Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellow

Lauren Anderson

Lauren Anderson is a graduate student at Rockefeller University.

Describe your interest in participating in the program. 
Anderson: In recent years, I’ve realized that my passion for science is intertwined with my desire to affect change using my scientific training. As such, I plan to incorporate science policy into my career. The Howard Garrison Advocacy Program would be an exceptional opportunity to gain formal training in science policy and deepen my commitment to science advocacy. I have witnessed how critical science policy is to societal health through environmental contamination clean-up efforts in my hometown and the COVID-19 pandemic. I grew up a mile from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency superfund site in Woburn, Massachusetts, an industrial community with a history of contaminated drinking water. The role of scientific experts in site rehabilitation influenced my interest in biology and science policy; I closely followed developments related to community health and environmental justice and would like to learn more about how these policies are made. Prior to joining Rockefeller University for my doctorate training, I worked on genomic technology development in the epigenomics program at the Broad Institute. When COVID-19 hit Massachusetts and shut down my typical lab work, I elected to join the Broad Institute’s fledgling pandemic response team that established and operated the first high throughput COVID-19 diagnostic testing pipeline in New England and ensured vulnerable populations were tested. I worked overnight shifts in the diagnostic lab from April through June 2020 and was proud to use my scientific skills to directly benefit society in aid of such a pressing public health crisis. Nationwide, many scientists had similar experiences, using their scientific knowledge to affect policy in response to the pandemic. Prompted by these experiences, I took Rockefeller University’s science diplomacy course to learn how to use my scientific training to influence national science policy. I learned in the course that the best way to make a difference is to practice making change now, which has propelled me to strengthen my science communication skills, join the New York City Science Education and Policy group, become a member of the National Science Policy Network, and apply for the Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program.

I would like to extend my experience from the bench to the policy world, and as I enter my fourth year of graduate school, I am seeking formal training in these skills. My research area, genomics, is an area that is increasingly part of science policy discussions at the state and federal levels. As this field matures, its associated technologies—sequencing, genome editing, and genomic therapies—will continue to be major areas that need policy oversight in relation to data privacy, funding, and regulation. The science policy and advocacy course through the Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program will broaden my understanding of how science becomes science policy, and participating in Capitol Hill Day and FASEB’s science committee meetings would be fantastic practical experiences in interfacing with policymakers. Obtaining formal training in the policy arena through the Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program will help me develop skills to communicate on genomics issues and be incredibly beneficial to my future career.

How do you plan to use the knowledge and experience gained through your participation in the Howard Garrison Advocacy Program?
Anderson: I am very interested in incorporating science advocacy into my career and potentially transitioning into science policy. The coursework, practical experience, and network provided by FASEB and the Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program will be essential to my career development and help me to develop the essential skills for working in the policy world. I hope to gain a better understanding of how scientific knowledge shapes policy and how policy is developed while expanding my peer network of science policy aficionados and learning from those who currently work in the space. By gaining exposure to the policy and advocacy world, I will also be able to explore career options in science policy and understand how my scientific expertise in genomics may be useful to policymaking.

I recently became a member of the Science Policy and Education Association (SEPA), a multi-institution student club across biomedical graduate programs in New York City. I am currently in the process of joining SEPA’s executive board to direct programming. In this capacity, I plan to invite science policy and advocacy speakers to speak with our membership and organize career development events such as writing workshops. With the knowledge and experience gained in the Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program, I will be able to provide capacity-building programming to like-minded early career scientists and build a stronger science policy community within SEPA.

Using no more than 250 words, describe your research as you would to a non-scientist.
Anderson: From a bench in Central Park, you can observe dogwalkers treading meandering paths alongside saxophonists performing under arching bridges. At the same time, runners speed overhead, and automobiles drive through the park’s transverse roads. The landscaping allows these bustling activities to be intertwined without disturbing each other in a similar way to the spatial organization of the cell’s genome. Imagine individual people as genes, the activities they engage in as genome function, and the intersecting roadways of Central Park as the genome’s three-dimensional landscape. This landscaping is essential to the cell’s function. Just as Central Park closes and re-opens every day with the same activity and charm, the cell must dismantle and duplicate the genome, then reconstruct its 3D organization every cell cycle. We want to understand this process.

To investigate how the genome faithfully propagates itself and maintains its 3D organization, we feed cells a labeled molecule that they incorporate into newly replicated DNA. With this label, we track how labeled DNA is oriented in the genome, akin to giving everyone who enters Central Park a GPS. Next, we induce breaks in the DNA with X-rays. We then sequence these DNA breaks, link them back together, and analyze our data to infer the three-dimensional structure of DNA and how it dynamically re-establishes.

Oftentimes in disease, the genome is damaged by mutations and not able to be faithfully copied. Understanding the normal patterns of activity re-establishment can inform how we can therapeutically re-organize the genome when it is damaged.

Briefly describe any past or present participation in additional career exploration activities, experiences, and/or programs.
Anderson: I have sought out several science policy and science communication initiatives. Beginning in 2020, I worked with textbook editors to write entries about current science policy topics, such as genome editing, for the 2021 Gale Encyclopedia of Science, used in libraries and high schools nationwide. I further developed my science communication skills this year in a six-week science communication workshop.

For the past two summers, I volunteered with Rockefeller University's Outreach Program for high school students. I volunteer four to six hours a week with the stem cell research team during the summer, offering mentorship on experiments, data analysis, and presentations. I plan to stay involved with this group throughout my doctorate training.

My decision to pursue further training in science policy was spurred by the Hurford Science Diplomacy Initiative at Rockefeller University. I have participated in two years of Hurford's science diplomacy lecture series elective at Rockefeller University, which helped me realize scientists' positive impact on policy and diplomacy. Through this initiative, I participated in a biomedical trainee delegation to Washington, D.C., this past April, which involved meeting and networking with science policy leaders and science diplomats. Now, I am eager to learn more about science policy. The Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program would give me the opportunity to develop further the skills needed to succeed in a future policy career or science career, incorporating advocacy work.

Lauren Anderson is a member of American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a FASEB member society.