The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is pleased to support the nomination of Dr. Eric Lander—a geneticist, molecular biologist, and mathematician—as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and presidential science advisor. We also applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented decision to elevate the role of science in the federal government by designating the presidential science advisor as a cabinet-level position.
As he enters office, President Joe Biden faces a wide range of public health, economic, and environmental challenges. Dealing with a deadly pandemic, tackling climate change, addressing the biodiversity crisis, ensuring economic security, reckoning with the nation’s history of racial and gender inequity, and responding to natural disasters—each challenge requires policy decisions informed by sound scientific and technological expertise. As these policies are formulated, we are pleased that Dr. Lander will have the support and counsel of OSTP Deputy Director for Science and Society Dr. Alondra Nelson and President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Co-Chairs Dr. Maria Zuber and Dr. Francis H. Arnold, respected experts in their fields with a demonstrated commitment to informed decision-making.
AIBS encourages the U.S. Senate leadership to rapidly undertake the confirmation process for Dr. Lander. A swift confirmation will allow the OSTP Director to quickly begin the critical work of coordinating interagency science and technology policy efforts to address major domestic and international challenges, including the ongoing public health and economic crisis.
AIBS is a scientific organization whose membership includes more than 110 professional scientific societies and related research organizations. AIBS promotes the use of science to inform decision-making and advance biology for the benefit of science and society.
Contact: Jyotsna Pandey, publicpolicy@aibs.org