www.fabbs.org

Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences 

MNS was accepted as the first ever regional society in the Federation of Association in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. As members of the Federation, MNS joins 20 other organizations, including NAN and APA, to ensure national level exposure of our interests in the areas of science policy, national support for research, and education and training. As members of MNS, you are entitled to receive for free the Federation Newsletter.The Federation newsletters include updates on funding opportunities, information about legislation that may affect the behavioral science community, and reports on the Federation’s national advocacy efforts on the behalf of the psychological and brain sciences. Previous news updates can be found in the FABBS archive.

FABBS’s mission is to promote human potential and well-being by advancing the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. As a coalition of scientific societies (MNS is a member of this association), they communicate with policy makers and the public about the importance and contributions of basic and applied research in these sciences. FABBS as an organization began on December 7, 1980, when representatives of eight organizations met in Chicago to joined forces to promote behavioral, psychological, and cognitive sciences. FABBS was incorporated in 1981, and opened an office in Washington, D.C., in 1982. In 2009, the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences changed its name to the Federation of Associations in Brain & Behavioral Sciences (FABBS). The sister organization, the Foundation for the Advancement of Behavioral & Brain Sciences, changed its name to FABBS Foundation in 2009.

FABBS is a coalition of scientific societies that share an interest in advancing the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. Our goal is to promote human potential and well-being through research knowledge gained from these sciences. We communicate the importance and contributions of basic and applied research in these areas to policy makers and the public. We work in close cooperation with scientific societies in the fields of social science, psychology, education, and neuroscience. Academic units and corporations that share these goals support the organization as affiliates. The FABBS Foundation was created in 2004 to conduct educational activities that enhance understanding of the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. FABBS Foundation also recognizes eminent, senior scientists who have made significantcontributions to our sciences.

FABBS represents the interests of its scientific societies by: 1) Educating federal representatives and Congress about the importance of research in the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior; 2) Advocating for legislation and policy that enhance training and research; 3) Providing sources of expertise and knowledge to federal agencies, Congress, and the media; 4) Encouraging the sound use of science in the creation of public policy; 5) Fostering effective interaction between agencies and organizations that fund research and the community of scientists and scientific societies; 6) Facilitating information exchange among constituent societies as well as other scientific organizations.

A Word from MNS Federation Representative: Linda Zoe Podbros, PhD

Report on the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences

Once again, I represented MNS at the annual meeting of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) in Washington D.C. The daylong meeting, held in the APA building in the midst of Capitol Hill, had a full agenda that included a summary of the year’s activities, proposed plans, and talks from invitedguests.  Highlights of the day follow.

Paul Skedsvold, PhD, Executive Director said that President Obama made a commitment to double the federal investment in science. Although his focus has been on the funding of physics, engineering, and biomedical research, FABBS has been working to ensure that behavioral and brain sciences are included on such agendas. As part of its advocacy efforts, FABBS continually works for sustained and future funding opportunities for the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior. FABBS advocates for these sciences in a number of ways: working in coalitions; providing Congressional testimony; and Congressional visits.

The FABBS Foundation supports the educational and communication mission of FABBS.  During this past year, the Foundation completed work on a book, Psychology and the Real World: Essays Illustrating Fundamental Contributions to Society, to be published in early 2010. This book contains essays from many prominent researchers explaining the importance and relevance of the behavioral and brain sciences in the real world. Worth Publishers will publish the book and package it with Intro to Psychology texts. I recommend that this book be considered by those of you who teach.  It will also be available for purchase separately, with all royalties being paid to FABBS.

In September, the FABBS Foundation hosted a Science Café, Relieving Stress: Research Helps Children and Adults Cope. The Café was the first event to be webcast live to a broader audience outside the DC area. Shelley Taylor (UCLA) and Ellen Galinsky (Families and Work Institute) were the speakers for the Café. In the coming year, the FABBS Foundation will develop new ways to educate the public about our sciences, with a focus on “new media” and interactive communication channels. Also, the FABBS Foundation continues to support and investigate the idea of a Psychology X Prize. Some ideas for the X Prize challenge are communication with neurology “locked-in” patients, K-12 education and the middle school gap, and energy and behavioral interventions.

The annual meeting always includes invited guest speakers, which I find to be a highlight of the day.  This year the first guest was Dr. Howard Moss, Associate Director for Clinical and Translational Research, National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Dr. Moss explained that 45% of NIAAA’s grant portfolio is behavioral and social science, as alcohol consumption is a behavior.  The next speaker was Jeremy Berg, National Institute of General Medical Science Director and Co-Chair of OPPNET.  Dr. Berg talked about the new five-year initiative, Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OPPNET). Money will come from all Institutes and Centers except CIT, CSR, and CC, and will be based on their percentage of base appropriations. The goal is to have multiple success stories by 2014 which will confirm and engender further support to continue the program. He emphasized that the OPPNET group has not made any definite plans, but right now they are talking about how best to create a strategic plan for OPPNET, including how to best reach out to the community to identify gaps in the NIH research portfolio that OPPNET can fill.

The third guest speaker was Dr. Ivy Estabrooke, Office of Naval Research. The Office of Naval Research started by supporting basic research. The office supports the Navy and Marine Corps. 40% of funding is dedicated to discovery and innovation.  ONR funding is split between university research and industry research. Grant applications are peer reviewed, with an eye toward what is needed in the field. Project managers are encouraged to take on riskier projects, with the only guidance being: “Does the research fall within the strategy of ONR.”  Right now, ongoing research highlights include rapid training research; how to teach accurate, rapid decision-making; human capital planning and effective selection procedures in the context of the Navy and Marines; inoculation of brain/mind injuries; understanding how people respond to reports and how to make reports more user friendly; quick and effective data exploitation; understanding socio-cultural environments; and neuro-markers of trust, to name a few. The last two guest speakers were Drs. Allison Smith and Darren Wilson, Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Smith talked about how this division uses social and physical science to improve identification and analysis of threats and how it serves the broad Department of Defense community. Some examples of current social and

behavioral research are identifying group characteristics and establishing consistent definitions, as well as developing a better understanding of certain communities in order to develop countermeasures. Dr. Wilson introduced his new division whose mission is to maximize human performance and safety in the field. Current research includes optimizing technology for more accurate threat detection and training TSA screeners. Lastly, a conversation was had with the new National Science Foundation SBE Director, Dr. Myron Gutmann. The staff of SBE is here to help the community and is always interested in hearing about the cutting edge work in our fields. Priorities for the future include interdisciplinary research, technological improvements, data and data sharing, increased infrastructure (referring to databases or shared resources), innovation, and capacity building for the next generation of SBE scientists. Dr. Gutmann highlighted the importance of communicating the contributions of basic behavioral and brain sciences to the public and policy makers.

As I have noted before, it is impressive to see how FABBS and its Foundation go about meeting the various needs of behavioral scientists and behavioral research.  Problems are identified, often by constituent societies, and are addressed effectively, often by influencing people who make decisions.

I will continue to inform the MNS membership of Federation news regarding advocacy efforts, as well as education and communication activities and funding opportunities for the brain-behavior sciences.

[Linda Zoe Podbros, Ph.D., has served in the role of MNS Federation Representative since MNS joined FABBS in 2007].

 

Focus on Funding from FABBS (3/2012):

National Institutes of Health

National Science Foundation

Institute of Education Sciences