Through its public affairs activities, the Biophysical Society facilitates communication between the Society membership, the public, and federal policymakers on relevant public policy issues. The BPS works with decision-makers on Capitol Hill and in federal agencies as they formulate legislation and regulations of interest to biophysicists. The BPS Public Affairs Committee oversees all public affairs activities.
The BPS advocates for funding support for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, and other federal agencies that support science research. The BPS also monitors and responds to public policy issues related to research, biomedical careers, and science education.
Federal Funding- Fiscal Year 2010 Budget
Economic Stimulus Package, 2009
NIH Policies
Evolution
Other Issues
Position Statements
This is an exciting time to work in science. There are some revolutionary possibilities, but often elected officials are uninformed—or misinformed—about the potential advancements. The BPS wants to make it easy for Society members to be involved in the process and to educate policymakers on science issues. To do so, the Society provides members with the latest information on legislative and regulatory issues happenings in Washington, D.C through newsletter articles and legislative updates sent via email. The Society also provides the tools members need to help educate Members of Congress, the media, and the general public.
The Coalition for Bridging the Sciences is an organization representing over 260,000 scientists seeking to advance research at the interface of the biomedical sciences and the physical, mathematical and computational sciences. The coalition believes that by emphasizing research on the components of physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and computer science that interface with biology and medicine, we can “bridge the sciences” and fill in gaps in current scientific research and develop new tools to fuel the next generation of research in the life sciences.
There are several organizations that provide information on science policy issues and science news. The Biophysical Society has provided links to these organizations websites.