In addition to the Presidential Science Adviser, the Biden-Harris transition team have announced several other key science nominees.
Dr. Francis Collins will continue in his role as National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director. He was first appointed to lead the nation’s leading biomedical research agency by President Obama in 2009. He previously served as Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH.
Dr. Alondra Nelson has been chosen to serve as Deputy Director for Science and Society at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Dr. Nelson currently serves as President of the Social Science Research Council, an independent nonprofit organization, and Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. Nelson also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Nelson received her B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and her Ph.D. from New York University.
Kei Koizumi, an expert on the federal science budget, will serve as OSTP Chief of Staff. Koizumi previously served as Senior Advisor for Science Policy at AAAS. He also served as Assistant Director for Federal Research & Development and Senior Advisor to the National Science and Technology Council at OSTP under the Obama Administration.
Narda Jones has been selected to serve as OSTP Legislative Affairs Director. Jones previously served as Senior Technology Policy Advisor and Counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Dr. Frances H. Arnold, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist, and Dr. Maria Zuber, a geophysicist, have been selected to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Dr. Arnold is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry and Director of the Rosen Bioengineering Center at the California Institute of Technology. Arnold received her B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Zuber is Vice President for Research and E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics at MIT. Zuber earned her B.A. in astronomy and geology from the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. in geophysics from Brown University.
“Science will always be at the forefront of my administration—and these world-renowned scientists will ensure everything we do is grounded in science, facts, and the truth,” stated President-elect Biden. “From the coronavirus pandemic to our climate crisis, this past year has reaffirmed the importance of listening to scientists when it comes to meeting the unprecedented challenges facing the American people,” added Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.