 |
| From left to right: Marcelo Vinces (AAAS S&T Policy Fellow. NSF), Wael Al-Delaimy (UCSD), Nicholas Farrell (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Cardinal Warde (MIT). |
Meeting report
Coordinating, Learning and
Sharing Best Practices Among Scientific Diaspora Networks
A report from the Annual Meeting
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada, February 18, 2012
Summary
The large scale emigration of scientifically
trained individuals to other countries while seeking better opportunities is
often referred to as “brain drain”, but this negative connotation obscures the
great untapped potential that these diaspora science networks hold as viable
and ongoing resources for their countries of origins. Though there are many efforts among
scientific diaspora communities to engage productively with their homelands to
improve the scientific capacities of these countries, there has been to date
very little in coordination of efforts, in relating best practices in these
engagements, or in highlighting what works and what doesn’t. This panel aimed to catalyze a conversation
about how best to leverage existing efforts among disparate scientific and
technical diaspora networks, to highlight models for engagement, and to foster
greater communications between different diaspora networks that have much to
learn from each other, as well as with governmental and non-governmental bodies
that aim to strengthen the role of diasporas in capacity building in their
countries of origin.
Our
session followed up on a previous session on scientific diasporas by highlighting the activities of three emerging scientific diaspora networks: the efforts of the Caribbean scientific diaspora to
establish a Caribbean Science Foundation, of the Arab scientific diasporas and
their activities amid the newfound opportunities in the wake of the Arab
Spring, and the new initiative by the Irish scientific diaspora for forging
greater ties among the diaspora and with the science establishment in
Ireland. The session gave a global
snapshot of how scientific diasporas have been acting to promote development of
science and technology in the country of origin while remaining active
contributors to innovation in their adopted countries.
This session covered an issue that cuts across all
disciplines of science and engineering, and that is part of the international
dimension of the scientific endeavor. The session and its proceedings aim to
educate a wide spectrum of scientists, engineer, educators, policy makers and
journalists who were in attendance on the quiet diplomacy and ongoing
development projects of disparate scientific diaspora communities and to lay
the groundwork for a sustainable network that will serve to catalyze future
endeavors by this largely untapped talent. By raising the profile of these
networks at an international scientific conference, we hope to enable
productive partnerships between these networks and the US government,
universities, non-profits, and policy-making bodies.
Introduction
Many,
if not most, root causes of poverty around the globe can be addressed with
access to and investments in science and engineering. Problems in agriculture,
medicine, education and infrastructure that underpin poverty require resources
but also talent that can solve them. For this reason, the net flow of
highly-skilled talent from developing countries to wealthier countries (also
known as “brain drain”) has been considered by many as detrimental to the
development of poorer nations and regions. The same holds true for more
developed countries that experience net flow of science talent to other
countries. But technically trained talent living abroad, also referred to as
the “scientist diaspora”[1],
continue to remain a valuable resource for their countries and regions of
origin, while continuing their critical contributions to science and
engineering in the United States.
Members
of the scientific diaspora in the US serve as important bridges between their
native and adopted countries and cultures. Often, diaspora scientists and
engineers undertake activities in their countries of origin that benefit the
local communities through enhanced education and entrepreneurial opportunities.
The scientific diaspora thus remains an integral part of science and innovation
in the US while contributing to S&T capacity-building in their home
countries or regions, and there is growing interest in the scientific diaspora
for even greater involvement of this kind.
However,
a common platform for the scientific diaspora communities to be able to
leverage and optimize their engagement, scarce resources, to publicize their
activities, and to learn from each other and share effective practices is
sorely lacking. For this reason a session on the topic at the Annual Meeting of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was held in February
2012 in Vancouver, Canada.
The
goal of the session “Coordinating, Learning and Sharing Best Practices Among Scientific
Diasporas Networks” was to raise the profile of these independent development
activities at an international conference that is attended by a wide spectrum
of participants that represent all fields of science and engineering,
education, government, policy bodies, non-profits and the private sector, and
which receives extensive press coverage. The goal is not only to raise the
profile of ongoing activities among a selection of scientific diaspora
networks, but to initiate a conversation about what steps are needed to
establish a clearinghouse of information that will enhance such activities, and
to produce a document for wider dissemination beyond the confines of the
conference. Our goal is for this session to serve as a launching ground for a
sustainable coordination of information for the purpose of optimizing
scientific diaspora engagement with countries and regions of origin.
Scientific
diasporas and public policy
The Department of State, in partnership with the
US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Migration Policy
Institute (MPI) recently organized a Global Diaspora Forum[2]
which focused on US-based diasporas and provided a forum for diapora
communities to develop partnerships. During the forum the different arenas and
ways in which diasporas contribute to foreign policy and development were
highlighted. These included: Investment and Trade, Philanthropy, Volunteering
and Community Service, Innovations, Health and Medicine, Agriculture and Rural
Development, Disaster Response and Humanitarian Relief, Entrepreneurship,
Education, Remittances and Mobile Money, Media, Youth Leadership, Sports, and
Science and Technology.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the
Forum to give recognition to the valuable contributions that diaspora
communities make to the US economy while doing much work independently and in
parallel to the US government in areas such as development and diplomacy. Secretary Clinton used the Irish diaspora in
the US as an example of a community that played an absolutely essential part in
the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland. She challenged participants to
not only continue such activities, but to maximize their impacts by developing
partnerships with the US government when necessary, but more importantly, with
each other, in the form of intra-diaspora collaboration and learning.
Scientific
Diasporas and Science in the US and abroad
The United States has traditionally relied heavily
on foreign-born talent to complement US-born S&T talent, counting on such
luminaries from Europe such as Einstein and Fermi as examples, and Sergey Brin,
co-founder of Google, as one contemporary example. US scientists and engineers
born abroad play a major role not only in the national scientific output but
also in national innovation output[3].
Among patents for biotech-related inventions, for example, 31% of the lead
inventors were foreign-born, and this number is likely higher if 2nd
generation members of diaspora communities are accounted for.
While contributing significantly to the US economy
in terms of innovation and discovery, the science and engineering diaspora of
the US concurrently plays different roles in their countries and regions of
origin, in the form of “scientific remittances”. Just as immigrants in the US
send back huge amounts of money to poor countries of origin (a critical flow of
money parallel to and in excess of US foreign aid to these countries), members
of the scientific diaspora in the US serve as conduits of cultural, social,
human and intellectual remittances to their countries of origin. As such, there
is enormous potential to foster beneficial relationships between governments
and diaspora networks, and between networks, to maximize the benefits to diasporas,
their adopted countries and their countries of origin.
In regards to the scientific diasporas, one way
they serve as bridges of knowledge is by enhancing international scientific
collaborations. Science is by nature a global endeavor, and with cultural
connections abroad, scientists and engineers in the diaspora have much to offer
in negotiating the cultural and organizational idiosyncrasies that exists even
in science in different nations. Maintaining ties with colleagues in both the
US and in the country of origin can thus contribute to research partnerships,
and strengthening of science policies and practices. Another way is to serve as
access to the kind of knowledge and information that are necessary for
developing countries to build capacity for their industries and workforces. Scientific
diasporas are also a resource for much needed human capital in poorer
countries: acting as mentors, teachers, serving on thesis or peer review
committees. All these activities do not require members of diaspora communities
to move back to their birthplaces. Rather, they are activities that can be done
either at a distance or involving short visits. They can thus mitigate some of
the detrimental effects caused by “brain drain”.
Overview
of session
The session was 90 minutes long, and started with
a brief introduction by the moderator, followed by talks by the panelists
(12-15 minutes each), and ending with a 30 minute question and answer period,
during which members of the audience offered substantially to the discussion.
Materials for the session will be handed out at the start.
The session panelists were Professor Nicholas Farrell (Virginia Commonwealth
University), Professor Wael Al-Delaimy
(UCSD) and Professor Cardinal Warde
(MIT).
Professor Farrell related efforts launched at the
previous AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington DC to establish an Irish scientific
diaspora society.
Professor Al-Delaimy spoke about the Arab
scientific diaspora network, the Society for the Advancement of Science and
Technology in the Arab World, and the new opportunities that have emerged for
involvement since the events of the Arab Spring.
Professor Warde shared his experiences leading the
Caribbean Diaspora for Science, Technology and Innovation, particularly in the
essential role of diaspora scientists in establishing the Caribbean Science
Foundation.
Session
proceedings
Introduction by Marcelo Vinces (AAAS Science &
Technology Policy Fellow, NSF)
Nicholas Farrell, The Wild Geese Network of Irish
Scientists – The First Year
The Wild Geese Network of Irish Scientists is an all-Ireland
professional network that aims to enable connection, communication and
collaboration of the Irish scientific, technological and engineering Diaspora.
The Wild Geese Network turned precisely one year
old, as it was founded at the previous AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
The Network is a registered non-profit 501.c.3
with 400 members worldwide through LinkedIn.
One asset of the Network has been in providing a
census of the Irish scientific, technological and engineering expertise and
achievement worldwide, something that has been difficult for embassies to
assess on their own. Other achievements and aims include:
- Enhance trans-Atlantic collaborations
- Facilitate engagement of Irish scientists and
engineers abroad
- Disseminate information on funding and
employment
- Promote and highlight achievements
- Complement the aims of the Global Irish Economic
Forum
- Provide a discussion forum (via LinkedIn) with
broad participation
Future plans of the Wild Geese Network:
- Establish regional chapters (eg. in Boston)
- Launch a website
- Careers program session at Euroscience Open
Forum (ESOF) in Dublin, City of Science 2012. Satellite event is planned for
members worldwide to attend online.
What we’ve learned:
- Naming the network is important. Investing some
thought into setting up a brand and logo is fruitful.
- Advantages
-
Embassy and agency support and contacts are crucial
-
Very cost-effective viral initiative
-
Organizational status is important. So are regular events.
-
Constructive mix of senior and junior members, diverse involvement of industry
and biotech with academia.
- Challenges
-
Sustainability – we have a committed volunteering network that requires
financial and personal resources.
Challenges include raising money to defray costs, managing a global network and
website, adapting as membership and needs
change, and identifying deliverables, both tangible and intangible ones.
Wael Al-Delaimy, The Arab Spring: A Sunny Forecast
for Diaspora Scientists
The Arabic world has a long history as a cradle of
science and mathematics. The first science institute was founded in what is
today Iraq in the year 786, the first university in what is today Morocco
(841), and the first modern hospitals were established in what are today Egypt
and Iraq (874 and 982). The founders of many branches of modern science and
mathematics were from the Arab world: modern chemistry was founded by Jabir Ibn
Alhayam and Al-Kindi (Iraq, 722-873), modern algebra (itself an Arabic word) by
al-Khawarzmi (Iraq, 850, his name the source of the word “algorithm”), optical
sciences by Ibn al-Haithem (Egypt, 1011) and the discovery of blood circulation
happened in Syria centuries before it occurred in Europe (by Ibn al-Nafis,
1242).
The illustrious history of Arabic science
contrasts sharply to the modern situation in the Arabic world, where investment
in science trails far behind the rest of the world and the literacy rate has
dropped to 56%. Exacerbating the grim state of Arabic science is the fact that
1.5% of the Arab population is in the diaspora, with one-quarter of these being
highly skilled professionals.
The Arab Spring, which saw the toppling of
undemocratic regimes by ordinary citizens has brought the promise of change not
just to the Arab world but to the whole world. The recipe for these unexpected
and dramatic societal upheavals include a young educated generation with an
ambition to prosperity but with few job or career options, and access to the global
village via the internet.
The Arab Spring brings new opportunities for the
Arabic scientific diaspora to participate in rebuilding science in the Arab
world. Some of the challenges faced by post-revolution science include:
- Outdated curriculum and teaching methods
- Lack of research infrastructure
- Lack of advanced technical skills
- Lack of research funding
- Lack of business-academic initiatives
- Lack of appropriate academic leadership
- Political instability
Opportunities that exist in the post-revolution
Arab world include:
- Decentralization
- A genuine focus on science advancement
- Freedom of expression
- Openness towards collaborations with outside
scientific entities
- Evaluate the status of the scientist
- Better use of available resources and
transparency
- The diaspora
The Society for the Advancement of Science andTechnology in the Arab World (SASTA) was founded in 2009 out of the mutual
interests of Arab expatriate scientists and academics living abroad to engage
more effectively with the Arab education, science and technology community to
create a positive impact in the Arab world. The organizational model SASTA
ensures that members are:
- Well trained expatriates
- First generation immigrants
- Dedicated to the cause
- Independent
- Unselfish volunteers
- Chosen through a highly selective process
(aiming for quality rather than quantity)
- Supported by international entities
The objectives of SASTA are to be met by:
- Developing and maintaining a comprehensive database
- Establishing
partnerships with universities, NGOs, professional societies and industries
in and outside the region.
- Developing programs to help train local students
and scientists.
- Acting as an independent non-partisan scientific
body on issues related to science and its advancement in the Arab world.
SASTA is currently pursuing projects at different
levels:
- Individual level: Young Arab Graduate Network
(mentorship, travel support)
- Institutional level: Adopt a University program
(Memoranda of understanding and research exchanges)
- Governmental level: The Moroccan Initiative
(statewide approach to curriculum and research strategies)
- Regional level: Arab League (complementing
regional science and technology initiatives)
Cardinal Ward, Caribbean Diaspora for Science,
Technology and Innovation
The Caribbean Diaspora for Science, Technology andInnovation (CADSTI) is an international
body of professionals who
have an interest in the development of
the Caribbean region. CADSTI recognizes that there is a vast talent pool within the larger
Diaspora whose skills go untapped by
the Caribbean community. Structurally, CADSTI is organized as a network of branches in various
cities throughout the Diaspora. One of its goals is to facilitate the
networking that will bring resources from the Diaspora to the Region for the
mutual benefit of all parties.
Background
CADSTI is primarily composed of (but not limited
to) members of the scientific and engineering diaspora of the English-speaking
islands of the Caribbean (though there are members and activities associated
with mainland countries like Belize and Guyana, and non-English speaking
countries like Haiti). These are small countries where the primary source of
income if tourism. Most skilled people leave for better opportunities elsewhere
and remain in the diaspora. Tourism-based economies such as those of the
Caribbean countries are badly hit by economic downturns such as the most recent
one. Members of the scientific diaspora of the Caribbean wanted to do something
about diversifying these economies to make them more resilient and less
dependent on one industry. CADSTI grew out of recommendations from a meeting
supported by UNESCO and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that suggested that
the formation of a scientific regional body would be beneficial. CADSTI is now
about 4 years old. The first 2 years the organization faced numerous
challenges.
Mission
- To facilitate economic and social development of
the Caribbean region by mining and harnessing talent in the diaspora.
- To connect and catalog the Caribbean scientific
diaspora.
- To mobilize resources in support of regional
organizations (especially the Caribbean Science Foundation).
The model for CADSTI
- Regional branches
- CADSTI governing council has both diaspora and
regional leaders from academia, industry, and government.
- Focus is on the CSF
- Learned some from Israeli diaspora for how to
organize from a distance with a widespread population.
- CADSTI holds an annual workshop in the
Caribbean. The 1st was in November 2011 in Barbados.
The Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF)
The CSF was launched by CADSTI on September 21,
2010. CSF headquarters are located on the Barbados campus of the University of
the West Indies. Its main mission is to assist with the diversification of the
economies of the Caribbean region by harnessing science and technology for
economic development.
The focus is on assisting with STEM-based
education reform, and stimulating technology-based entrepreneurship by funding
S&T projects in new and existing small enterprises on a competitive basis.
This latter activity is modeled somewhat like the US National Science
Foundation SBIR program (Small Business Innovation Research).
For sustainability, CSF intends to fund small
companies, most of which will fail. Dividends from CSF invested companies are
expected to pay back CSF in the long run.
Some initial CSF projects include the CSF-SAGICOR
Sustainable Caribbean Communities Project (SCC)
Needs
and challenges for the scientific diaspora
Currently, there are very few opportunities that
allow for specialized discussions on how scientists and engineers in diaspora
communities can optimize their activities at home and abroad. Systematic
research and information-sharing addressing the needs of scientific diasporas
is sorely lacking. Such information is necessary for the success of any future
policies aimed at engaging scientic diasporas. The session at the AAAS Annual
Meeting aimed to continue the momentum of recent conversations on the topic of
scientific diaspora engagement.
Some questions addressed at the session included:
- What types of scientific research projects are
amenable to international collaborations that can make use of existing ties
between the scientific diaspora in the US and scientists and engineers abroad?
- What are the barriers that exist for such
international collaborations to occur? What are the existing funding
opportunities for them?
- What are examples of successful goals and
accomplishments of scientific diaspora networks? What lessons can be
generalized about what works and what does not among diaspora activities? What
are successful models of engagement?
- What are the needs for scientific diaspora
networks to best share and obtain information about and for their activities?
What resources are already in existence and which are missing?
- What roles can governments play as partners?
What roles can be played by non-government organizations? By universities? By
the private sector?
- What are the desired needs and necessary
ingredients for a sustainable dialogue by scientific diaspora networks?
- What tools are available for assessing the
activities of scientific diaspora networks?
- What role do women in the scientific diaspora
play in the various initiatives discussed? What can be done to increase the
involvement of women?
- networking between diasporas
- open vs. closed membership? Eg. Wael’s closed
model (assured commitment and reliability) vs. Ciencia Puerto Rico’s open model
(unexpected collaborations and intitiatives)
- country-specific vs regional
- workshops held in country or region of origin
- resources for scientific diasporas
- challenges? Eg. Wael’s 3 types of diasporas: 1.
Those who left the country and have no interest in the country or region of origin;
2. Diaspora who are interested in region of interested but not particularly
committed; and 3. The minority few who are extremely committed. The challenge
is to identify and recruit the latter for scientific diaspora organizations.
This is why SASTA has a closed membership model.
- buy in eg. ask org. board to contribute
financially before having them do fundraising
Eg.
have regional branches
Some
additional resources for the scientific diaspora
International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA)
IdEA is an innovative platform for public-private
partnerships designed to engage diaspora communities, the private sector, and
public institutions in a collaborative process. The goal is to support the
development of diaspora-centered partnerships that promote trade and
investment, volunteerism, philanthropy, diplomacy, entrepreneurship, and
innovation in countries of origin.
Diaspora Matters Toolkit
Diaspora Matters is a consultancy firm based in
Dublin, Ireland which Kingsley Aikins, former CEO & President of The
Worldwide Ireland Funds, established to advise individuals, companies and
Governments on strategic methods for engaging with diaspora communities.
Diasporas Matters has developed a toolkit that can be downloaded for free on
the webpage.
Scientific Diaspora book and toolkit
A book called “Scientific Diasporas As Development
Partners: Skilled Migrants from Colombia, India and South Africa in Swizterland
– Empirical Evidence and Policy Responses” was recently published in which
Editors Gabriela Tejada and Jean-Claude Bolay capture the latest in data,
research, policy and theoretical frameworks concerning scientific diasporas.
Dr. Tejada has also developed a toolkit called “An action-oriented tool-kit to
assess good practices of skilled migrants and scientific diasporas”, available
as a free down on the webpage.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES
Panelists
Cardinal
Warde, PhD
Professor of Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Engineering
Dr. Warde is considered one of the world's leading
experts on materials, devices and systems for optical information processing. He
holds ten key patents on spatial light modulators, displays, and optical
information processing systems. He is a co-inventor of the microchannel spatial
light modulator, membrane-mirror light shutters based on
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), an optical bistable device, and a
family of charge-transfer plate spatial light modulators.
Dr. Warde grew up on the small Caribbean island of
Barbados. After finishing high school in 1965, he boarded a plane for the
United States, where he would receive a bachelor's degree in physics from the
Stevens Institute of Technology in 1969. His passion for physics continued into
graduate school at Yale University where he earned M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in
1971 and 1974. While at Yale, Dr. Warde invented a new
interferometer that would work near absolute zero temperature in order to
measure the refractive index and thickness of solid oxygen films for his Ph.D.
research. This experience stimulated his keen passion for optics and optical
engineering. Immediately after earning the Ph.D., he joined MIT in its faculty
of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1974 as an Assistant
Professor.
Dr. Warde's
research activities are focused on the development of optical neural-network
co-processors that are expected to endow the next generation of PC's with
rudimentary brain-like processing; transparent liquid-crystal microdisplays for
display eyeglasses and novel cellular phones; membrane-mirror-based spatial
light modulators for optical switching and projection displays; and
spectro-polarimetric imaging sensors for remote-sensing applications.
In addition to his research and teaching duties, Dr.
Warde is also an entrepreneur: in 1982 he founded Optron Systems, Inc., an
incubator company dedicated to developing novel electro-optic and MEMS
displays, and light shutters and modulators for optical signal processing
systems. Then in 1999 he co-founded Radiant Images, Inc., a company engaged in
the manufacture of transparent liquid-crystal VLSI microdisplays for digital
camera and camcorder viewfinders, portable telecommunications devices, and
display eyeglasses.
Dr. Warde has also dedicated himself to working
with Caribbean governments and organizations to help stimulate economic
development in the Caribbean area. As such he lectures frequently throughout
the Caribbean at scientific and government meetings on the role of technology
and education reform on economic development. He also serves, informally, as a
scientific advisor to the Government of Barbados. In addition, for the last ten
years Dr. Warde has mentored students in the Network Program of the New England
Board of Higher Education. The goals of this program are to motivate and
encourage minority youth in the six New England states to consider majoring in
science and engineering and to pursue careers in these fields. He has been
recognized with a number of awards and honors for his work, including the
Renaissance Science and Engineering Award from Stevens Institute of Technology
in 1996.
Wael
Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Chief of the Division of
Global Health, University of California, San Diego
Dr. Al-Delaimy graduated with a medical degree
from the Mustansyria University in Baghdad, followed by a graduate diploma in
Community Medicine from the University of Baghdad and a PhD in Epidemiology
from the University of Otago, New Zealand. He worked as a research fellow and
research associate at Harvard school of Public Health in Boston, followed by a
tenure scientist position at the WHO International Agency for Research on
Cancer based in Lyon. Currently an Associate Professor and chief of the
division of global health at the department of family and preventive medicine
and a member of the cancer center at the University of California, San Diego.
His current research in Epidemiology and public
health is multidisciplinary and focus on chronic diseases of cancer,
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses and mental health. His
pioneering work has been in the development of novel biomarkers for the first
time to measure nicotine in toenails, as well as hair. He leads research
evaluation of the State of California Tobacco Control program. He is also
involved in research ethics and chairs the international society for
environmental epidemiology ethics committee. At the university of California,
San Diego he is Chief of the division of Global health and member of the Campus
Global Health Initiative Steering Committee, the campus Committee on
Undergraduate Internship and Research, and The University of California wide
Education Abroad Advisory Committee in Public Health. He is a Board Member of
the Society for the Advancement of Science and Technology in the Arab World
(SASTA), which aims to advance the interests of Arab expatriate scientists and
academics living abroad to more effectively engage with the Arab education,
science and technology community and make a positive impact in the Arab World.
Nicholas
Farrell, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry, Virginia
Commonwealth University
Professor Nicholas P. Farrell is a graduate of
University College Dublin. He obtained his PhD from Sussex University and
completed postdoctoral fellowships at Simon Fraser University and The
University of British Columbia. He is currently professor of Chemistry at
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). His research interests are in the broad
area of bioinorganic chemistry. Specifically his interest is in the
medicinal uses of inorganic compounds and his work has included development of
antiviral and anti-parasitic drugs. His major research is on platinum-based
anticancer agents, which are an important part of the anticancer drug
armamentarium. The first genuinely structurally novel platinum drug to enter
clinical trials in thirty years (BBR3464) arose from his laboratory research.
He has received continuous funding for over twenty years from the American
Cancer Society, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of
Health for his research. Professor Farrell has written or co-edited three books
in the area of platinum anticancer agents and medicinal inorganic chemistry. He
is the author of over 200 refereed papers and review chapters. He and his
collaborators have received over sixty patents worldwide from his inventions.
He was honored as Distinguished Research Scholar of Virginia Commonwealth
University for 2003-2004. He was instrumental in development of a graduate
program in Chemical Biology at VCU. He was the Chair of the first Gordon
Research Conference on Metals in Medicine and in October 2003 chaired the Ninth
International Symposium on Platinum Compounds in Cancer Chemotherapy, a meeting
which unites chemists, biochemists, pharmacologists and cancer clinicians.
Having begun his independent research career in Brazil, his laboratory has
hosted and continues to host many international scholars and major collaborations
have involved scientists from Australia, Brazil and The Czech Republic.
Professor Farrell is fluent in Portuguese and speaks Spanish. He is interested
in helping build scientific expertise and collaboration amongst developing
countries.
Most recently, he pursued his interest in science
diplomacy as a Jefferson Science Fellow in the U.S. Department of State. And
staying true to his Irish heritage, he was instrumental in the founding of the
Wild Geese Network, a community of researchers with roots in Ireland and
Northern Ireland.
Session chairs
Marcelo
Vinces, PhD
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow,
National Science Foundation
Marcelo is a AAAS Science & Technology Policy
Fellow at the National Science Foundation (NSF). He joined as a Fellow in the Division of
Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) at the NSF after 4 years as a
postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and the Katholieke Universiteit in
Leuven, Belgium, where he used brewer’s yeast to study the biological function
of highly mutable repetitive “junk” DNA sequences. He received his PhD in Molecular Microbiology
at Tufts University in Boston, writing a thesis on transcription factors that
regulate the morphological switches of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. He pursued his doctoral degree after
completing studies at Cornell University.
When not studying yeast in the lab, Marcelo has pursued his interest in
education and outreach, particularly to underrepresented groups, and in
catalyzing greater international cooperation in research and education. He is
founder and member of the Scientific Diasporas “Affinity Group” of AAAS S&T
Policy Fellows. Marcelo was born in Ecuador, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York,
where he grew up speaking Spanish and English. He has since picked up some French,
Dutch, and German.
Pallavi
Phartiyal, PhD
Program Manager, Union of Concerned Scientists
Pallavi recently joined the Union of Concerned
Scientists in Cambridge, MA as a Program Manager. Previously she was Project
Director with the Research Competitiveness Program at AAAS, where she managed
the review and guidance of multi-institutional, state-wide programs focused on
research infrastructure, capacity and competitiveness.
She is interested in international science policy
issues and organized previous symposia on US-based science and technology
diaspora as enablers S&T strength in their homelands, and on the role of
federal agencies in capacity building in developing countries. Pallavi is also
active in professional development of young scientists through review of their
scientific findings and career counseling.
Before her time at AAAS, Pallavi worked at
Research!America, a public education and medical research advocacy
organization, where she researched private and public funding for prevention
research, attended legislative events and hearings, and wrote news briefs. Pallavi’s
academic research spans multiple disciplines.
She obtained a Ph.D. degree in Cellular and
Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her research focused
on understanding the assembly and trafficking of cardiac potassium channel
proteins involved in maintaining cardiac rhythm. Her doctoral work, which led
to a patent application, was supported by the American Heart Association
pre-doctoral fellowship. She completed her M.S. degree in Agronomy at the
University of Missouri-Columbia. For her master’s dissertation, she cloned and
characterized enzymes involved in sulfur assimilation in soybeans. She obtained
her B.S. degree in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry from India. Pallavi has
published original research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals,
presented her work in international meetings, and reviewed manuscripts for
scientific journals.
[3] Y.
No and J. P. Walsh, “The importance of foreign-born talent for US innovation”, Nature Biotechnology 28, 289-291 (2010).
