The decision to choose Collins for the presidential adviser aspect of the job may appear a strategic move to advance Biden’s biomedical agenda, but the decision to keep Nelson out of this role reflects a chronic ill in America—inequity at the highest levels of leadership. Lander’s vacated position and Nelson’s presence at OSTP already presented a clear opportunity to put someone in the combined role who represents the future of American science.
Certainly, Francis Collins has been a major science policy figure in the US for many years. Through his dogged determination and political skill, he pushed the human genome project to completion and took the helm of the NIH, serving three presidents. Through his masterful abilities to engage with Congress, he reliably secured increases in NIH funding year after year. But the end of his tenure brought problems that weren’t adequately resolved.
At some point, the scientific community must stand up against anti-Asian racism and injustice in the funding of Black scientists, among other discrimination in the scientific enterprise. That time has to be now, and what is needed is a new cadre of scientific leaders in Washington, DC, who can build a scientific agenda where inclusion of individuals who reflect the diverse makeup, talents, and interests of society is prioritized.
Alondra Nelson is one of the visionary leaders in American science today. She was the first Black professor to receive tenure in sociology at Columbia University, has held numerous challenging administrative roles, and currently occupies the Harold F. Linder Chair in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study. When invited to join OSTP, Nelson stated that “as a Black woman researcher, I’m keenly aware of who has been missing from the room.
It’s time for the scientific community to commit to a vision of the future where young scientists can get a fair share of funding, where equity for women and people of color is prioritized over protecting processes that reinforce injustices of the scientific enterprise, and where leaders in Washington, DC, represent the future, not the past.