Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive producer of the Science family of journals, engaged in a virtual conversation with Theodore DeWeese, interim dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. 

They discussed the future of science in the United States and emphasized the importance of improved communication and engagement with policymakers and the public. "We know more about the universe, more about the planet, and more about ourselves than ever before," said Parikh, who has served in leadership roles across the private sector and the federal government. 

“We need to do more, as a nation, to help the public and policymakers understand the exciting advancements happening—and why they matter,” he emphasized adding that scientists and science advocates need to build bridges with their community and communicate more efficiently to solve the problem.

"In many ways, we have a hard time communicating the beauty and wonder and utility of what we're working on, and we've got to make sure we're becoming better science communicators, not just a few people … but rather all of us as a scientific enterprise," Parikh said. Only then can "we heal some of this disconnect that's occurred over the past few years."

Parikh is the ninth expert to engage in the Health Policy Forum series, initiated in the fall of 2020 to showcase the university's collaboration with prominent leaders on topics related to health policy and healthcare. The Health Policy Forum series is a collaborative effort between Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, Carey Business School, School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.