Navigating Shifts: Impact of Federal Policy Changes on the Biomedical Workforce [Fall 2025 Members Meeting]
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Federal policy decisions shape the landscape of biomedical research and profoundly influence the careers, stability, and diversity of the scientific workforce. Ongoing shifts are particularly consequential for early career researchers and workforce development programs, which often serve as the entry points into scientific careers. Understanding and anticipating the effects of federal policy changes is critical for non-profit research funders in advancing their missions and sustaining long-term impact. This panel will bring together leaders from government, academia, and the non-profit sector to examine how changes in federal priorities, budgets, and regulations impact workforce development, talent pipelines, equity initiatives, and the broader research infrastructure.
Moderator
Diane Bovenkamp, PhD, Vice President of Scientific Affairs, BrightFocus Foundation
Diane Bovenkamp, PhD, Vice President of Scientific Affairs, is the chief scientist at BrightFocus Foundation, overseeing global operations of the organization’s research programs. She serves as the scientific liaison in local, national, and international forums, and identifies and develops new research initiatives, partnerships, and funding policies consistent with the mission of BrightFocus.
Dr. Bovenkamp obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, discovering and studying Eph receptors in angiogenesis and neural development in zebrafish and mice. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, isolating and characterizing zebrafish neuropilins. Dr. Bovenkamp conducted further research at the Johns Hopkins University Bayview Proteomics Center in the Division of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, using proteomic techniques for biomarker detection in human serum.
Speakers
Sindy Escobar Alvarez, PhD, Program Director for Medical Research, Doris Duke Foundation
Sindy Escobar Alvarez directs the Doris Duke Foundation’s Medical Research Program, where she drives efforts to reimagine how medical research can fairly and rigorously advance better health outcomes. Under her leadership, the program has evolved to focus on high-impact initiatives, including transforming how race is considered in clinical research and forging pathways to support novel research aimed at preventing and treating disease while prioritizing patient impact.
Previously a senior program officer at the foundation, Escobar Alvarez brought her expertise in therapeutic development and biochemistry to shape strategies that now define the program’s bold, equity-centered agenda. Her leadership has catalyzed support for physician-scientists and fueled critical research in sickle cell disease.
A respected voice in the field, she has contributed to national dialogue through publications and speaking engagements. She is a member of the Civic Science Funders Collaborative Steering Committee, a past chair of the Health Research Alliance board, and has served on advisory panels for PCORI and Vivli. She earned her Ph.D. from Weill Cornell Medicine and trained at the Sloan Kettering Institute.
Bianca Frogner, PhD, Professor and Interim Chair, Dept of Family Medicine Director, School of Medicine at University of Washington
Bianca K. Frogner, PhD, is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Family Medicine (DFM) in the School of Medicine at University of Washington (UW). She is the Director of the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies and the Director of the UW Primary Care Innovation Lab (PCI-Lab), both housed in DFM. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Health Systems and Population Health Department of the UW School of Public Health. She serves on the Coordinating Core of Rural PRO-CARE, a Rural Health Equity and Research Network (HERN) funded by the American Heart Association. Dr. Frogner also serves on the leadership team of the UCSF Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia (AWARD) Network. Dr. Frogner is a Governor-appointed member of the Washington state Health Care Cost Transparency Board and is the Chair of the Data Issues Advisory Committee of the Board. She has served on National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine committees, including most recently as co-chair of a workshop on the affordability of health professional education. She is on the Editorial Boards of Milbank Quarterly, Health Services Research, and Medical Care Research and Review. Dr. Frogner’s has produced about 200 publications including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reports. She has delivered over 250 scholarly presentations and has appeared in media outlets including CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Vox, and Politico. She has received awards recognizing her excellence in both mentorship and research. Dr. Frogner completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Dr. Frogner received her PhD in health economics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and BA at University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology.
Alycia Halladay, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Autism Science Foundation
Alycia Halladay is the Chief Science Officer for the Autism Science Foundation, where she oversees all of the scientific activities, grant programs, funding projects and scientific initiatives of ASF including the Baby Sibs Research Consortium, the Alliance for the Genetic Etiologies of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Autism, the Next Gen Sibs project. Prior to joining ASF in 2014, she served as the Senior Director of Clinical and Environmental Sciences at Autism Speaks. She has authored over two dozen peer-reviewed papers in science journals around autism spectrum disorder, with a focus on the needs of the underserved and underrepresented in scientific research. Alycia also served on Board of Directors for the Phelan McDermid Syndrome Foundation and the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, and currently serves on the board of the Health Research Alliance and the Rare Epilepsy Network. Alycia leads and produces a weekly podcast about the newest scientific information relevant to autism families called the Autism Science Foundation Weekly Science Podcast. She is on the editorial boards of Neurotoxicology and Frontiers in Pediatrics. She received a PhD in biopsychology from Rutgers in 2001 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ in 2004. She still holds a faculty appointment at Rutgers. She is the parent to a 14 year old daughter with ASD.
Jon Retzlaff, MBA, MPA, Chief Policy Officer and Vice President, Science Policy and Government Affairs, American Association for Cancer Research
As Chief Policy Officer, and Vice President, Science Policy and Government Affairs, Mr. Retzlaff directs and oversees the government affairs, science policy, and patient advocacy activities for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Washington, D.C. In this role, Mr. Retzlaff (and his team of ten) works closely with the AACR Science Policy and Government Affairs Committee to devise and implement strategies to influence important biomedical research-related public policy issues with the goal of accelerating the prevention and cure of all cancers. The staff also communicates with legislators, regulators, scientists, and the public.
Before joining the AACR in 2010, Mr. Retzlaff led the health and biomedical practice for a government relations firm in D.C. Prior to that, he served as legislative director for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology from 2004-2007.
Additionally, he previously worked (from 1993-2004) for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), first as a program analyst within the NIH Office of the Director’s legislative office; then as a senior legislative advisor to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and finally as the Executive Officer of the National Library of Medicine. During his time as an NIH employee, Mr. Retzlaff was “detailed” to the House (1998) and Senate (2000-2001) appropriations subcommittees on labor, health and human services, education and related agencies on health research funding issues, as well as within the Office of the Secretary for Legislation at the Department of Health and Human Services. He entered the Federal Government as a Presidential Management Intern in 1993 and completed a rotation in the Office of Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) during his two-years of formal training.
Mr. Retzlaff earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota (U of M) in 1989, a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University (IU) in 1993, and a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002.