Neurobiologist and science policy expert Frances Colón was a member of the National Academies’ New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine program in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Colón, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, had already observed that there was a shortfall in Spanish-language communication about science. “Science wasn’t really speaking to my community, and it wasn’t speaking to my community in its language,” she recalled.

So when the pandemic struck, Colón used her own voice to help meet that need. “I was on Spanish-language radio almost every day between 7 and 8 in the morning, when service workers were trying to get to jobs,” she said, noting that these workers were unable to stay home. Listeners were also facing decisions about whether to send their children to school and when they should wear masks. “It mattered that I was a scientist that could put this information in the hands of my community in their language, in the mode of getting news that they use [every day].”

Colón offered her remarks at the 2024 International Conference of Young Scientists last month, touching on one of the meeting’s main themes — the need for science to engage and benefit a wider range of people and communities. The event gathered over 180 early- a2Imageaddexpandmore-dots Title ImageSelect media Include in anchor checknd mid-career scientists, engineers, and health professionals from around 65 nations at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C., to build connections and explore how to make science more inclusive and sustainable. 

The weeklong conference and annual general meeting was co-hosted by the New Voices program and the Global Young Academy, both of which are dedicated to promoting collaborations among young researchers and supporting their engagement in solving societal and global challenges.

Building connections and leadership  

One panel of scientists in senior leadership roles discussed the value of creating connections among young engineers and scientists around the world to solve global problems. National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt related her own experience, describing how in 1989 she participated in a New Frontiers program that involved working on a committee with other young scientists outside of her discipline, among them physicist Steven Chu and biologist Jane Lubchenco. Decades later — when Chu was U.S. secretary of energy, Lubchenco was administrator of NOAA, and McNutt was director of the U.S. Geological Survey — those connections proved valuable when the three suddenly found themselves on the front line of the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“The fact that we had roots in our friendship that went back 20 years means that we immediately got to work addressing this catastrophe,” said McNutt. “We weren’t exchanging business cards and trying to get to know each other when lives and the environment were on the line.”

Today’s young scientists and engineers will play essential roles in navigating the world’s emerging challenges, said Patricia Gruber, science and technology advisor to the U.S. secretary of state. “We have so many issues in the world to be addressed and you have so many opportunities to make a contribution,” she said. “We cannot afford to overlook any talent that’s out there.”

Another panel explored how to bridge the gap between leadership positions that address big challenges and early-career science. Priscilla Mante, co-chair of the Global Young Academy, said that responsibility for nurturing future leaders rests with many. “Both individuals as well as organizations have a role to play,” she said. “Ultimately what I believe is that leaders should develop leaders. Paving the way for future leaders, I believe, should be up to those who have the power to create the pathways as well as to make space for others.”

Mante noted the need for cross-generational collaboration on research projects and policy advocacy efforts, as well as the value of efforts like the African Science Leadership program and the Global Young Academy, which offer opportunities for mentorship and peer-to-peer learning.

Gregory A. Weiss, a founding member of the Global Young Academy, urged attendees not only to pursue leadership roles in science but also to bring along the generation that will follow them. “That’s how we bring diverse, iconoclastic voices to bear on the major challenges that our world and our societies face,” he said. “That’s how we can make big progress.”

‘Leaving no one behind’

The conference also explored the inequities that persist in science — in terms of who participates and how its benefits are distributed — and ways to make science more inclusive. 

Including Indigenous communities would benefit efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, noted Hiba Baroud of Vanderbilt University. “When we look around the world, we see that 80 percent of the biodiversity remaining in this world is, in fact, protected by Indigenous communities, yet their voices are often marginalized in conversations around climate change, adaptation, and mitigation,” she said. “They possess traditional knowledge that will help us adapt to this changing environment … When we think about leaving no one behind, it’s not just a strategic necessity that will help us. It is also just the right thing to do.”

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe of the University of California, Merced, spoke about the ongoing lack of diversity in academic STEM, remarking that there has been little to no improvement over the past four decades in the diversity of those who earn doctorates in many fields. Part of the problem is that many academic institutions lack resources, she said; ninety percent of federal funds for research goes to about 2.5 percent of U.S. academic institutions.

The culture and climate at academic institutions is another barrier, Berhe continued. “There is a lot we all can do to improve the workplace culture and climate to make sure everybody that enters STEM, people from every walk of life, can actually just be able to focus on their work and not have to deal with exclusionary practices that are contributing in a massive way to push people out.” Improving culture and climate is the responsibility of every member of the academic community, said Berhe — “something we all can do without having to wait for another committee meeting, another funding stream, or our bosses to allocate resources for us.”

Sudip Parikh, CEO and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, stressed the need to “widen the aperture” of science so that more people and sources of knowledge, including Indigenous knowledge and oral histories, can enter. He also pointed to steps — such as raising graduate student stipends and eliminating author processing charges at journals — that can help remove barriers for students and institutions with fewer resources.

In her keynote speech, Colón — now the senior director for International Climate Policy at the Center for American Progress — stressed the need for scientists to engage with and serve the public. She urged the young scientists at the meeting to “connect the dots” for people in their families and communities and for decision-makers — explaining how the science on sea level rise or infectious disease or vaccines connects with what people are experiencing in everyday life, and how science can be used to make people’s lives better.

She also advised them to listen. “We have a duty to not dismiss people’s fears, people’s feeling of uncertainty at the unknowns,” said Colón. “This is how you put science in the hands of people, this is how you democratize it, this is how you make it work: Meet people where they are, not where you are.”

Watch the Conference Sessions

About the hosts

New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is a leadership engagement program that promotes collaboration among outstanding early- and mid-career scientists, engineers, and medical professionals during a two-year term of service. The program aims to expand the diversity of expertise engaged in the convening and advisory functions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine while building a network of emerging U.S. leaders to address national and global challenges.

The Global Young Academy (GYA) is an independent academy with members from all continents whose mission is to give a voice to young scientists around the world. GYA members engage in working groups, strategic projects, and collaborations with international partner organizations. The GYA also supports the establishment and coordination of National Young Academies and similar initiatives worldwide.