Rita Allen Foundation

Our Civic Science Fellows program partners?The Kavli Foundation?announced new grants for?projects considering the social and ethical implications of science, bringing together bench scientists with experts in social science, ethics, and community engagement. ? New?projects include Stories of Ethics, Engagement, and Dialogue in Science (SEEDS), an initiative of ComSciCon, a science communication workshop for graduate students, where?Rita Allen Foundation?Civic Science Associate?Emily Costa, PhD is on the leadership team. ? The?initiative will showcase how basic science early career researchers are actively engaging with the public on ethical considerations of their research.? ? In a recent article profiling the project, The Kavli Foundation shares, "Costa hopes that the training, peer support, and resources the project will provide can sustain this new generation of researchers as they keep societal implications of research in mind. 'Hopefully, we can empower them to then carry these considerations through the rest of their scientific careers.'" ? Learn more:?https://lnkd.in/ex8XzddB #civicscience

Cathy Richards has?joined the Open Environmental Data Project?as a 2024-25 Civic Science Fellow and Data?Inclusion Specialist, where she will work on initiatives around open data and environmental data governance, collaborating with a network of researchers, community practitioners, and government actors.? ? Cathy's Fellowship is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. ? Learn more about Cathy here:?https://lnkd.in/emaGQZ9R ? #civicscience

In an interview with The Kavli Foundation, 2024 Civic Science Fellow Leanna Kalinowski, MPH shares insights on her transition from bench science to civic science and her Civic Science Fellowship at Neuromatch, where she studies and implements strategies to encourage computational scientists to incorporate civic science into their research: ? "'I've worked with a lot of basic scientists who feel like in order to have an impact on the world that they need to leave basic science,' she said. 'Especially in previous roles in training people in science policy, people working in the basic sciences were reluctant to talk about their own work, because they didn't want to make false promises about the work they're doing.'? ? For her part, as a former bench scientist who left the lab to pursue her interests in civic science, Kalinowski sees the interconnectedness and possibilities of further interdisciplinary work between these research communities." ? Leanna's Civic Science Fellowship is supported by?The Kavli Foundation and the Dana Foundation. Read more here:?https://lnkd.in/ge_hbn4r ? #civicscience

2020 Rita Allen Scholar David Van Valen, M.D. Ph.D. has developed a proprietary, AI protein design platform, DaX (D-amino acid eXplorer), propelling the launch of biotech company Aizen Therapeutics, which uses generative artificial intelligence to discover mirror peptides. Spun out of Van Valen's lab at the Caltech where he is an Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering, Aizen is headquartered in the biotech hub of San Diego, and focused on developing an internal pipeline of drug candidates while actively engaging prospective biopharma for collaborations. The company launched with?$13M in seed funding. ? "'We’re in a renaissance for peptide therapeutics,' Van Valen says. He notes that beyond their use in weight-loss medications, peptides have gained attention because they 'hit a sweet spot'—they can target enough of a receptor to induce an effect but are small enough to penetrate well into tissues." ? Learn more:?https://lnkd.in/eDqQ9_Ap #discoveryscience #RitaAllenScholars

2021 Civic Science Fellow Emelia Williams wrote a LinkedIn article for the Open Environmental Data Project?on emergent climate risk tools and the importance of democratizing access to environmental and climate data. ? "Environmental and climate data should be a public good, used for both individual and collective benefit" she writes. ?? Read more here:?https://lnkd.in/enGCz7Gp ? #civicscience

Wiley Analytical Science spotlights 2006 Rita Allen Scholar Joshua Mendell and colleagues, who have identified a key mechanism regulating the stability of messenger RNA (mRNA)—the molecule central to protein production and the success of mRNA-based vaccines. Their study, published in Science Magazine unveils how specific amino acids impact mRNA lifespan during protein synthesis, offering new insights that could drive advancements in treatments for conditions such as obesity, cancer, and mitochondrial disorders. ? “This regulation is important to understand, not only because we want to figure out how genes are controlled, but also because it could help us design better mRNA therapeutics,” says Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Joshua Mendell. “If we’re providing an mRNA to a cell, it would be great to be able to program into that sequence exactly how long it should last and exactly how much protein it should make.” Learn more here:?https://lnkd.in/eDejcux6 ? Read the study here:?https://lnkd.in/eqphNNP9

2024 Civic Science Fellow Michael Akinwumi co-authored an article with colleagues at Rutgers University?on the launch of the State AI Preparedness project, which aims to develop an index that reveals clear, actionable insights for effective AI integration into public services at the state level. ? The authors write, "Navigating the complex world of AI adoption can be a daunting task for state lawmakers and agencies. With the rapid advancement of AI technologies and the wave of state AI bills, it is crucial to balance innovation with opportunity while mitigating potential societal risks. Recognizing this need, researchers at the Eagleton Science and Politics Program at the Eagleton Insitute of Politics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick have launched the State AI Preparedness (SAIP) project with funding from the New Jersey State Policy Lab. This project aims to develop an index (“SAIP index”) that cuts through AI adoption complexities, revealing clear, actionable insights for effective AI integration into public services at the state level. The index will simplify the process of evaluating and benchmarking AI adoption efforts, spotting trends, and empowering state lawmakers, agencies and elected leaders to make informed decisions that benefit their constituents." Michael's Civic Science Fellowship at the Rutgers University Eagleton Institute of Politics is supported by the Rita Allen Foundation. Read the article here:?https://lnkd.in/e33ehANt #civicscience

Civic Science Fellows and partners recently brought civic science conversations to a global audience at the Falling Walls Foundation?Science Summit in Berlin,?with a Round Table discussion on Preparing the Next Generation of Civic Science Leaders. 2024 University of California, Berkeley?Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public Civic Science Fellow Narayan Sankaran shares reflections from the event and examines efforts reorient science toward its civic responsibility: ? "I found hope in the numerous conversations I had with early-career scientists who hadn’t previously heard of civic science, but for whom the concept immediately resonated—as if a sentiment they had long felt about what was lacking in our scientific lives had suddenly taken shape and had a name.? ? Credit must be given to the Falling Walls Foundation for convening a meeting in which we could marvel at the technical achievement of a scientific breakthrough in the morning, and then grapple with its complex implications for society in the afternoon. Breaking the wall that divides science from its societal consequences feels like an important step in the right direction." ? Narayan's Civic Science Fellowship is supported by the Rita Allen Foundation and The Kavli Foundation. ? Read more here:?https://lnkd.in/eyQQm5TK ? #civicscience

2020 Rita Allen?Pain?Scholar Ishmail Abdus-Saboor?was named?by The Transmitter?among 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back with the non-model organisms they study. In the article, Professor of Biology at Brandeis University?Eve Marder notes that while the promotion of model diversity can help to ensure neuroscientists search for animals that are experts in the tasks and senses they are interested in studying, "Many of today’s common model organisms—including the mouse, zebrafish, roundworm and fruit fly—soared in popularity because they are cheap, easy to work with and quick to raise in a lab," the authors write. ? As an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, Abdus-Saboor studies how the sense of touch gives rise to pleasure and pain, with the aim of understanding how the brain reacts to what it experiences through the senses. Three years ago, he started a naked mole rat colony in his lab in hopes the mole rat work will intersect with his team’s ongoing mouse studies: ? "'They’re arguably the most social animals in the entire mammalian kingdom,' says?Ishmail Abdus-Saboor. Yet the mole rats don’t recognize one another like other mammals do: They are blind and don’t hear or smell very well. They do, however, have an extraordinary sense of touch—and for that reason, 'we think that the mole rats can teach us how you can use touch as a way to communicate with others,' Abdus-Saboor says." ? Read more here:?https://lnkd.in/e8VzWR36 ? #discoveryscience #RitaAllenScholars

Growing up, 2024 Civic Science Fellow Alicia Johnson, Ph.D. dreamed of being everything from a science teacher to a coffee shop owner to an environmental lawyer—a range of interests that prepared her well for a career in civic science. Today she’s an analytical chemist working on bridging gaps between science, policy, and communities in the area of synthetic biology regulation at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. ? Alicia is addressing ethical issues around using wastewater to track disease prevalence, particularly when pollution sensors have been disproportionately deployed in marginalized communities. And she’s noticed a lack of awareness and understanding among scientists of systems and regulations that are critical to their work: ? “Sometimes there's this implicit pressure to just focus on the science—do your experiments, go home,” she says. “But there are systems that allow science to happen. Understanding these systems matters.” ? Alicia's Civic Science Fellowship is supported by the Rita Allen Foundation. ? Read Alicia's story here:?https://lnkd.in/ehf5QNQN ? #civicscience