Standing Up for Science With SETAC North America

Chris Stransky, Mark Johnson and Carla Ng, SETAC North America Board of Directors

A series of policy shifts in the U.S. have impacted SETAC’s mission and values in 2025, ranging from push back and attacks on research focused on environmental justice and climate change to systematic actions aimed at dismantling environmental regulations and hindering scientific progress. Changes in federal support for environmental science have affected academia, U.S. federal agencies and downstream private industry. In response, SETAC North America has engaged in increasing member support and advocacy efforts.

Recently, SETAC North America launched a survey to collect data from members of SETAC and other environmental societies to better understand the current state of affairs, develop ways to better support the community, navigate current challenges, and plan for the future. Survey results, as of 14 September, were summarized in a report (PDF), and a SETAC Café was convened on 9 September for in-depth analysis and discussion with members.

In the face of these ongoing challenges, the SETAC North America Board of Directors (the board) is working to support the scientific community in various ways.

Advocacy

The Board ramped up the following advocacy efforts:

• To advocate for research funding, we’ve been addressing the Congressional appropriations committees
• To support environmental protection and research, we led a coalition of scientific societies to advocate for a strong USEPA to relevant congressional committees with jurisdiction over USEPA, NOAA and USGS​
• To advocate for science-informed research, transparency and oversight, jobs, and funding, SETAC North America has co-signed more than 12 letters of support to federal agencies and the U.S. Congress including the Office of Personnel Management; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. Senate and House Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Science, Space, and Technology; Finances; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Natural Resources.  See more details of this recent advocacy work here: SETAC North America's Advocacy Work Under Current US Political Climate
• SETAC North America has also signed on to an amicus brief urning the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to grant preliminary injunction against the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) termination of the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) grant program – a program that supports excellent researchers and promotes diversity in the biomedical sciences.
•  To advocate for science-informed environmental regulations in the U.S., we invite our members to review, assess and comment on what is being reported in the news and the federal register.

Members can read all about SETAC North Ameria’s advocacy philosophy and effortst online. 

Funding

To support members in securing funding, SETAC North America highlights a grant opportunity from the Renewable Natural Resource Foundation (RNRF), available exclusively to members of its five constituent societies, which includes SETAC. The grant funds initiatives that foster collaboration and bridge the gap between research, evidence-based practices and implementation.

Careers

To support members going through job insecurity, we have made the SETAC Career Center free for employers to encourage more job postings. It has always been, and remains, free to post fellowships and requests for proposals and to upload resumes for employers to search. The SETAC North America Careers Committee has also bene active. The committee held a SETAC Café titled “Transferable Skills for Career Transitions to the Private Sector” and has planned several career-related events at the SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting this November in Portland, Oregon, including a resumé writing and review mini-workshop. 

Community

To support members within the community, SETAC leadership opened Affinity Groups and Interest Groups to all members, ensuring they have forums to engage and collaborate within the Society.

Scientific Exchange

SETAC’s mission centers on fostering scientific exchange and collaboration within its membership. Despite rising operational costs and ongoing inflation, the board chose not to raise registration fees this year and even reduced asynchronous virtual meeting fees to keep scientific exchange and collaboration accessible.

Society

In the financial arena, leadership is juggling tough decisions about cuts in expenses that will still allow SETAC to deliver robust programs. Those attending the SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting in Portland may see reduced spending on expensive (alcoholic) beverage options in favor of less expensive ones and reduced spending on catering, recognizing it is much more expensive in a convention center than outside. You will also notice that we will have printed abridged meeting program leaflets and a meeting app instead of a detailed program book. A meeting app is more sustainable than printed books and can be kept up to date, thus providing flexibility for last-minute changes to the program. These decisions will NOT impact the breadth of the content available to participants or the opportunities for networking and engaging discussions, which our members cite, again and again, as the primary benefits of attending the annual meeting.

Parting Words

These recent changes will undoubtedly affect SETAC North America meeting attendance in Portland. This is regrettable since our organization’s pulse is measured through in-person collaboration, sharing and demonstration of emerging science. However, there is also a strong indication that a majority of state and regional agencies, and private industries, are not rolling back existing environmental protections; academic and government researchers are continuing to pursue opportunities and persevere despite the cuts; and there is a growing movement to fight these challenges to advocate for good science and policy. SETAC’s membership, comprised of so many amazingly bright and motivated scientists, regulators and environmental managers, offers encouragement and hope. These are troubling times no doubt, but this is also a golden opportunity to come together, support each other, advocate and look forward to what we can collectively accomplish in the future. We are troubled by much of the current daily news but remain optimistic that the shared desire for a clean, healthy environment will prevail over the challenges we are facing. In the face of uncertainty in the U.S., strong SETAC leadership is persevering and creating contingency plans to ensure we can all continue our success and stand up for science. Let’s carry this momentum forward. Join us at the SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting for a great opportunity to connect, share and shape the future together.

Contact: [email protected]