Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2022

Public Affairs

Applications Are Open for the Biophysical Society 2022–2023 Congressional Fellowship Interested in using your science skills to inform science policy? Does spending a year working on Capitol Hill in Wash ington, DC, helping to develop policy sound exciting? The Biophysical Society’s Congressional Fellowship program is your opportunity to participate directly in the process of lawmaking that impacts how research is funded and reg ulated. This year-long opportunity provides fellows a chance to utilize their science knowledge to inform the public policy process. Fellows will gain firsthand knowledge and experience on how Congress works and will participate in the esteemed AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Program (https:/www.aaas.org/programs/science-technol ogy-policy-fellowships) that provides ongoing training and networking opportunities during the fellowship year and beyond. Visit the website for more details about the program or contact Leann Fox at fellows@biophysics.org or (240) 290-5606. The application deadline is December 13, 2022.

OSTP Nominee Addresses Recent Controversies Arati Prabhakar , U.S. President Joe Biden ’s nominee to head up the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), received a mostly positive reception from the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee at its hearing on her nomination. In her opening statement, she addressed the workplace climate issues that led to the resig nation of the office’s previous director, geneticist Eric Lander . Prabhakar voiced support for the efforts of staff and interim leadership to improve the working atmosphere within the office and committed to making workplace climate a priority. Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) applauded her experience in the public and private sector and said he expects she will be confirmed. However, he also asked for assurances that she would “avoid conflicts of interest and undue outside influence over the nation’s scientific agenda or the appearance thereof,” referring to reporting by Politico about former Google CEO Eric Schmidt ’s close ties with the Biden administration and support his philanthropic initia tive, Schmidt Futures, has given to OSTP. Wicker added that Prabhakar has “business ties” with Schmidt, likely alluding to funding Schmidt Futures has provided to the non-profit re search organization Prabhakar founded after stepping down as head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2017. In reply, Prabhakar committed to prevent even ap pearances of conflicts of interest, though she also pointed out that OSTP’s founding statute enables it to draw on outside

resources. While Prabhakar’s confirmation appears likely, she faced hostile questions from Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on issues such as gender-affirming medical care and the transition to clean energy sources, which sug gests her nomination will not secure the support needed to circumvent the Senate’s full-floor-vote process. Around theWorld WHO Continues Pandemic Preparedness Agreement Work in Geneva A draft of the World Health Organization’s pandemic preparedness agreement has circulated and includes provisions for better coordination of international responses while also considering the impact of climate change on public health. Although there are still many critical details that need to be ironed out, the document served as a framework for officials meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in mid-July to continue discussions. Some of the missing details include just how the goals will be accomplished and what the enforce ment mechanisms will be. This historic public health initiative was launched in December 2021 as a result of a consensus vote by the World Health Assembly to kickstart a global process to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

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