ALEXANDRIA, Va.--April 22, 2015--Former Congressman Rush D. Holt, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, has been elected to the Board of Directors of Research!America, the nation's largest advocacy and public education alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Research!America advocates for a legislative and regulatory climate that supports public and private sector innovation.
As CEO of AAAS, Holt ensures accurate scientific information informs public policy, promotes public engagement with science, and champions the organization's mission to advance science and technology.
"Dr. Holt embodies the leadership qualities of a true research, science and technology advocate," said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America. "His support for scientific progress aligns well with our mission. We are honored to have him join our esteemed board, especially as momentum builds in Washington to accelerate research and innovation."
"Research!America is an extraordinarily effective advocacy organization," said Dr. Holt. "I am delighted to be working with them to make the case that research in biomedical sciences is an investment in the truest sense of the word."
Prior to joining AAAS, Holt served as the representative for New Jersey's 12th district for 16 years. During his tenure in Congress, Holt advocated for robust federal funding for research and was a sought out expert among his colleagues on science and technology related public policy issues. He served as a senior member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce; the Committee on Natural Resources; and the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, and numerous science and health related caucuses, including co-chairing the Biomedical Research Caucus and founding the Congressional R&D Caucus. Holt was the assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton University before being elected to Congress in 1998.
Research!America's distinguished board of directors includes former Members of Congress, former agency heads and respected leaders in academia, voluntary health, professional societies, industry, patient advocacy and news media. The Honorable John Edward Porter, former U.S. representative (R-IL), serves as chair.
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About Research!America
Research!America is the nation's largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by member organizations representing 125 million Americans. Visit http://www.researchamerica.org.
About AAAS
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal Science as well as Science Translational Medicine , Science Signaling, and Science Advances, a new digital, open access journal. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, http://www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.