Advocacy Network Newsletter

Federal News Roundup

• Although Congress approved NIH’s funding for the current fiscal year, it has yet to do so for NSF. Unless Congress acts before December 21, NSF and several other agencies will shut down when their funding in the current Continuing Resolution expires. Contact your members of Congress today and tell them to finish their work and provide robust funding for NSF in 2019.
• NSF has reversed its decision to limit the number of proposals a PI or co-PI can submit to a given division annually. The limited proposal policy was imposed earlier this year.
• NIH announced several decisions based on recommendations from the NIH Council on Assessing the Safety of Relocating At-Risk Chimpanzees.
• The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Reauthorization Act of 2018 was introduced in both the Senate and House. The legislation would extend the federal TBI program through 2024.
• Fetal tissue research funded by NIH was discussed in a listening session hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SfN participated in the event.

Advocate on Capitol Hill as an Early Career Policy Ambassador

Get ready to take your advocacy and policy efforts to the next level! Apply for the 2019 SfN Early Career Policy Ambassadors Program. This year-long program for early career scientists will teach you how to become an effective science advocate and how to encourage others to do the same. The Program includes opportunities to attend Hill Day 2019 in Washington, D.C., and advocate at your home institution. The deadline to apply is Friday, January 11, 2019.

Download the New Advocacy App

SfN has launched its Advocacy App, a great new resource for newly-involved and seasoned neuroscience advocates. The app includes key messaging and background for congressional interactions, a compository of best practices, customizable letters, videos on the importance of neuroscience advocacy, social media resources, and much more. Download the free app today for your Apple or Android device.

Science Advocacy as a Graduate Student: Overcoming Challenges

Kristin Anderson, a current PhD candidate in the neuroscience program at Lehigh University, reveals her story on how she faced her fears of becoming an advocate for neuroscience in graduate school. Anderson’s feature on Neuronline highlights the critical need to speak up in the policy sphere and provides some of the tips and techniques she has incorporated to be able to amplify the importance of scientific research.

Love, Care, Progress: Inside a Nonhuman Primate Research Center

Highlighting the compassionate care provided to the research animals essential for medical progress, Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) released their second installment of their Love, Care, Progress series. This moving story is meant to serve as a conversation starter about the irreplaceable benefits of animal studies and the high standards of care these amazing creatures receive.

Colloquium Reviews Where Monkey Models Are Critical

Registration is open for the colloquium Using Monkey Models to Understand and Develop Treatments for Human Brain Disorders. The history, importance and exploration of future research will be examined in the context of monkey models in advancing treatments for human diseases. A subsequent collection of articles based on the colloquium will appear in a special issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which will provide core information for those wishing to learn about the contribution of monkey research to understanding the human brain and its disorders.

SfN Advocacy Resources

• Contact your legislator about research funding via the Advocacy Action Center.
• Learn how to engage your members of Congress and persuasively advocate for science.
• Engage your lawmakers directly by calling them to schedule an in-person meeting or a lab tour.
• Get involved in global advocacy.
• Talk to the public about the importance of animal research.
• Download the new advocacy app.

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