Carthage science professors chosen for D.C. policy fellowship
The American Association for the Advancement of Science selected Carthage professors Andrea and Steven Henle for prestigious AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships in Washington, D.C., where they’re spending a year learning how federal policies are shaped and implemented.
Andrea Henle, an associate professor of biology at Carthage, is working as an artificial intelligence and communities fellow at the National Science Foundation. One of her first tasks was to lead a workshop for the Civic Innovation Challenge, which brings scientists and civic partners together to quickly and directly address pressing issues in their communities.
“My position at NSF allows me to see firsthand how our government decides research priorities and funds research,” she explains. “I am helping to support research that uses AI to benefit the public and provide resources to communities, particularly in the face of environmental changes and disasters. Much of the research that NSF supports on this front could be useful in southeastern Wisconsin.”
Her husband, Steven Henle, is an associate professor of neuroscience at Carthage. He’s spending the fellowship year as a program officer at the National Eye Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health).
“I’m able to see how the NIH sets priorities for biomedical research,” he says, “which can lead to new funding opportunities that advance healthcare across the country.”
While the Henles have developed distinct research interests, they overlap in the study of potential treatments for eye diseases such as uveal melanoma and glaucoma. The yearlong AAAS fellowship will add a valuable new dimension to the professors’ understanding.
Chosen from a select group of scientists and engineers, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellows represent a vast array of disciplines, backgrounds, and career stages. They learn firsthand about federal policy-making and implementation while honing skills like communication, diplomacy, and consensus-building.
The Carthage couple envision multiple ways of passing on this knowledge to their students and colleagues when they return to the classroom next fall.
“I have plans to develop a course in science policy that could be broadly interesting to all students at Carthage,” says Steven Henle. “Additionally, my work in D.C. involves a lot of grant management, and I can bring this expertise to help other faculty in grant applications.”
By observing the scientific review process, Andrea Henle is learning how expert panels evaluate which research projects the government should fund. Those insights can be extremely useful in capstone courses that require Carthage seniors to write research proposals, as well as to help community organizations in Kenosha and Racine apply for funding.
“With the experience I gain at NSF, I can walk students and community leaders through the steps of the funding process,” she says.