By Marah Wahbeh, PhD, and Carter L. Alleman, JD, CAE
ASPET is committed to providing opportunities for members to be involved in science policy and advocacy. ASPET’s 2026 Annual Meeting was no exception.
At the Annual Meeting, the Government Affairs and Science Policy programs had a prominent presence with a variety of talks, advocacy engagement opportunities, and science policy networking. These programs highlight ASPET’s continued commitment to strengthening our members’ understanding of science policy and engagement in advocacy with the goal of supporting scientific research enterprise.
ASPET’s Washington Fellows alumni Amanda Ifft and Matthew Robson, PhD, spoke during the opening session. They shared their experiences with the Fellow’s program and how they engage in policy and advocacy as, respectively, an early career scientist and faculty member. Their experiences advocating on the local and federal level showcased the opportunities of science advocacy, whether it was working with city councils or visiting federal representatives in districts or on Capitol Hill.
To reinforce the idea that anyone can be a science advocate, we held an advocacy challenge throughout the meeting, encouraging members to email their elected officials and urging them to take action in support of the NIH base budget of at least $51.3 billion in FY2027. By the end of the meeting, 90 messages were sent.
The current cohort of the Washington Fellows presented policy posters on the policy briefs they wrote as part of the program. The Fellows presented on topics of their choosing and had the opportunity to engage colleagues in discussions about policy and its intersections with various areas of science.
Shwetal Talele, PhD, and Sushrut Shah, members of the Young Scientist Committee and Science Policy Committee’s Early Career Scientist Subcommittee, organized and moderated a panel discussion on the role of scientists in combating misinformation. The panelists discussed how scientists can work with policy experts and media officials to communicate scientific advancements and prevent misinformation and poor or inaccurate interpretations of discoveries.
Finally, the Washington Fellows Program held a luncheon for alumni and all ASPET members engaged in ASPET’s Science Policy Committee to network and socialize at the annual meeting.
We are lucky to have a dedicated community of scientists who are eager to advocate for science. ASPET will continue to work hard to ensure opportunities for engagement are always available to our members, at the Annual Meeting and throughout the year.
