Year in Review: ASPET’s Government Affairs and Science Policy. 2025 has been a transformative year for the science community. It changed and reshaped much of how we engage with policy and advocacy in ways that will live through the annals of time.
On October 14, 2025, ASPET joined 21 other organizations to participate in the People for Effective and Ethical Research (PEER)’s inaugural Hill Day to educate and speak to Congress about the importance of the ethical use of animals in biomedical research.
Engagement in the Rulemaking Process—ASPET Responds. Rulemaking is the policy-making process for the executive and independent agencies of the federal government. Congress grants rulemaking authority to federal agencies to implement statutory programs through the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The APA describes a set of procedures that agencies are required to follow when creating regulations through the rulemaking process. Within the rulemaking process, federal agencies are required to provide an opportunity for public comment when creating a new rule. Given this, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) often releases notices to update the science community about funding changes, policy changes, and other important information, and requests public comments on such changes through an official Request for Information (RFI).
Why Your Voice Matters: The Power of Advocacy Through In-District Meetings. You do not have to work on Capitol Hill to shape public policy. Some of the most influential conversations happen far from Washington, in local offices, community spaces, research institutions, and spaces where Members of Congress meet with constituents like you.
Separating the Policy from the Noise: Evolving Guidelines on Animal Models and Open Access. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) continues to align its policies with the current Administration’s view on scientific priorities. Two recent NIH policies have been released that have caused an upheaval in an already tumultuous time for science.
ASPET’s Government Affairs and Science Policy Department is making meaningful progress in strengthening the voice of the pharmacologist community in federal policy conversations.
Advocacy highlights from the ASPET 2025 Annual Meeting.
ASPET Visits Capitol Hill to Support Science Funding During Unprecedented Time
ASPET’s Washington Fellows Program has been educating over 130 early-career pharmacologists since its inception in 2013. The Society’s science policy advocacy program offers early-career pharmacologists the opportunity to immerse themselves in a unique policy learning experience. Regardless of one’s career background, pharmacology fellows learn the basics of science advocacy, participate in Hill Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and write a policy brief focusing on a topic of interest.
The Latest Policy News Affecting Scientists: In response to the recent actions taken by the federal government affecting scientists and their research, ASPET leadership released the following statements to its members on January 29th and February 11th, respectively.
