July 10, 2020

House Appropriations Subcommittees Markup FY 2021 Budgets with Full Committee Action Expected Next Week

This week, subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives marked up budgets for federal agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2021, which will begin on October 1. Budget caps previously established for FY 2021 are only slightly higher than FY 2020 spending levels, limiting ability to increase funding across agencies. Read more»

Representatives Introduce COVID Relief Package for Federal Research Agencies

As Congress continues to assess the financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic and anticipate future funding needs, a bipartisan group of Representatives DeGette (D-CO), Upton (R-MI), Johnson (D-TX), Lucas (R-OK), Eshoo (D-CA), and Gonzalez (R-OH) introduced the Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act (RISE Act)(H.R. 7308). Read more»

Congress Highlighting the Value of Behavioral, Social, and Economic Sciences Across Topics

Capitol Hill is working tirelessly to address pressing issues such as COVID-19; racism; and balancing international collaboration and security threats while also advancing reauthorization of the National Science Foundation and other perennial priorities. In both chambers, and on both sides of the aisle, members of Congress and witnesses have pointed to the importance of behavior and social science in addressing these priorities. Read more»

NIH Celebrates 25 Years of OBSSR, Issues an RFI Regarding Animal Research

July 1 marked the 25th anniversary of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research’s (OBSSR) founding. Many new discoveries and innovations have been made in the behavioral and social sciences since 1995, and much of the research from the early days of OBSSR is every bit as relevant today as it was back then.

On June 19, NIH issued a Request for Information (RFI) regarding biomedical research on animals. The RFI is focused on three areas of improvement: Rigor and Transparency, Optimizing the Relevance to Human Biology and Disease, and Research Culture. Read more»

Sense of Belonging Critical for Students

Like all teenagers, Black students need to feel like they belong, especially in school, where “belongingness” can impact mental health and future outcomes, according to a new paper in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

To help these students, teachers and administrators need to recognize and understand how racial oppression has undermined belongingness needs, according to the paper, “Why Black Adolescents Are Vulnerable at School and How Schools Can Provide Opportunities to Belong to Fix It,” by DeLeon L. Gray, Elan C. Hope and Christy M. Byrd. Read more»

Access to Scientific Publications Webinar Series

FABBS and the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) are pleased to present a series of online conversations on Access to Scientific Publications. This series will focus on the topic of Open Access.

There are two remaining sessions on "Stakeholder perspectives on scientific journals" and "Creative models for publishing". Read more»

Upcoming Member Society Meetings

• Society for Mathematical Psychology - Virtual MathPsych/ICCM 2020 (July 20-31)
• Society for Text and Discourse - 30th Annual (Online) Conference (July 21-23)
• Cognitive Science Society - CogSci 2020 Virtual Meeting (July 29 - Aug 1)

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 federal budget 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, Maddy Vieth, Jennifer Anderson

FABBS Member Societies

Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research•American Educational Research Association•American Psychological Association•American Psychosomatic Society•Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback•Association for Behavior Analysis International•Behavior Genetics Association•Cognitive Neuroscience Society•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

Did someone forward you this e-mail? Don't miss the next one by signing up.

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 aboutthe 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.