BNA in Parliament: A Festive End to a Busy Year
Fresh from the energy of the BNA Festive Symposium in Canary Wharf on 9th December, the BNA team made their way to the Palace of Westminster to represent the voice of UK neuroscience at the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee (P&SC) Christmas Reception.
Hosted at the House of Commons, and this year co-sponsored by the BNA, the reception is a staple of the science policy calendar, designed to foster closer working ties between parliamentarians and the STEM community. For the BNA, it was a great opportunity to promote the visibility of UK neuroscience.
Image from left: Professor Mark Walton, Sam Carling MP, Professor Narender Ramnani and Sara Purdy.
While the atmosphere was celebratory, the BNA delegation - represented by BNA President Professor Narender Ramnani, and BNA Trustees Professor Mark Walton and Sara Purdy - used the evening to press for the sector’s interests. The team took the opportunity of using informal discussions to promote the recent achievements of BNA members, including the breakthroughs by the winner of the BNA’s Outstanding Contribution to Neuroscience Prize. These face-to-face conversations also allowed the BNA to raise awareness of its policy positions.
Professor Narender Ramnani commented:
"Policy is often shaped by conversations that shift the views of decision-makers. With three BNA trustees present to represent UK neuroscientists, we were able to engage personally with parliamentarians to discuss the reality of the government’s strategy on animal testing. We made sure MPs and Peers understood that to deliver the treatments of the future, animal research remains a vital tool alongside new alternative methods."
The event also served as a bridge between the BNA and other learned societies. Sara Purdy, BNA Independent Trustee, highlighted the value of connecting with colleagues from other learned societies:
It was a pleasure to meet colleagues from across the scholarly society community, including the Royal Society of Biology, Applied Microbiology International and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. A big thank-you to Leigh Jeffes, and to Narender Ramnani and the British Neuroscience Association for inviting me.
We look forward to building on these conversations and working closely with partners across Parliament and the research sector in the year ahead.
