in this issue...
 APA Leads Coalition Efforts to Boost Funding for NICHD
APA Provides FY 2009 Funding Recommendations for NSF, NASA and NIJ
Celebrating Changes at the Institute of Education Sciences
APA Cosponsors Briefing on IoM Report, “Cancer Care for the Whole Patient”
Bachrach Appointed Acting Director of OBSSR
Friends of NIDA Briefing Focuses on Genetics of Addiction
NHTSA Review of Driver Distraction Research Released
NSF Biological Sciences Advisory Committee Learns About Advocacy
NIMH Hosts Annual Research Progress Meeting
Rep. Brian Baird Holds Joint Hearing on Behavioral Science with Armed Services Subcommittee
Workshop on FERPA Regulatory Requirements
APA Submits Written Testimony on Federal Health and Education Funding
APA Leads Coalition Efforts to Boost Funding for NICHD
The Friends of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), chaired by Karen Studwell of APA’s Science GRO, continued their advocacy efforts on behalf of a 6.6 percent increase for the National Institutes of Health and the NICHD this month. In March, the Friends submitted testimony to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee supporting their request. In April, the coalition met with 14 members of the House and Senate appropriations staff to reiterate the importance of providing adequate funding for biomedical and behavioral research and the critical role that the institute plays in improving our knowledge of children’s health and development, women’s health, population and demographics, and medical rehabilitation. In May, the Coalition will also sponsor a congressional briefing on the cutting edge research the institute funds in intellectual and developmental disabilities, which will include a presentation by APA member and Division 33 President Steven Warren, Director of the University of Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center.
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APA Provides FY 2009 Funding Recommendations for NSF, NASA and NIJ
It’s federal appropriations season here in Washington, and in April, Science GRO staff provided official written testimony to both the House and Senate regarding Fiscal Year 2009 funding recommendations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Science GRO advocates on Capitol Hill for behavioral research at all three of these agencies – both in terms of funding and research infrastructure needs – and our testimony highlighted the stellar psychological science supported by each. All three agencies saw cuts in funding during the Fiscal Year 2008 cycle, and APA continues to educate Members of Congress about resulting losses in scientific progress, innovation, and mission applications as next year’s appropriations process gets underway.
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Celebrating Changes at the Institute of Education Sciences
Delivering what was likely his last address at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in March, Institute of Education Science (IES) Director and psychologist Grover “Russ” Whitehurst shared some of the highlights of his seven-year tenure at the institute. In the list were accomplishments that sought to increase the scientific culture and rigor at the institute, including: increasing the numbers of highly-trained scientific staff; adopting a new peer review process and peer review panels; establishing a predictable schedule of research competitions; publishing its priorities with input from the National Board on Education Sciences; redesigning the ERIC Clearinghouse; developing state-wide longitudinal data systems to track individual student achievement; and creating the What Works Clearinghouse to help practitioners evaluate educational programs. Speaking as an individual rather than the IES Director, Whitehurst also shared some of the continuing challenges for education researchers, such as the continuing disconnect between research and policy and the need for improved designs and methods for research that seeks to inform policy.
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APA Cosponsors Briefing on IoM Report, “Cancer Care for the Whole Patient”
Congressional staff and members of the health advocacy community gathered on March 31, 2008, for a briefing on “Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs.” APA and thirteen other behavioral science or health organizations cosponsored the Capitol Hill briefing on the recent Institute of Medicine (IoM) report.
Ten and a half million people in the USA are living with a current or past diagnosis of cancer, and 41 percent of all Americans can expect to be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, according to the IoM report. The report makes the case that it is not possible to deliver good-quality cancer care without addressing patients’ psychosocial health needs. All patients with cancer and their families should expect and receive cancer care that ensures the provision of appropriate psychosocial health services. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked the IoM to study the delivery of psychosocial services to cancer patients and their families and identify ways to improve it. This report recommends ten actions that oncology providers, health policy makers, educators, health insurers, health plans, quality oversight organizations, researchers and research sponsors, and consumer advocates should undertake to ensure that this standard is met.
Click here to view the entire story.
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Bachrach Appointed Acting Director of OBSSR
Christine A. Bachrach, PhD, has been appointed Acting Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, NIH, and Acting Director, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). Dr. Bachrach began serving in this position on April 7, 2008, following the departure of former director David Abrams to the Legacy Foundation.
Dr. Bachrach has worked in the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch in the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) Center for Population Research since 1988, first as a statistician/demographer and since June 1992 as chief of the branch. She came to the NIH and NICHD from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. She was a long-time member of the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee and a founder and co-chair of the NICHD Consortium for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. Other activities at NIH have included oversight of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), co-chairing the 2000 NIH Conference, “Toward Higher Levels of Analysis: Progress and Promise in Research on Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health,” and co-chairing the Social Environment Working Group of the National Children’s Study.
Click here to view the entire story.
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Friends of NIDA Briefing Focuses on Genetics of Addiction
On April 8, Science GRO staff, in conjunction with the Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus in the House of Representatives, organized the tenth Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) congressional briefing, titled “The Genetics of Drug Abuse and Addiction.” Research has shown that the causes of drug abuse and addiction are complex, with genetic, environmental, and developmental factors all contributing. Genetics accounts for approximately half of an individual’s vulnerability to addiction, including how genes interact with the environment and stage of development. Thanks to recent scientific advances, we are now poised to further untangle these factors and to use that knowledge to better tailor prevention and treatment strategies. In fact, NIDA is supporting research to define and measure aspects of the social environment to understand how genes may mitigate or amplify social influences, known to powerfully affect individual choices and behaviors related to substance abuse.
Click here to view the entire story and photos from the briefing.
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NHTSA Review of Driver Distraction Research Released
On April 17, a long-awaited review of driver distraction research was released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The report follows a multi-year effort by APA and allied organizations to drive a synthesis of research. APA has been working with Congressman James Moran (D-VA) and his staff to energize the NHTSA effort and generate a letter requesting the report. The report’s release is timely given that there was recently a briefing on driver safety sponsored by APA and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and organized by the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences.
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NSF Biological Sciences Advisory Committee Learns About Advocacy
On April 17, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Biological Sciences Directorate held its Advisory Committee meeting. Following Dr. Collin’s presentation entitled “Life in Transition,” (very large file may take a while to download) much of the remainder of the day was devoted to discussions of biology in the federal science enterprise with presentations from three outside groups who were asked to address the following questions:
1. How does your organization describe and represent the biological sciences/biology with respect to science policy and budget?
2. What are your metrics for determining the effectiveness of “science on the hill” and other similar activities for Congress with respect to science policy and budget?
3. Will your organization provide science policy advice for the transition to a new administration? To the next Congress? If so, will your efforts be targeted to a particular group or groups within the new administration or Congress, and will they emphasize any specific area or areas of science?
Click here to view the entire story.
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NIMH Hosts Annual Research Progress Meeting
On April 18, NIMH held its annual Professional Coalition for Research Progress meeting at The Dana Foundation in Washington, DC. Dr. Steve Breckler, Executive Director for Science, attended the meeting on behalf of APA. NIMH Director, Dr. Tom Insel, gave an update of NIMH news and research following welcoming comments by Dana Foundation Chairman, William Safire. Genome wide association studies continue to be among the Institute’s top research priorities, as do studies of genes x environment interactions in mental disorders. As of February, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD, autism, and depression topped the list of mental disorders that have been linked with specific genes. Insel noted that it is challenging to keep up with the continual influx of new data. Dr. Robert Ursano of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) spoke about PTSD and traumatic stress in public health and disasters, war, and trauma. Drs. Sue Swedo and Robert Heinssen, both NIMH intramural investigators, presented clinical research updates on autism and schizophrenia, respectively.
For more NIMH news, please click here.
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Rep. Brian Baird Holds Joint Hearing on Behavioral Science with Armed Services Subcommittee
On April 24, Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA; member of APA) joined with his colleague Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) to hold a joint hearing of the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Science Education and House Armed Services Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. The two Subcommittees have oversight over research at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Defense (DoD), respectively. Subcommittee Chairmen Baird and Smith invited a panel that included NSF and DoD administrators, a university researcher, and an active duty Army Colonel to brief Members of Congress on how NSF and DoD research programs can provide information that will enhance national security. The panelists’ testimony and responses to questions from Subcommittee members reinforced the importance of funding “unfettered” basic science at NSF, supporting mission-related research at DoD, and continuing to increase collaboration between the two agencies to leverage the strengths of each. See the House Science and Technology Committee website for more information and to view panelists’ testimony.
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Workshop on FERPA Regulatory Requirements
On April 24-25, the National Academies of Science’s National Committee on Statistics and the American Educational Research Association sponsored a workshop entitled “Protecting Student Records and Facilitating Education Research.” Scientists from across the country and the federal government, including the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, met to discuss how best to facilitate education research that may require access to data and education records while balancing the privacy requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). A report from the workshop is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2008. Meanwhile, the Department of Education is currently soliciting comments on proposed changes to FERPA that would clarify permissible disclosures of information in health and safety emergencies as well as permissible redisclosures by State and Federal officials and disclosures by school districts to education researchers.
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APA Submits Written Testimony on Federal Health and Education Funding
APA submitted testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education on April 28, 2008. Unlike in years past, the Subcommittee did not schedule hearings for public witnesses, but instead invited organizations and individuals to submit statements for the record.
The APA statement called for a 6.5 percent funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also requested $6 million in funding for the Minority Fellowship Program in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; $7 million in funding for the Graduate Psychology Education program; and encouraged enhanced data collection on minority training programs at NIH and for surveillance of eating disorders in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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About SPIN
APA's Science Government Relations Office (GRO) wants you to know about the important policy issues that involve psychological science at the national level. The Science GRO staff advocate for psychological science not only with members of Congress, but also with the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Education, Justice, and with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Science Foundation. To keep you up-to-date regarding science policy within these agencies and on Capitol Hill, Science GRO staff write various articles and publish them monthly in an electronic newsletter called Science Policy Insider News (SPIN).
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Questions?
If you have any questions regarding SPIN or specific science policy issues, please feel free to contact any of APA's Science GRO staff.
Geoff Mumford, PhD
Assistant Executive Director for Science Policy
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Pat Kobor
Senior Science Policy Analyst
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Heather O'Beirne Kelly, PhD
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
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Karen Studwell, JD
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
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Elizabeth Hoffman, PhD
Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
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Anne Bettesworth
Science Policy Associate
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Kirk Waldroff
Science Website Manager
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Tammy Barnes
Administrative Coordinator
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