Regulating scientific research is a priority for lawmakers, but as science marches forward, its breakthroughs must be incorporated into policy-making and modern legislation. To address this need, the UW-Madison Neuroscience Training Program and LaFollette Public Policy School created a joint program to equip Ph.D students with skills to bridge scientific and political disciplines.
'The Ph.D should not only train people to be good bench scientists and have high levels of skill in particular areas of research, but also to be able to see the entire field and how it operates and functions and how it intersects with the public and the policy world,' said Clark Miller, UW-Madison assistant professor of public affairs and co-founder of the program.
In the next few decades, neuroscience graduates can expect to become leaders of an expansive job market in government, academic and private sectors, said Albert Teich, director of Science and Policy Programs for the American Academy for the Advancement of Science.
'We also need scientists who understand the complexity of the policy process and of making policy in these areas so that they can get a real sense of what some of the limitations are of the policy-making process,' Miller said. '[They must] internalize for themselves what the complexities are and help to try to find solutions, by virtue of having a foot in both camps.'
Neuroscience may seem too limited for this type of joint program, but when considering the wide social implications of the field, the marriage makes sense. The science of the brain can be linked to many important facets of policy making. Mental health, environmental regulations of toxic material, educational procedures and many other disciplines could benefit from absorbing the insights of neuroscience.
'There's quite a broad interaction between neuroscience and public policy,' Miller said. 'When Ron [Kalil] first approached us with this idea I thought, 'Well neuroscience, isn't that sort of narrow to try and do this'? And it turns out it affects dozens of different policy areas and lots of important questions.'
The neuroscience department may have been first, but there are many other areas of science where this concept may be attractive.
'It's conceivable other fields will want to imitate this,' said professor Ron Kalil, co-founder and visionary of the program. 'They'll hang back to see if it works, and then if it works, they may very well come forward and want to have a dual degree in say, genetics and public policy.'
As science continues to shape our lives, the public and policy makers need avenues to acquire knowledge about emerging sciences and technologies. Those trained in both public policy and the sciences will constitute a very important conduit for effective dialogue.
'It's really important for the public's understanding of science to be tethered to scientific progress,' said professor of surgery and program faculty Garet Lahvis. 'We really need more ways for public policy to cross the biomedical disciplines and this is a fantastic first step.'
