Celebrating 25 Years of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research

National Institutes of Health
OBSSR Updates
June 30, 2020

On the date of the formation of OBSSR 25 years ago, James M. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, provides a perspective of OBSSR from NIH leadership. 

On July 1, 1995, the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) was formed with Norman Anderson as its first Director. That year, the Digital Video Disc (DVD) was introduced. JavaScript was developed and web browsers like Netscape were making the Internet accessible to the general public. Amazon sold its first book and eBay was launched. In the medical sciences, Hemophilus influenzae became the first free living organism to have its complete genome sequenced. The first protease inhibitor was approved by the FDA for combination treatment of HIV/AIDS. Clearly, much has changed in medicine, technology, and the world in the 25 years since OBSSR was formed.

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New Director Takes Helm at National Science Foundation

NSF Public Affairs
June 23, 2020

Following in the footsteps of many great science and engineering leaders before him, Sethuraman Panchanathan has been officially appointed and begins work today as the National Science Foundation's 15th director, sharing his vision for his six-year term and promising a continued push for inclusiveness in science and engineering.

"Right now, the world faces significant scientific challenges – most obviously a pandemic." Panchanathan said. "But in addition to providing creative solutions to address current problems, our eyes are on the future, leveraging partnerships at every level and encouraging diversity that breeds new ideas for a robust pipeline of young scientists. It is only through that expansive perspective on the scientific and engineering enterprise that we can recognize the brightest ideas and nurture them into tomorrow's world-class technological innovations."

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As Coronavirus Spreads, Universities Stall Their Research to Keep Human Subjects Safe

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Marc Parry
March 18, 2020

A basic calculation governs research on human beings: How do the benefits stack up against the risks?

The coronavirus pandemic doesn’t much alter that calculation for studies that can directly improve the health of seriously ill participants, such as trials of new cancer treatments.

But the pandemic could stall other researchers: neuroscientists who put people in MRI scanners to study normal brain functions, business professors who gather them for focus groups, oral historians who take their testimonies, criminal-justice scholars who interview people coming out of prisons. Those kinds of studies, which didn’t previously expose the participants to any risk, could now sicken them with Covid-19.

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NSF Creates New Research Security Chief Position

National Science Foundation
March 2, 2020


Rebecca Spyke Keiser, expert in international research issues, named as first chief of research security strategy and policy

The National Science Foundation has appointed Rebecca Spyke Keiser to the newly created position of chief of research security strategy and policy as part of its continuing effort to ensure the security of federally funded research while maintaining an open international collaboration.

In this role, Keiser will be tasked with providing the NSF director with policy advice on all aspects of research security strategy. She will also lead NSF’s efforts to develop and implement strategies to improve research security and the agency’s coordination with other federal agencies and the White House.

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