December 17, 2020

Negotiations on FY2021 Budget and COVID-19 Relief Continue

On the afternoon of Friday, December 11th, the day that the previous continuing resolution (CR) was set to expire, the Senate approved a one-week CR to keep the federal government open through December 18th. Lawmakers claim that the one-week extension is intended to provide the time needed to complete their work on an omnibus for FY 2021 spending bills. Read more »

NSF Releases Two Important Comment Opportunities, NSB and SBE Advisory Committee Meet

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released Requests for Information on Interdisciplinary Frontiers of Understanding the Brain and their 2022-2026 strategic plan. The Advisory Council for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Director at NSF met on December 3 and 4 with a packed agenda. The National Science Board (NSB) met on December 9-10. Read more »

FABBS Submits Comments on NIMH RFI on Improving Mental Health Outcomes Among Diverse Populations and NIH-wide COVID-19 Strategic Plan

In comments to NIMH, FABBS expressed support for this important portfolio and for NIMH to continue examining the effects of discrimination, as well as ways to help mitigate the effects. Comments to the NIH-wide COVID-19 Strategic Plan responded to the individual priorities in the plan, including expanding the fundamental knowledge about risk factors for poor mental health and conditions that facilitate resilience. Read more »

NIH Taking Steps to Build a Better System for BESH Registration and Reporting

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), the unit at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that oversees the ClinicalTrials.gov database, hosted a webinar on December 7th to update the research community. NLM staff have conducted an analysis of the challenges of registration and results reporting of Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) in ClinicalTrials.gov. Read more »

President Trump Appoints Eight Members to NBES

After years of inaction, and one month before his term expires, Donald Trump appointed eight members to the National Board of Education Sciences (NBES). NBES provides guidance to the director of the Institute for Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The appointees appear to have no experience in education research. Read more »

FABBS Annual Meeting Features Leaders from NIH and NSF, Discusses Diversity Initiatives

FABBS held its Annual Council of Representatives Meeting earlier this month on December 7th. Meeting virtually, the FABBS Board was joined by member society and corporate affiliate representatives to hear from leadership of behavior and social sciences offices at NIH and NSF, discuss FABBS advocacy priorities for 2021, and diversity initiatives in our sciences, societies, and schools. Read more »

Upcoming Member Society Meetings

• Cognitive Neuroscience Society (Mar 13-16)
• Society for Research in Child Development (Apr 7-9)

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, Paula Skedsvold, Diana Liao

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 Computation 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.