FEATURE STORY

Q & A with William T. Riley, PhD

William T. Riley (Bill)is the Director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During his 13 years at the NIH, he also served at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Riley’s research interests include behavioral assessment, technology-based interventions for health risk factors, and the application of engineering and computer science methodologies to the behavioral sciences.

Read more about OBSSR and how you can contribute  »

CAPITOL HILL HIGHLIGHTS

Research Is Off to a Good Start in House Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill

As expected, the House Appropriations Committee is moving quickly to mark up appropriations bills. Committee leadership, Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX), have said they are determined to work together to avoid another government shutdown this fall. Lowey and Granger helped end the longest government shutdown in history, which they inherited after a spending standoff last year over Trump’s border wall.

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Our Sciences Represented and Honored in Washington DC

In April, several high-profile events on Capitol Hill and at the National Academy of Sciences brought attention to important scientific contributions of FABBS scientists.

On April 30th, two poster exhibitions on Capitol Hill highlighted a range of scientists, including our members. FABBS was pleased to be represented by Nicholas Turk-Browne, PhD, Yale University, at the 25th Annual Coalition for National Science Funding’s (CNSF) Exhibition and Reception, “Building the Future: Federal Investments in Science, Engineering, and Education”. Dr. Turk-Browne presented his NSF-funded research “Using Deep Neural Networks to Understand the Human Mind and Brain”. Among Turk-Browne's professional memberships are the American Psychological Association, the Psychonomic Society, and the Vision Sciences Society.

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EARLY CAREER SPOTLIGHT: Rebecca M. Calisi, PhD, Society of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology

Studying the Bird Brains of Parents

Humans and pigeons have a lot more in common than a love of park benches and French fries—so much that Rebecca M. Calisi, Ph.D. has dedicated her career to studying bird brains.

She’s in a crowded field! While Calisi is focused on pigeons, other scientists nationwide are studying the brains of a host of different birds to better understand why we humans behave the way we do—and why we sometimes behave in ways we’re not supposed to.

Read more  »

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Apply and Nominate

• Chief of Psychology in the Public Interest - APA (Posted April 25)
• 2019 Brain Awareness Video Contest (June 13)
• Kavli Civic Science Fellow

Attend

• "Neuroethics: The Responsbile Use of Advances in Brain Science" Webinar (May 23)
• "Harnessing Big Data with the Help of the Cognitive Sciences" APS Conference (May 24, Washington, DC)
• Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences (June 5-6, Washington, DC)
• 12th NIH Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors (June 6, Bethesda, MD)
• Behavioral Science in Policy & Application (BSPA) 2019 Annual Conference (June 14, New York, NY)
• APA Technology, Mind, and Society Conference (Oct 3-5, Washington, DC)

Comment

• Proposed Priorities for the Institute of Education Sciences, Request for Comment (May 28)
• Seeking Stakeholder Input on the Need for an NIH Administrative Data Enclave, Request for Information (May 30)
• Accomplishments in Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Request for Comment (July 31)

Funding

• Accelerating the Pace of Child Health Research Using Existing Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (R21-Clinical Trial Not Allowed), NIH (Open May 16)

Read

• Reproducibility and Replicability in Science, Recommends Ways to Improve Transparency and Rigor in Research, NAS Report
• Modernizing the Human Subjects Regulations, The Regulatory Review, by Philip Rubin
• How Psychosocial Research Can Help the National Institute of Mental Health Achieve Its Grand Challenge to Reduce the Burden of Mental Illnesses and Psychological Disorders, American Psychologist

Share 

• NIH Resources on the Protection of Human Subjects
• The Decision Lab
• FABBS Diversity Resources Database

UPCOMING FABBS MEMBER SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETINGS

• Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting (May 17-22, St. Pete Beach, Florida)
• Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Annual Meeting (June 19-22, Bloomington, Indiana)
• Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Summer Conference (June 21-23, San Diego, California)

FABBS News Highlights is a semi-monthly electronic newsletter published by the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences with the goals of keeping scientists updated on funding and policy issues affecting the sciences of mind, brain and behavior; recognizing the research contributions of leading scientists; and sharing research findings to inform policies and programs.

Editor: Juliane Baron

Contributors: Juliane Baron, Diana Liao, Jennifer Anderson, Bill Riley

FABBS Member Societies

American Educational Research Association  •  American Psychological Association  •  Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback  •  Association for Behavior Analysis International  •  Behavior Genetics Association  •  Cognitive Science Society  •  International Society for Developmental Psychobiology  •  Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society  •  National Academy of Neuropsychology  •  The Psychonomic Society  •  Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology  •  Society for Computers in Psychology  •  Society for Judgment and Decision Making  •  Society for Mathematical Psychology  •  Society for Psychophysiological Research  •  Society for Research in Child Development  •  Society for Research in Psychopathology  •  Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues • Society for the Scientific Study of Reading  •  Society for Text & Discourse  •  Society of Experimental Social Psychology  •  Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology  •  Vision Sciences Society

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FABBS Mission
FABBS promotes human potential and well-being by advancing the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior; promoting scientific research and training in these fields; educating the public about the contributions of research to the health and well-being of individuals and society; fostering communication among scientists; and recognizing scientists who have made significant contributions to building knowledge.