AAI is delighted to announce the sixteenth class of AAI Public Policy Fellows, who officially begin their one-year fellowship on May 1. Since 2011, the AAI Public Policy Fellows Program (PPFP) has enabled early-career AAI members to learn how to effectively advocate for increased federal science funding and on science policies relevant to the immunology community.
The Fellows meet virtually once monthly and participate in many advocacy and educational activities throughout the year, culminating in Capitol Hill Day, when they use the skills they learned over the year to visit congressional representatives to impart the importance of biomedical research and encourage increased NIH funding.
We are pleased to welcome this year’s Fellows:
Sarah Beckett Cleveland, PhD
Utsa Bhaduri, PhD
Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts)
Joseph Dolence, PhD
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Matthew Fischer, PhD
Princeton University (New Jersey)
Olanrewaju Morenikeji, PhD
Virginia State University
Jacqueline (Koko) Mutai, PhD
Oregon Health & Science University
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kenya
Rachel Prescott, PhD
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Tennessee)
Christopher Risley, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Andrew Simonson, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (Pennsylvania)
Lauren Stewart Stafford, PhD
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Ohio)
AAI welcomes this impressive group of future science advocates and looks forward to working with them, including during the AAI PPFP Capitol Hill Day next year. Learn more about this year’s class and their goals in the slideshow below:
Get involved
AAI members have many opportunities to get involved in advocacy. The Public Affairs team supports letter-writing campaigns to help inform Congress on important policy issues and encourage thoughtful decision-making, as well as special sessions at the annual meeting that provide strategies to make your voice heard. This year, the Committee on Public Affairs is sponsoring “The Future of Vaccination and the Critical Need for Evidence-Based Policies” on April 17, 8:30–10:00 AM, at IMMUNOLOGY2026™.
For program details or to inquire about applying for the PPFP, see www.aai.org/Public-Affairs/PPFP or contact AAI Director of Government Affairs Jake Schumacher at jschumacher@aai.org.
