91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½

On April 12, the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ hosted its annual Hill Day. In attendance were undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, faculty members, department chairs and university administrators, all eager to meet with their elected officials and advocate for the importance of positive policies and legislation for the scientific enterprise.

Tomorrow is ! Participants will discuss the need for increased and sustainable funding for the scientific enterprise with elected officials and their staffs: . Follow along right here on Twitter!

— 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ (@91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½)

Hill Day began the night before with Ben Corb, director of public affairs, providing a crash course in advocacy and the legislative process as it relates to scientific research.

Prepping for day tomorrow what great ?info and students and postdocs! Look out capital hill here we come!!

— Terri Kinzy (@kinzytg)

The following morning, attendees descended on Capitol Hill ready to begin a long day of meetings with staffers and members of Congress.

Black scientists advocating for basic science research!

— Kimberly M. Jackson (@kmjacks)

off to

— SLF (@pombe_doc)

TX/PA group is on the metro!

— Spencer Shelton (@Spencer2268)

This year, the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ brought 35 Hill Day attendees to Washington, D.C. (15 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ PAAC members and 20 undergraduates, graduates, and postdocs). The participants represented 27 states and attended 85 meetings.

Thanks for talking with me today. your up next!

— Andrew garfoot (@Dr_Garfoot)

thank you for your support of Biomed Research!

— Tricia Serio (@TriciaSerio)

Meeting #1 down! and Eric Henshall are amazing advocate for science. Thank you!

— Emily Myers (@OrbiTrapped)

Some attendees were able to take advantage of the underground tram system to usher themselves from one side of the Hill to the other. Others took the opportunity to smell the recently bloomed cherry blossoms and enjoy the spring weather.

— Rick Page (@ThePageLab)

Bonus meeting on the train to the Senate side with a friendly staffer from ‘s office!

— Leah Cairns (@lscairns18)

On our way to Our afternoon meetings with and !

— Andrea Hadjikyriacou (@phd_fashionista)

The work for 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½’s Public Affairs Advisory Committee members, however, did not end with Hill Day. The next morning, members of the PAAC traveled to six institutes at the NIH and three directorates at the NSF to meet with senior leadership and discuss policies and programs that directly affect the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½’s membership and the future of the scientific enterprise.

We’re not done yet: some of the PAAC head out early to meet with NSF.

— SLF (@pombe_doc)

We thank the trainees and researchers who continue to help make the case for investments in basic research. Attendees reported full support from both sides of the aisle regarding the future of the U.S. scientific enterprise. Earlier this year, Congress that increased funding at the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy’s Office of Science in FY18. As we look forward, we hope that based on the conversations had with representatives and their staff during Hill Day, members of Congress will continue their support in an FY19 budget.

Interested in catching up on tweets from this year’s Hill Day? Click .