“By far, though, the most valuable part of the program was the opportunity to network with key people in the field. I was very impressed that Vanderbilt was able to recruit such high-level STEM policy professionals to work with us,” said Wesley Bond, a postdoctoral scholar in ophthalmology and visual sciences

The program was hosted by Vanderbilt’s Office of Federal Relations in partnership with the School of Engineering, the Graduate School, the School of Medicine’s Biomedical Research Education and Training Office, and the Center for Student Professional Development. The original idea for the Vanderbilt workshop came from a similar program created and run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Vanderbilt students attended a 2-day STEM policy conference in Washington, D.C.
“The AAAS opportunity was an inspiration, but it also highlighted the disconnect between the availability of public policy experiences and the interest of Vanderbilt students — undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. I discussed the idea of providing a Vanderbilt-sponsored opportunity for public policy exposure with Christina West, assistant vice chancellor for federal relations,” recalled Todd Giorgio, professor and chair of biomedical engineering.

West’s interest in such a Vanderbilt-centric program resulted in a conversation with Cindy Funk, director of the Center for Student Professional Development, who was equally interested in undergraduate student participation.