Why Doing Local Advocacy Supports Federal Funding

Charlotte Boettiger, who is actively involved in SfN’s North Carolina Triangle Chapter and serves on SfN’s Government and Public Affairs committee, shares why engaging policymakers at the local level is an important and powerful way to make the case for federal funding to support science research. Specifically, she highlights how to educate your local representatives about the importance of funding basic science research and ways to engage policymakers through your SfN chapter.

Overall, why is it valuable to engage your policymakers to support biomedical research?

Policymakers, in large part, are not scientists. So, it's our obligation, particularly if we are publicly funded scientists, to educate them about the funding that they provide, what that funding enables, and why their support is essential.

Speaker

Charlotte Boettiger, PhD

Charlotte Boettiger is an associate professor of behavioral and integrative neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She directs the Cognition & Addiction Biopsychology Lab, which focuses on improving our understanding of the neurobiology of substance use disorders. Boettiger earned her BS in integrative biology from University of California Berkeley and PhD in neuroscience from University of California San Francisco. Boettiger also serves as a member of SfN's Government & Public Affairs Committee, which includes annual participation in SfN's Hill Day.