Under the leadership of the AACR Director, Science and Health Policy, the Associate Director, Science and Health Policy, will provide specialized expertise and support to AACR leaders, including the Science Policy and Government Affairs Committee, its relevant subcommittees, and the broader advocacy community on science and health policy issues and activities to further the goals of the AACR’s Strategic Plan and policy priorities.
The Associate Director, Science and Health Policy, plays a significant role in the success of AACR’s work in this important area and guides AACR science and health policy activities to a productive conclusion. Such activities are designed to create and strengthen the dialogue between policymakers, scientists, and advocates, as well as support policies to advance cancer research and improve patient care and public health. This person provides specialized expertise and support on science and health policy issues that are important to AACR leadership, with a primary focus on tobacco control policy and a secondary science or health policy focus to be determined, depending on the candidate’s experience. He/she takes initiative, has excellent written and oral communication skills, and has experience in project management, committee management, and consensus building. Responsibilities include monitoring, researching, and analyzing science and health policy initiatives in AACR priority areas; developing policy statements; compiling background information; attending and summarizing policy meetings and events; supporting science and health policy-related committees, primarily the Tobacco Products and Cancer Subcommittee; partnering and collaborating with outside entities; and providing support to the Director, Science and Health Policy, on a wide array of tasks and assignments.
The Associate Director, Science and Health Policy, is expected to work on tobacco policy and other science and health policy issues, identify opportunities to disseminate the information to a broader audience, and collaborate with many of our external partners in the cancer research advocacy community. The Associate Director, Science and Health Policy, will also work collaboratively with others in the AACR D.C. office, including the Director, Regulatory Science and Policy, the Director, Government Affairs and Advocacy, and the Director, Strategic Patient Advocacy and Engagement, particularly on the numerous policy issues that are crosscutting and currently being addressed by many of them. The list of issues and activities includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Advocating for and providing analysis and oversight on a variety of issues related to tobacco products and cancer, including tobacco control measures, lung cancer screening, the assessment of tobacco use by participants of clinical trials, and other cancer prevention and public health-related issues;
- Formulating forward-thinking policy recommendations/policy statements/white papers for policy makers on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies, specifically to the NIH, FDA, and CDC on particularly important issues, such as the sale and marketing of tobacco products and a new AACR policy statement on e-cigarettes, the domestic and global burden of pathogen-related cancers, the science of survivorship, cancer health disparities, and patient participation in clinical trials, among other possible topics;
- Monitoring, analyzing, and assessing federal regulations, legislation, and other government activities related to the aforementioned priority policy issues, as well as responding to “requests for comments” from federal agencies, particularly the NIH and FDA on tobacco policy and other science and health policy issues that are important to the AACR membership;
- Advancing science and health policy measures that will accelerate the translation of research advances into clinical care and public health, including through vaccination for pathogen-related cancers, using evidence-based measures to reduce cancer health disparities, and advancing precision medicine initiatives;
- Providing research and analysis to enhance the integration of patient perspectives into research, including through improving the number and diversity of patients participating in clinical trials, and advancing research into the long-term outcomes experienced by cancer survivors;
- Working in collaboration with others in the AACR D.C. office to ensure the rapid implementation of research discoveries to improved patient care through a learning health care system and integrated health information technology systems;
- Working on broader policy issues such as nurturing a strong cancer workforce for the future, and decreasing the global burden of cancer;
- Playing a leading role in innovative initiatives that advocate for federal funding for cancer research and biomedical science, such as the annual AACR Cancer Progress Report, as well as one-pagers and letters to Capitol Hill;
- Ensuring that the innovative AACR advocacy materials that are developed are shared and disseminated widely and effectively through various venues and means, such as at Congressional briefings and hearings, special meetings on Capitol Hill, and at AACR conferences;
- Supporting an innovative science and health policy track at the AACR Annual Meeting, as well as special science and health policy sessions at other selected AACR conferences; and
- Working collaboratively with the broader cancer research and medical science community on many of the science and health policy-related issues that are of a high priority for the AACR.
