January 2003 - Division of Medical Sciences Bulletin - Harvard ...

The Harvard University BBS website: January Bulletin
Although an increasing number of science policy issues are being
dealt with in Congress, few politicians have any real training in the
scientific arena. Thus, their offices often consult several advisory
institutes before making any decision related to scientific issues.
Christine Alfsen-Norodom, Director of the Columbia-Unesco
Biosphere and Society Center, explained to me how her office
advises national and international agencies on delicate issues
related to policy on environment and biodiversity. One of her
projects studies the behavior of particular "biodiversity reserves"
located in such places around the globe as Cambodia and the New
York metropolitan area. This study will provide clues to elaborate
policies that facilitate how communities can live without destroying
the natural resources they need for survival.
For Dr. Liliana Botcheva-Andonova, a research fellow at Earth
Institute at Columbia University (another policy advisory institute),
the most exciting aspect of science policy is the freedom to interact
with people from other disciplines. Dr. Botcheva-Andonova
graduated with a Ph.D. from the John F. Kennedy School of
Government and joined the Earth Institute at Columbia to continue
with her research on environmental policy-making. As a government
Ph.D. working on scientific issues, she is always interested in
learning from her colleagues with biology training the technological
details that are necessary to define proper guidelines in
environmental policy. The downside for her, though, comes from
dealing with politics, and Liliana pointed out that in the world of
politics you have to be careful about what you say, how you word it,
and where you publish it in order to effect the changes you seek.
For BBSers who might be interested in learning more about science
policy-making, Dr. David M. Hart, Associate Professor of Public
Policy at Harvard, suggests taking one of the classes the Kennedy
School offers on this area. Indeed, he noted that every year several
Ph.D. students from the biology field take his course on Science
Technology and Public Policy. For a more "hands-on" experience,
Dr. Hart mentioned that many government institutions and
international agencies offer internship programs. In particular, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and the
National Academy of Science sponsor internships in Congress with
salaries similar to those of a regular post-doc. There are also
master programs on Science Technology at the Kennedy School, as
well as at Columbia University.
If you do choose to make a career in science policy, Dr. Hart
concluded by saying that a Ph.D. in biology is an exceptional entrylevel
credential. However, even if you pursue a more traditional
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