Translational Science: Basic Science to Public Policy and Back Again

Basic science and public policy.

I would like to address my attention to the Cancer Program as seen by the basic science community, not so much in terms of dollars and cents but of the objectives; i.e., where and how the basic sciences should fit and what role they have been asked to play in the Program. I am not going to deal with specifics of appropriation from the NCI budget, nor with the scientific basis of cancer control....

Science and public policy.

Ideology, science, and public policy.

I deologies—strong beliefs based on untestable assumptions—are the antithesis of science. Whether economic (the ‘‘invisible hand of the market’’ will solve social inequities ‘‘in the long run’’), religious (‘‘we’’ hold the sole truth of a divine entity), or political (our way is the best governance for assuring liberty and justice), these kinds of widespread beliefs are acceptable in individual...

SOCIAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY What is Socially Relevant Science?

Interest in the effect on society of scientific discoveries can be traced back to the beginnings of the modern sciences. It is plain to see that for reasons of legitimizing science alone, this question was not only of interest to the early scientists. Affirmative answers to the question of the practical virtues of science helped the first generation of scientists—and of course present-day scien...

Epidemiologic science and public health policy.

Our alleged views on science and policy [l] differ from our actual views [2]. We do not believe that epidemiologists “simply should not be involved in policy making” [ll. To the contrary, we uphold the “rights and responsibilities of scientists to participate, like any concerned citizens, in the politica1 process that determines policy” [2]. The science of epidemiology is firmly ensconsed withi...