On a typical Thursday, we would be at our laboratory benches at Rockefeller University, where we are fourth-year Ph.D. candidates in biomedical sciences. But on April 3, 2025, we met our colleagues in Rockefeller’s Hurford Science Diplomacy course at Moynihan Train Hall to take the Amtrak from New York to Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Hurford Foundation, the Hurford Science Diplomacy Initiative is one of the only graduate-level science diplomacy training courses in the United States. The course, which is organized and taught by Jesse Ausubel (Rockefeller) and Mandë Holford (Hunter College/Harvard), examines how science intersects with political, economic, and societal issues, with the goal of cultivating a new generation of scientists who can work effectively at the international level to address these challenges.
The theme of this year’s course, in its eleventh edition, was “Science amid Olympian competition,” reflecting the heightened international political tensions shaping the global scientific landscape today. Both co-teachers run their own research laboratories and have dedicated their careers to science diplomacy. Ausubel helped organize the first UN World Climate Conference in 1979, played a leading role in the creation of international research programs like the Census of Marine Life and the Deep Carbon Observatory, and has served in advisory roles for major science policy institutions including the National Academies and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Holford combines marine natural products research with public engagement and diplomacy, and she currently serves on the National Academies’ Roundtable on Science Diplomacy. She is also a cofounder of Killer Snails, an award-winning science education company, and has been recognized globally for her efforts to connect science, innovation, and public impact. Both are Life Members of the Council on Foreign Relations.
As Ph.D. students training at the intersection of basic science and global impact, we were drawn to the course by a shared curiosity: how can scientists help shape the world beyond the bench? Like many Tri-I scientists, we work alongside colleagues from around the world and are accustomed to applying for research funding from agencies based in Washington, D.C. We were recent college graduates when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, so we quickly learned how interconnected the global scientific community is. When we began our graduate studies, we brought with us an interest in how the practice of academic science intersects with the real world, where it can serve as a bridge between political entities by enabling scientists to work together across borders. Through the Hurford Initiative, we have learned how science diplomacy, from individual relationships to nonprofit and corporate ventures to intergovernmental negotiation, drives scientific progress on a global scale. Stepping into a diplomatic space pushes wet-lab scientists like us to think differently—not just about research, but about who it serves and how knowledge moves across borders.
We began our visit at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), where we met with Director of Policy and Global Affairs Dr. Vaughn Turekian. We discussed challenges posed to the scientific community by international conflicts, such as interference with cross-border scientific collaboration and reallocation of scientific funding to military expenditures. Dr. Turekian explained that the National Academies were established by Abraham Lincoln in response to the technological advances and challenges faced by the Union during the Civil War. Now, as we enter a new technological revolution driven by artificial intelligence, the need for expertise in policy and diplomacy continues. Expert opinion from scientists and other highly trained professionals has been culturally devalued in the current swing of the political pendulum, and proposed cuts to federal research funding have caused many early-career scientists to look abroad for the next stage of their careers. The week we visited D.C., Nature published the results of a poll indicating that 75% of respondents are exploring research opportunities outside of the United States.
This thread was picked up at our next visit to the Embassy of Finland. Here, we engaged in a captivating conversation with Finnish professor Dr. Petri Koikkalainen and Dr. Katarzyna Grant, who joined us from the Embassy of Poland. Our discussion focused on the factors that influence the mobility of scientists across borders, both within Europe and between Europe and the United States. We examined the mechanisms that enable such mobility, including European emergency funds that allow American scientists to pursue training opportunities in Europe. We were surprised to learn that embassy careers can be quite fluid; many positions are term-limited, resulting in frequent staff rotations. This prompted us to wonder what it means to maintain continuity in science diplomacy when the field’s leaders are in constant motion. Exemplifying the dynamic nature of diplomatic scientific careers, Dr. Grant shared stories of her participation in Women in Science Diplomacy events. Roles like hers go beyond policy and extend into areas such as representation, visibility, and, importantly, building communities in spaces where scientists and diplomats may not often interact. Overall, our visit to the embassy provided a nuanced understanding of the complexities and opportunities inherent in science diplomacy careers.
Later that evening, we enjoyed dinner at the Cosmos Club with D.C.-based experts in science diplomacy, including several Rockefeller graduates of this course who now work in science policy careers. The discussion was primarily focused on science and international development. Pamela Aall, former advisor at the U.S. Institute of Peace, recently dismantled by DOGE, gave the leading remarks. Aall’s career in international affairs and diplomacy has focused on peacebuilding and conflict resolution in places like Sudan, Bosnia, Israel and Palestine, and Afghanistan. She spoke about her perspective on the role of civil society in conflict zones. These remarks prompted a discussion about the uncertain future of the scientific enterprise in the United States, especially regarding funding and training. As the youngest generation of trained scientists in the U.S., we left the dinner brainstorming new models of government-academia-industry cooperation that would need to emerge to respond to the current challenges faced by the research enterprise, such as public skepticism of scientific expertise. Young scientists are uniquely positioned to address these challenges because we are trained on the cutting edge of science, share youth culture with experts in other sectors, and can react quickly by diversifying our training to extend beyond the bench. Engaging in conversations with course graduates who are now leaders in science policy across different sectors helped us to see ourselves as rising science diplomats and to clarify our own goals.
The next morning, April 4, we traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with Kevin Wheeler from the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. Wheeler is the senior staff member on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. He oversees the majority’s appropriations on those topics. Wheeler gave the group an overview of the appropriation process and how it affects science funding. As an example, he showed us the appropriation from FY 2024–2025 for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a fellowship that funds the graduate studies of several members of the course. As with our previous meetings in Washington, we discussed the uncertainty surrounding FY 2025–2026 federal science funding and how agencies are responding to DEI cuts—for example, by adopting new language to preserve funding for activities and programs at risk of being terminated.
We next turned our sights to the stars. After our visit on Capitol Hill, we walked down the Washington Mall to the Smithsonian Offices. Here, we met with Dr. Alexander MacDonald, the chief economist at NASA, who gave us an enlightening perspective on the role of human storytelling and exploration in the space enterprise. Much like biomedical sciences, the rapidly expanding space sector is driven by a desire to discover the laws of the universe and build innovative technology. International cooperation in biomedical research happens daily onboard the International Space Station, where astronauts carry out basic research in zero-gravity settings. Across the street at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, we had a fantastic tour by an experienced docent. We toured the Wright Brothers and Early Space Flight exhibits, which cover events that took place over only six decades—an astounding success story in American science and technology development. The rapid evolution of airplane models and spacecraft exemplifies the level of excellence that scientists in the U.S. can achieve with dedicated support from the government. As biomedical researchers, we recognize the need to advocate for continued support for our projects, which we believe will also lead to the development of technologies that can ultimately save lives.
As early-career scientists navigating a rapidly changing world, our experiences and interactions in Washington, D.C. underscored that our work at the bench is deeply entangled with policy, politics, and global collaboration. The future of science, and of scientists, is increasingly uncertain. Research funding is shifting, and international collaborations face increasing strain. Scientific expertise is both politicized and sidelined. These realities have made it clear to us that scientists can no longer afford to be passive observers of policy. We need more voices—more people trained in science—willing to step into rooms where decisions are made, to advocate for evidence-based policy, and to build bridges across disciplines, sectors, and borders.
If you’re a scientist who’s ever felt curious about how your work connects to the world beyond the lab, we can’t recommend the Hurford Science Diplomacy Initiative and Washington, D.C. Delegation enough.
The Hurford Science Diplomacy course is offered at Rockefeller University each winter and is designed to help early-career scientists explore the global context of their work and prepare them to engage effectively at the international level. Course syllabi and registration instructions are typically emailed to the student body about one month before the first class session.
Lauren Anderson is a Ph.D. candidate and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at Rockefeller University in the Laboratory of Genome Architecture. Lauren is also an advocate for science funding as a 2024–2025 Howard Garrison Advocacy fellow with the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology. She is also interested in how science diplomacy can promote the equitable adoption of emerging technologies.
Roberto Rodríguez Cartagena is a Ph.D. candidate and the Huyett Family Graduate Research Fellow at Rockefeller University in the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, where he studies how brain cells grow and connect during early development. He is a 2025 Science Diplomacy Fellow with the National Science Policy Network, through which he collaborates with the Embassy of Argentina to strengthen international scientific partnerships. Roberto is passionate about bridging science, policy, and diplomacy to create more equitable and collaborative research ecosystems.
All photos provided by Lauren Anderson & Roberto Rodríguez Cartagena