Policy Fellowships

Last week when I was in DC, I spent a day in lobbies, hallways and coffee shops making a case for funding science. That was from 8 AM to 5 PM. What did I do with the rest of my time? A little personal networking, of course!

It happens that two of my colleagues from the Forum on Science Ethics and Policy are working right now in DC as policy fellows. They let me crash on their couch Wednesday night to help me stay under budget. Here we are at a local Mexican restaurant.I suppose it's not unexpected that such a FOSEP reunion would occur in DC, given what the P in FOSEP stands for... Anyway, this picture is a good lead into what sort of opportunities exist in Washington DC for young scientists interested in policy. Melanie (on the left) started her second AAAS fellowship last week. Last year she was an AAAS Congressional Fellow and was the science policy adviser to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). This year, she is an AAAS fellow at the National Science Foundation, where among other things, she will be working on some of their broader impact policies. Jennifer (on the right) just started a 10 week fellowship at the National Academy of Sciences. She was selected as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Fellow. For the next 10 weeks, she will be working on issues relating universities to industry start-ups. Both of these fellowships offer a salary or stipend. A third opportunity for medically oriented folks is the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship. And if you just want to get your feet wet, consider applying for travel money from the Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy biomedical science hill day. Post a comment here if you are interested in these fellowships - I can connect you with Jen and Melanie if you like.

Hat tip to Ben on the idea for this post.