Advocating for Science to Policy Makers

As scientists, our voices are a necessary part of the policy process, yet few of us know how to lend our expertise. We vote, we send form letters written by our professional societies, or we may even call our congressional office. However, our skills and experience as scientists mean we can do more.

Join us for a conversation with Jessica Winter, PhD, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Ohio State University and Adriana Bankston, Principal Legislative Analyst in the University of California (UC) Office of Federal Governmental Relations. They both play a key roles in advocating for scientific funding and communicating science to Policy Makers on the Hill to influence scientific development.

In this Webinar you will learn:

• How do scientists advocate for scientific development to influence Policy Makers
• How to be an effective communicator and leverage your scientific background
• How to strategize such that your passion aligns with your career growth
• What avenues can you pursue to build your credibility in the field of Science Policy

Dr. Jessica Winter
The Ohio State University

Dr. Winter joined the faculty in 2006. She completed her graduate work under the guidance of Dr. Christine Schmidt (BME) and Dr. Brian Korgel (ChE) at the University of Texas at Austin in the area of biological nanoparticles. Her postdoctoral work was performed at the Center for Innovative Visual Rehabilitation, a collaborative effort between Harvard Medical School and MIT to develop a prosthesis to restore lost visual function. Her work, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Rizzo, III (Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical) and Dr. Stuart Cogan (EIC Laboratories, Norwood, MA) examined the application of tissue engineering techniques to neural prosthetic devices. Dr. Winter is the recipient of an NSF IGERT fellowship, NSF graduate research fellowship, Biomedical Engineering Society Graduate Student Award, and the Materials Research Society Gold Graduate Student Award

Adriana Bankston, PhD
The University of California (UC) Office of Federal Governmental Relations

Dr. Bankston serves as an advocate for UC with Congress, the Administration, and federal agencies. Prior to this position, Adriana was a Policy & Advocacy Fellow at The Society for Neuroscience (SfN), where she provided staff support for special and ongoing projects, including SfN’s annual lobby event and the society’s annual meeting. In addition to working at UC, Adriana also serves as Vice-President of Future of Research, and is Chief Outreach Officer at the Journal of Science Policy and Governance. Adriana obtained her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University and a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from Clemson University.