Demystifying Advocacy: The Role of Scientists in Shaping Policy for Genetics and Genomics

Jon Judd is a Genetics PhD candidate at Stanford University in the labs of Jonathan Pritchard and John Witte, researching the genetic and social causes of complex diseases. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Throughout his training, Jon has been a keen advocate at the local and federal levels. Beyond being a member of ASHG’s Government & Public Advocacy Committee, Jon staffed the Presidents’ Council of Advisors on Science and Technology at the White House and was a research assistant for the Association of Science and Technology Centers. At the grassroots level, Jon is a co-chair of the Stanford Genetics Advocacy Committee, president of the Stanford Science Policy Group, and assisted in organizing Stanford BioJam, a community-led camp devoted to the education of teenagers underrepresented in STEM.

Yvette Seger, PhD, is the Director of Strategic Scientific Program Advancement, Director of Science Policy, and Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), a coalition of 22 scientific societies collectively representing over 110,000 individual biological and biomedical researchers. In these roles she leads the Federation's strategic investments in diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion and data sharing and reuse while also contributing to overall strategic vision for FASEB’s science policy initiatives. Dr. Seger launched her policy career at the National Academies as a Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow where she worked on a report examining processes for identifying and appointing scientists to key federal advisory positions. After leaving the Academies, Dr. Seger held senior policy analyst positions at the research advocacy group FasterCures, the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Policy, and Thomson Reuters before joining FASEB in 2013. Dr. Seger holds a PhD in Genetics from Stony Brook University and received a BA in Zoology (Genetics Concentration) and Politics & Government from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Jennifer Zeitzer was named Director of the FASEB Office of Public Affairs (OPA) in June 2018 and assumed the dual role of Deputy Executive Director in June 2022. She works with a team of policy analysts, legislative affairs specialists, and the elected leadership of the Federation and its member societies to develop and promote policies to advance biomedical research. Prior to her current role, Jennifer served as the Director of Legislative Relations/ Deputy Director of OPA. In that role, she represented FASEB on Capitol Hill, managed FASEB’s communications with the U.S. Congress, and developed legislative strategies related to funding for the National Institutes of Health and other federal science agencies. She also coordinated FASEB’s advocacy efforts with coalition partners in the biomedical and scientific research community. Previously, Jennifer was the Director of Congressional Relations at the Alzheimer’s Association. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University. 

Tony Wynshaw-Boris received his MD, PhD degrees from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In 1994, Dr. Wynshaw-Boris set up an independent laboratory at NHGRI, where he initiated a program using mouse models to study human genetic diseases, with a focus on neurogenetic diseases. In 1999, he moved to UCSD School of Medicine, where he became Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, as well as Chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics. In 2007, he moved to UCSF School of Medicine, where he was the Charles J. Epstein Professor of Human Genetics and Pediatrics, and the Chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics. At UCSF, in addition to mouse models, his laboratory began to use patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models to study human disease. He returned to Cleveland in 2013 to become the Chair of the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, and is now the James H. Jewell MD (Med ’34) Professor of Genetics. His laboratory continues to use mouse and iPSC models to shed light on mechanisms of neurogenetic diseases with the ultimate goal of providing novel therapies.

Dr. Wynshaw-Boris was President of the American Society for Human Genetics for 2020 and is currently Chair of the Government and Public Advocacy Committee (GPAC). He was appointed to the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, NIH, in 2019. He has also been elected to membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Pediatric Society, and he was elected as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.