University of Alabama at Birmingham
The largest coalition of biological and biomedical research associations in the United States, known as FASEB, advocates for the basic biomedical research community.
(Photo by: Steve Wood)’s national role in helping shape basic biomedical research policy continues with the naming of Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph.D., as vice president for Science Policy for FASEB, the largest coalition of biological and biomedical research associations in the United States.
FASEB, located near the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is composed of 29 societies with more than 130,000 members. FASEB promotes research through collaborative advocacy as the voice for the basic biomedical research community. Each year, FASEB assesses the needs of that community and makes budget recommendations to Congress in support of the federal agencies that are tasked with securing America’s health and well-being.
FASEB also offers opinions to Congress on potential legislation, budget allocations and regulations regarding the practice of science, and it shares insights with federal agencies regarding policies that impact biomedical research. As a leader in biomedical research, UAB received $328 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2019, ranking it ninth among public universities.
Bjornsti, the chair of the UAB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, was preceded by UAB immunologist Louis Justement, Ph.D., who served as FASEB vice president for Science Policy in 2018-2019, and then as FASEB president-elect and president in 2019-2021.
“As FASEB’s vice president for Science Policy, Dr. Bjornsti will be a key national voice to Congress and the biomedical research community on matters related to authorization, appropriations, and regulation and oversight of scientific conduct,” said Robert Palazzo, Ph.D., professor of biology in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, and a former FASEB president in 2007 while at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “FASEB is an important organization that works closely with Congress and federal agencies like the NIH, the National Science Foundation and others to promote basic biomedical research.
“Election to this post,” Palazzo said, “is indicative of the trust and confidence that Dr. Bjornsti enjoys among her peers, and a reflection of her character and her abilities.”
At UAB, Bjornsti holds the Newman H. Waters Chair of Clinical Pharmacology, and she is associate director for Translational Research at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. Bjornsti is a member of three FASEB societies. She has served on the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics science policy committee and is currently secretary/treasurer of the society. She is also a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Genetics Society of America.
“I am honored to serve as FASEB vice president for Science Policy,” Bjornsti said. “My passion for science policy has grown from firsthand experiences with FASEB’s advocacy to positively impact federal policy and funding that drives biomedical research.
“While there has never been a more exciting time to do science, current challenges posed by the COVID pandemic, climate change and efforts to curtail the use of animal models underscore the need for sustained federal investment in basic and translational science.”