APA's Science Policy Insider News May 2004

[Subscribe to SPIN]  Norman Anderson Testifies for APA Norman Anderson, PhD, APA's Chief Executive Officer, presented spending recommendations to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education on behalf of APA on April 20, 2004. Allowed only five minutes for his statement, Dr. Anderson opted to emphasize recommendations for suicide prevention programs at CDC and SAMHSA, basic behavioral research at NIH, and the Graduate Psychology Education program in the Bureau of Health Professions. Subcommittee chairman Ralph Regula, (R-OH) questioned Dr. Anderson in depth about suicide prevention programs, asking what a comprehensive suicide prevention program might look like, and what other resources might be needed to reduce the high rate of suicides among the elderly and among minority youth. Afterwards, Dr. Anderson commented, "It was terrific that APA had this opportunity for a conversation with the Subcommittee Chairman about such an important subject." Read Dr. Anderson's oral testimony Read Dr. Anderson's written testimony Working Group on Basic Behavioral and Social Science Research Meets at NIH The Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has organized a special working group to assess the basic research program in the behavioral and social sciences across the NIH. The Working Group is chaired by sociologist Linda Waite, PhD, of the University of Chicago. It will report to the Advisory Council of the NIH Director in December of 2004. The group met for the first time on Wednesday, April 28, with the first half of the meeting open to the public. Read the full article [back to top] APA Member Uses Senate Appearance to Advocate for Research On May 5th, Christopher Sager, PhD, delivered APA's oral testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Dr. Sager is an APA member and Principal Staff Scientist at the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) in Alexandria, Virginia. In his remarks, he expressed APA's support for psychological research funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as our concern over deep cuts to DoD human-centered research programs proposed in the President's FY05 budget. Citing DoD's own report to Congress several years ago, which stated that "the requirements for maintaining strong DoD support for behavioral, cognitive and social science research capability are compelling," Sager urged the Senate Committee to (at a minimum) restore funding for this research to the FY04 level. Following Sager's presentation, Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) promised that he and his staff would look into the proposed cuts. Ranking Democrat Daniel Inouye (D-HI) posed a question based on the morning's headlines, asking Sager if more attention to human-centered research within DoD could have prevented the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military personnel. Sager was careful to reply that the issue is complex, but that certainly DoD-sponsored research programs in leadership and personnel selection and training could be important sources of information. Read Dr. Sager's oral testimony Read Dr. Sager's written testimony [back to top] A Rallying Cry for Psychological Science Periodically a phenomenon emerges in Washington, DC, and the surrounding mid-Atlantic states in the form of the 17-year cicada. A few days of loud partying is the reward for a lonely grub that’s spent most of its life underground sucking on root sap. Soon we’ll be sweeping up exoskeletons and sleeping with earplugs, marveling (or complaining) about the surprising cycles of science and nature. Hopefully, we’ll also see the demise of a phase of another, perhaps not so natural, cycle--that of lawmakers periodically politicizing science and threatening the integrity of the peer-review process. We could certainly more likely realize that goal if psychologists sign a new Web petition endorsing a set of time-honored scientific principles. Read the full article NIMH Director Announces Plans for Reorganization The National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC) met on Friday, May 14, and Director Tom Insel announced plans for a major reorganization of the institute to encourage more translational research. Currently, the NIMH research portfolio is organized into three major divisions: the Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, the Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS, and the Division of Services and Intervention Research. Read the full article NIMH Council Work Group on Basic Science Presents Recommendations The Work Group formed last fall to review the NIMH basic science portfolio has concluded its work and drafted a report with recommendations to NIMH on how it can set priorities during times of decelerating budget growth. Alan Leshner, PhD, who chaired the Work Group, presented its recommendations on Friday, May 14 at the meeting of National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC). Council members Peter Salovey, PhD, and Megan Gunnar, PhD, served on the Work Group. The official charge of the work group was to review the existing NIMH portfolio in molecular, cellular, behavioral neuroscience, basic behavioral and basic cognitive science, and, considering relevance to mental disorders, recommend priority areas for research funding. Read the full article Any questions? If you have any questions regarding SPIN or specific science policy issues, please feel free to contact any of APA’s Science PPO staff. Geoff Mumford, Ph.D., Director of Science Policy Pat Kobor, Senior Science Policy Analyst Heather O'Beirne Kelly, Ph.D., Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer Karen Studwell, J.D., Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer Sara Robinson, Legislative Assistant

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