Biophysical Society Bulletin | July/August 2023

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Rally for Medical Research Biophysical Society members in the United States are invited to join us in Washington, DC on Thursday, September 14 for the Rally for Medical Research Funding! With the House of Representatives looking to make major cuts in non-defense discretion ary spending, which would significantly impact funding for basic and biomedical research, we need the voice of science to be heard loud and strong. Congress needs to understand the impact these cuts have on scientific research efforts. Registration is now open for the annual Rally for Medical Research fly-in, where you will meet with your elected officials and advocate on behalf of making National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding a national priority. The Biophysical Society, along with more than 300 other national organizations, will stand strong against the cuts to NIH. Please email Leann Fox at lfox@biophys ics.org to learn more and visit https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/take-action to register for the event. Reports from the Capital: Our Fellowship in Washington, DC Greetings from the U.S. Capitol! We’re Elmer Zapata-Mercado and Luyi Cheng , currently serving as this year’s Congressional Fellows for the Biophysical Society as part of the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship program. This program has brought us from the lab to Congress and shown us both valuable and surprising insights into the lawmaking progress. We’re excited to share some updates on our experiences so far.

It’s an honor to represent the Biophysical Society in the U.S. Senate. Being on “the Hill”—how Congress is colloquially re ferred to around town—has been the experience of a lifetime. I work as the Health and Education Fellow in the Office of Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). Over the past eight months, my responsibility has been to support the Senator’s priorities under the purview of my portfolio. These responsibilities in clude, but are not limited to: drafting legislation, meeting with constituents to address their concerns, tracking relevant bills, staffing the Senator, and preparing legislative memos for him. I also have been closely involved in several legislative resolu tions, where I oversaw their development and committee pro cess that ultimately resulted in adoption on the Senate floor. Most notably, I had the opportunity to work on the appropri ations process. In case you have always wondered how the government is funded, appropriations are the answer, in a

period known as “March Madness,” though not the one you are probably thinking of. Using guidance from the Appropria tions Committee and a hard deadline on the calendar, hun dreds of groups flood the halls of Congress to make sure their priorities are heard—including our very own Society. During this period, I have been tasked with tracking all the appropria tions funding request letters under our portfolio and matching them with our constituents’ requests and priorities. In short, this experience has been life changing. I have to thank my office and my team for making me feel part of the staff from day one, and BPS for believing in my potential.

Elmer Zapata-Mercado BPS Congressional Fellow 2022–2023

July/August 2023

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