Elizabeth Suhay, PhD, principal investigator, is Associate Professor of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Suhay is also a Fellow at AU’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. She specializes in the study of U.S. politics, political psychology, and political communication and is the author of numerous scholarly articles, including several on the intersection of political processes and scientific knowledge. She co-edited, with James Druckman, a special issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science entitled “The Politics of Science.” Among her current projects is the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion (co-edited with Bernard Grofman and Alex Trechsel) and a book manuscript on the reciprocal relationship between the American public’s political preferences and their causal explanations for socioeconomic inequality (funded by a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation). She received her Ph.D. in Political Science, and a B.A. in History and Political Science (Honors), from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Emily Cloyd, co-principal investigator, is Director of the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Center focuses on increasing public input into scientific research and policy agendas and encouraging dialogue between policymakers, the general public, and the scientific community. Cloyd is an expert in science communication and public engagement and has co-authored numerous scholarly articles and research reports. She has a particular interest in the use of environmental science to support decision making. Prior to joining AAAS, she led engagement and outreach efforts at the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Cloyd holds a Master of Professional Studies from The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a B.S. in Plant Biology from the University of Michigan.

Erin Heath, co-principal investigator, is Associate Director of Government Relations at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Office of Government Relations provides timely, objective information on science and technology issues to lawmakers, and it assists scientists in understanding and getting involved in the policy process. Heath handles a range of policy issues of interest to the scientific community and is heavily involved in efforts to empower scientists and engineers to become engaged with policymakers, the media, and the public. She also serves as AAAS’s liaison to state and local science education advocates. She co-chairs the Coalition for National Science Funding and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy Coalition, heads the selection committee for the AAAS Science and Technology Congressional Fellowships, and sits on the steering committee of the Golden Goose Awards. Before joining AAAS, Heath worked for the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Heath holds a Master of Science with Merit in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to graduate school, she spent years as a journalist in Washington, most notably as a science policy reporter and columnist for the National Journal. She earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

Erin J. Nash, PhD, research associate, is affiliated with the University of New South Wales (Sydney). Nash recently completed her PhD in philosophy at the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science & Society at Durham University (UK). Nash’s academic research interests lie at the interfaces of philosophy of science, social and political philosophy, and epistemology. Her doctoral thesis, a work of practical philosophy, is titled On the Political Costs of Misinformation About Science. She explores a number of potential solutions to the public and democratic risks she identifies, focusing on the special responsibilities and obligations of actors who occupy important nodes in public knowledge systems, such as scientists, journalists, and politicians. Before returning to academia, Nash had a decade-long public policy career working in both government and non-government organizations in Australia, S.E. Asia, and Europe. In addition to her PhD, she holds an MSc in philosophy and public policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BSc (Honors) in biological sciences from Monash University.