

Around the World Not Convincing Enough: Bridging the Gap in Science Communication For someone who first started seeing the world outside of Malaysia at 19 years of age and comfortably reading En glish-language story books as a hobby at 24 years of age, I find that there are a lot of things we can learn from others and from the past. Emotional responses override cognitive processes. But at the same time, as someone who has been trained in science-stream education since 15 years of age, I had tunnel vison. I thought that scientific evidence was the only way to go. It was not until I joined the American Academy

Senate HELP Committee Advances Bertagnolli to Lead NIH In May, President Joe Biden nominated Monica Bertagnolli , head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute, to become the new Director of NIH, replac ing Acting Director Frances Collins . After months of delays by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the committee held a hearing on Bertag nolli’s nomination on October 18 and held a vote affirming her confirmation by a bipartisan majority of 15-6 a few days later. On November 7, the full Senate voted to affirm her nomination with a bipartisan vote of 62-36. Bertagnolli now will be the second woman to lead the nation’s largest health research agency.

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