Newsletter
Volume 31| 2008 | Number 2
Science Board Update
By Dr. Timothy Hackenberg
The ABAI Science Board was formed in November 2007, assuming the duties of the former Science Policy and Research Board. The reorganization was designed to lend greater support to science-related activities and initiatives. The mission of the Science Board is to advocate on behalf of behavior science and behavior scientists including, but not limited to: providing support and resources to behavior analysts engaged in the creation and dissemination of scientific knowledge; working with federal and state funding agencies to support behavior science; providing information and resources to students interested in pursuing careers in behavior science; promoting public understanding of behavior science; and working with other scientific organizations in promoting the causes of behavior science.
The first task of the Science Board has been to appoint its members. I am very pleased to announce that Tom Critchfield, Amy Odum, Greg Hanley, and Randy Grace have agreed to serve 3-year terms. Although the Board has only been fully constituted for a few months, we have been working together on a number of initiatives, including a Special Program Track on Translational Science at the 2009 Convention. Jointly sponsored with the newly created Practice Board, the program track will highlight cutting-edge science that spans the laboratory-to-practice continuum. We have organized sessions on delay discounting, behavioral economics, token reinforcement, relational learning, and behavioral momentum, to name just a few. These sessions will be modeled after last year's highly successful State of the Science Lectures, also sponsored by the Science Board. Look for published versions of these talks in the upcoming issue of The Behavior Analyst.
On the regulatory front, the Science Board has created a Task Force to study and make recommendations to the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Animals in Research. The NIH Guide is important in establishing guidelines for IACUCs and other regulatory bodies that impact animal research. Steve Dworkin has agreed to Chair the Task Force; other members include Marc Branch, Karen Anderson, Chris Newland, and Ray Pitts. The Task Force will meet in Atlanta in late October to discuss and make recommendations to the Guide. We have also joined forces with other organizations in this effort, including the Science Directorate at the American Psychological Association, the American Physiological Association, the American Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International, and the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences. This is an important opportunity for us to weigh in on matters of significance to behavioral science, and I am happy that ABAI is supporting this effort.
I will provide updates on Science Board activities in upcoming newsletters. In the meantime, if you have ideas about how to promote science within ABAI and beyond, please feel free to contact me.