Biophysical Society Bulletin | October 2024

Public Affairs

Applications Are Open for the Biophysical Society 2025–2026 Congressional Fellowship Interested in using your science skills to inform science policy? Does spending a year working on Capitol Hill in Washing ton, DC, helping develop policy sound exciting? The Biophysical Society’s Congressional Fellowship program (https:/www. biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship) is your opportunity to participate directly in the process of law-making that impacts how research is funded and regulated. This year-long opportunity provides fellows a chance to use their science knowledge to inform the public policy process. Fellows will gain firsthand knowledge and experience of how Congress works and participate in the esteemed AAAS Science and Technology Fellows program that provides ongoing training and networking opportunities during the fellowship year and beyond. Visit https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advo cacy/congressional-fellowship for more details about the program or contact Leann Fox at fellows@biophysics.org or (240) 290-5606. The application deadline is December 13, 2024 .

NIH’s Bertagnoli Acknowledges Damage Done by China Initiative

after the awardees for the second year in a row were all male. The prize, valued at 1 million Swiss francs ($1.1 million USD), is awarded to three scientists to invest in their research to safeguard the planet against various environmental tipping points. However, complaints from several of the female re search finalists this year point to flaws in the nomination and awards process used by the FPP. The prize stipulates that each award’s prize money support the work of one designated “lead scientist”—the individual “who best represents the team” of a winning article—how ever, the work done is often collaborative in nature. Although the named winner can request that the prize be divided before the contract is awarded, it is at the discretion of the winner to make such a stipulation. Critics say that the prize’s winner-take-all design encourages universities to nominate senior scientists, who are often men, to ensure that the mon ey lands at their institutions. Around the World Venezuela Faces Continued Brain Drain with Maduro Claiming Re-election Victory The declaration of victory by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for a third term brings continued bad news for science researchers in the country. Scientists around the country are concerned that yet another six years of Maduro’s policies will spell further trouble for the country’s scientific enterprise. Science funding has stagnated under Maduro, affecting re search efforts and academic salaries. The ultimate result has been a massive brain drain. The Academy of Physical,

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnoli issued a formal statement in August acknowledging that some researchers feel that the NIH created an “unintended and difficult climate” for Asian and Asian-American scientists, particularly those of Chinese descent. The move comes six years after former President Donald Trump’ s administration launched a Department of Justice China Initiative to prevent China from stealing US intellectual property that ended in 2022. During this same period, the NIH also launched its own effort to uncover whether grantees had failed to disclose ties to “shadow labs” abroad and foreign funding. Bertagnoli’s statement also announced steps to clarify policies to ensure that discrimination and harassment are not a part of NIH policy. The NIH committed to working with stakeholder groups, universities, and academic professional organizations to take actions that repair our relationships with these valued members of the research community. These actions include working with other government agencies on research security training, malign foreign talent program recruitment guidelines, a newly created NIH decision matrix, and common disclosure forms to protect the integrity of NIH-funded research while encouraging scientific collabo rations with other countries. Frontiers Planet Prize Draws Protests from Female Researchers The Frontiers Planet Prize (FPP), sponsored by the Frontiers Research Foundation, the nonprofit parent of a big open-ac cess publisher, is coming under fire from female researchers

October 2024

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