March 11, 2021

American Rescue Plan Heads to the President’s Desk

On Wednesday, the House passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, including significant funding for NSF and IES. The bill now heads to the White House for President Biden’s signature. Congress is still waiting for a White House budget request, and earmarks are officially back. Read more»

House Science Committee Holds Hearing on Building Back the U.S. Research Enterprise: COVID Impacts and Recovery

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee met on Thursday, February 25th to discuss the impact that COVID-19 is having on research and researcher productivity, including the science pipeline. Members of the Committee heard from four expert witnesses on how the pandemic has affected scientific research.  Read more»

New Legislation Would Create National Gun Violence Research Program

Last week, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Chair of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, reintroduced the National Gun Violence Research Act, which would create a comprehensive approach to gun violence research. Read more»

Bipartisan Group Proposes Funding for Research on Mental Health Effects of COVID-19

FABBS is monitoring new legislation recently introduced by a bipartisan and bicameral group of Members of Congress: the COVID-19 Mental Health Research Act. It would provide substantial funding to NIMH to investigate the mental health effects of the pandemic. Read more»

NIH Announces UNITE Initiative to End Structural Racism

On March 1st, the Director of NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, announced a new NIH initiative called UNITE, to end structural racism in biomedical science. Dr. Collins explained that NIH has been striving to enhance diversity in biomedical research. Read more»

Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Celebrates a Decade of Advances

NIH’s Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program celebrated its tenth anniversary with a Capstone Research Conference. SOBC’s objective is to promote behavioral change science with an emphasis on processes and the incorporation of fundamental research into applied/ interventional research. The capstone conference provided critical examples of behavioral modification experiments that had an impact on health outcomes. Read more»

NSB Meets to Discuss Vision 2030, Inclusion Initiative, Merit Review, and STEM Retention

The National Science Board (NSB) held its quarterly meeting on February 23rd and 24th. First on the agenda was a report from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Director Dr. Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan. The director spoke about NSF values and how they align with both the NSB’s vision and the new Administration’s priorities, specifically in leadership, partnership, innovation, and research. Read more»

Bridging the Socio-Economic Divide in the Era of Covid

According to research fromPolicy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (PIBBS),higher education is essential and “one of the most robust routes out of poverty”. Yet in the world of COVID-19, higher education has slipped further out of grasp for students at the lowest ends of the socioeconomic divide. Read More»

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• Building COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence- NASEM
• Voices from the Field: The Impact of COVID-19 on Early Career Scholars and Doctoral Students- AERA and Spencer Foundation
• NSF 101: 5 tips on how to work with an NSF program officer- NSF
• Using Evidence For More Effective Policies- Science Works
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• Survey: What social scientists do you consider to be the most antiracist?- Twitter

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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: Andrew Deshler, Eli Flores, Christian Angelucci

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 Congress of Infant Studies • 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.