Discussing Trust in Science
Posted on by Lawrence Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D.
What an honor it was for me to receive the 2023 John Edward Porter Legacy Award. The award, which honors the late U.S. Congressman from Illinois who was strong advocate for biomedical research, is presented annually to a person who shows an outstanding commitment to sustain the nation’s world-class leadership in medical and health research. I’m humbled to be the award’s fifth recipient.
While there, I took part in a panel discussion titled Trust in Science. It explored the public’s perception of research and efforts to bolster trust in science. In this photo, you can see (l – r) the panel moderator Donna Shalala, the esteemed American academic, politician, and government administrator; Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO, Flagship Pioneering, Cambridge, MA; Pamela Davis, Center for Community Health Integration, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH; Michael Friedlander, vice president, Health Sciences and Technology, Virginia Tech and executive director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, VA.; Heywood Fralin, chairman, Retirement Unlimited, Inc., Richmond, VA; followed by me, Larry Tabak; Lori Rose Benson, executive director and CEO, Hip Hop Public Health, New York, NY; and Olajide Williams, founder, Hip Hop Public Health. Credit: Research! America
Congratulations to Dr. Lawrence Tabak for receiving the 2023 John C. Porter Legacy Award. I had the honor to meet Congressman John Porter from Illinois in the 1980’s. He was a great Cngressman a Republican champion of the Human Rights, was able to work with democrats to get the things done.
I suspect that most people trust “science” for the same reason that the subjects in Milgram’s experiments did. To those who have received extensively redacted records, trust is a long way off.