Science and Health Policy

Hey All!

[caption id="attachment_1693" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Asm. Zwicker speaking to the assembly session about NJ STEM Week.[/caption]

Lots of things have changed since the last time I posted. I am currently in Washington DC at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) for the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy fellowship. I will have a follow-up post on this, but for now, this post will focus on my journey into science policy by going over a few tidbits on my past year doing science policy informational interviews.

By Fatu Badiane Markey and Urmimala Basu

 By: Eileen Oni

Today we’re talking politics.  I know what you’re thinking: a touchy subject at best, and a flaming meteorite about to destroy the Earth at worst.  But on Tuesday, November 8^th, those eligible will be called to perform their civic responsibility in the United States and cast their vote to elect the future leaders of this country.  I believe that you and I, as highly educated individuals of science, have a duty to vote for those who will lead our country with the pursuit of knowledge as well as educate those around us so that they may make the wisest d

Towards the end of April, earlier this year, I had the opportunity to take part in a science advocacy day on Capitol Hill organized by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). I stumbled across this opportunity as part of an iJOBS event email and decided to apply simply on a whim. If the outcome was in my favor, it would be a great experience to add to my tool belt in my exploration of the policy career field. Fortunately for me, I was accepted!

For the past few years, I have been exploring my interests in science policy. I first participated in iJOBS Phase I programs and specifically engaged in policy-driven workshops hosted by iJOBS and the Eagleton Institute. During these workshops, I was introduced not only to current issues that drive health policy, but also to the transition of a policy from its initiation to its implementation at the federal level. The experience that I gained from the Phase I programs influenced my decision to pursue a career within science policy.

  My name is Eileen Oni, and I’m a sixth year PhD candidate in the Cell and Developmental Biology program at Rutgers University. I am a Central Jersey native (Yes, it does exist!), residing in South Brunswick Township. I began my academic journey under the simple notion of better understanding the development of living organisms, which drove me to pursue a higher degree in the sciences; more specifically within cell biology research.