Hi, I'm Debra Cooper
I'm a consultant at the California State Senate Office of Research.
And I'm going to speak a little bit
about my transition into science policy
and what science policy actually means.
So as a neuroscientist,
I consider myself a "brain nerd."
And I actually believe I earned that title
in elementary, when I did a report on the brain.
And from that point on,
I was fascinated by anything and everything
related to the brain.
And the brain has been the one common thread
that has been with me through all of my career aspirations
and career shifts.
While I was in graduate school studying neuroscience,
as a brain nerd would do,
I went to a few K-12 outreach events
and talked to students about the brain,
about different aspects of the brain,
about the different parts and what they do.
Sometimes I would talk more specifically about
my field of research, which was drug addiction.
And talk about how drugs affect the brain itself.
I continued these outreach efforts
through my postdoc. And so here I am
with a student from a magnet junior high school
in Houston, Texas. And she's using
an impaired driving simulator
which is an interactive computer program
that mimics the effects of driving under the influence
of different substances and consequences
associated with them.
While I was with my postdoc lab,
we also went to a few community events
and so I was able to do brain outreach
and drug addiction outreach to just about anybody
and everybody.
And so while doing all these outreach efforts
I had two main takeaways.
The first was, that while I enjoyed science
and I've always loved science
I realized that I liked talking about science
and the research that's being done
a little more than I actually liked doing the research itself.
Which was surprising for me
because I consider myself a shy and quiet person
but when I'm talking about something that I'm passionate about
I can go on for days.
The second takeaway was that
while talking to these students and community members
I realized that there's a lot of misinformation about
drug abuse and about mental health in general.
And there's a lot of research that's being done
that dispels these myths and this misinformation,
and that produces new and valuable information.
But is not necessarily always accessible to the lay public.
And the data itself tell a story,
but if the data are not accessed, then it's a story untold.
And so whether that's not knowing where to go
to access the information or how to interpret the information
or even how that information is relevant
to that person and their family and friends.
It represents a gap in communication
that is problematic.
And this information is necessary
for people to be equipped to make informed decisions
about their health and their surroundings.
And so these gaps in communication
are issues that need to be addressed.
So from realizing that I loved talking about science
to various audiences, and that I want to be involved
in the functional application of scientific research,
I decided to make a career shift outside of academia.
I considered a few different options
but narrowed my focus down to either science communication
or science policy.
And I was fortunate enough to be involved in
academic programs that exposed their students and trainees
to career options outside of academia.
And so while going to these events,
I made a network of people who had non-academic careers.
And while talking to them,
I decided that I wanted to pursue science policy.
And before actually getting into science policy,
I had a very vague idea of what science policy really means.
And truth be told, now that I'm in it
I realize that that vague understanding
was due to the fact that science policy
can mean different things to different people
just depending on your role in it.
So, for instance, a scientist can work in a policy role
in the legislative branch of government.
So as a legislative staffer,
you could be drafting and analyzing bills
for an elected official.
And so in this regard, you are
finding relevant issue areas that need to be addressed,
researching the information for that,
drafting documentation that can be put in a bill form
that can be used to address those policy gaps,
and carrying that bill through, to make sure that
it is in the best shape to be passed into law
and to benefit the people it was meant to benefit.
So, as a legislative staffer,
you'd be working on both scientific and nonscientific
issues. However, as an added benefit as a scientist,
you'd be able to identify policy gaps that
are related to a scientific field.
And able to research the relevant information for that policy gap.
In addition, a scientist can be a lobbyist.
So a lot of people have preconceived notions
of what it means to be a lobbyist or what they do.
But lobbyists are integral components
to the legislative process.
They work on the legislature on behalf
of a company or an organization.
And they work with the legislative staffers to help
draft bills to benefit the people that they represent.
Oftentimes, the lobbyists focus on a particular issue area
and are therefore, subject matter experts in that area.
And some of these issue areas
or the companies they work for are scientific in nature.
So this presents another avenue that a trained scientist
can work in to influence policy.
In addition, a scientist can be an advocate.
And as an advocate, you'd be conveying relevant
information to the legislature.
As opposed to a lobbyist,
you're not necessarily pushing bill ideas forward.
But rather, just exchanging information
and increasing awareness for a particular issue area.
Additionally, you can talk to the people that you represent
and inform them about relevant policies
or policy changes that can affect their life and their well-being.
The word "advocacy" also means
that there are a variety of ways that a person can be an advocate.
They can be an advocate with a dedicated role
in a company or an organization,
but you can also be an advocate in academia
while you're at the bench or working as a faculty member.
Before I fully transitioned into science policy,
I was part of the Washington Fellows Advocacy Program,
through the professional society, ASPET,
or American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
This was a one year fellowship program
and I was involved in this program while I was still a postdoc.
At one point, I was taken to Washington DC
and was able to speak to congressional staffers
on Capitol Hill, and advocate on behalf
of scientific funding.
Additionally, scientists can work in the executive branch
of government.
And so these are different departments and agencies.
So, in California, for instance,
I work very closely with the Health and Human Services agency.
Which is just one of a number of agencies
in the executive branch.
So generally speaking,
people in departments or agencies
are creating regulations that are addressing bills
that have been passed into law.
So as a scientist in the executive branch,
you would be implementing policy
based on good and current science,
and good policy.
Now these are just a number of different
roles that scientist can do in science policy,
and this is by no means an exhaustive list.
I personally came into science policy
through a science policy fellowship
with a California council on science and technology.
This fellowship places ten PhD level scientists
in the California legislature each year.
And so this is me with the nine other fellows
in my fellowship class.
We're all placed as either personal staff in a legislator's office
and draft bill ideas for the particular elected official,
or placed in a senate committee
which is a committee that focuses on a particular issue area
and we analyze bills in that particular issue area.
I was placed in the California Senate Office of Research.
And this is the California State Capitol building.
A building which I'm happy to say,
I get to work in every day.
So in the Senate Office of Research,
where I work, we can be thought of as the support staff
of the state senators.
We have a number of different roles,
but one of our roles, is to provide
in depth research for the senators and their staffers,
which they can therefore use for drafting
and analyzing bills,
or for putting together informational hearings.
In addition, we also keep on top
of policy changes that are happening
on the federal level and relay that information
to the relevant people at the state level.
In that regard, we can be thought of as
a conduit of information.
And one of the most exciting parts of the job for me,
is that I'm always able to meet new and interesting people
and learn new and interesting facts.
So this is me with senator Richard Pan.
His district covers the area in California where I live and work.
And not only is he an elected official,
a state senator, but he's also a pediatrician.
So he's found his own way of merging
medical science and policy and politics.
I was also able to meet and speak with
Erin Brockovich.
Who is best known for her advocacy role
for a small town in Southern California,
in regards to contamination in their drinking water.
And her advocacy role that town
was later made into a movie
titled "Erin Brockovich."
The discussion that day at the Capitol
centered around water quality issues,
environmental health, and policy recommendations
to improve those.
So this was just another way of branching multiple
disciplines of science with policy.
And as I stated before, there are a number
of different ways that a person can be involved in science policy.
And to determine how you want to be involved
in science policy, the first thing to figure out
is what is your overall goal that you're aiming for?
Whether it's to have daily and direct influence
on policy and legislation,
or interpreting policy so that it is effective
in the most beneficial way to the general public.
Or just exchanging ideas between different audiences.
In any regard, whichever path is chosen,
the common thread is that it's an ongoing conversation
in policy, including science policy.
So in regards to science policy,
it's an ongoing conversation
between the scientist and the policymaker.
Or the scientist and the general public.
Or the scientist and any other audience.
And at the end of the day,
it's the scientist's role to equip their audience
with the information that's necessary
for them to make informed decisions
for themselves or the groups that they represent.
And this important information
comes in the form of data and the research that's being done.
And as I said before,
the data itself tell a story,
but it's my role as a scientist in policy
to become the storyteller.
Thank you.
