Michael Stebbins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Stebbins
Education	State University of New York, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (PhD)
Known for	Proposing the creation of ARPA-H, authoring 8 executive Actions for President Obama.
Scientific career
Fields	Genetics, Public Policy
Institutions	The White House

Michael Stebbins is an American scientist who studies genetics. He used to be a Vice President of Science and Technology at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Before that, he worked as an Assistant Director for Biotechnology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Education and Early Research

Michael Stebbins studied biology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He earned his PhD in genetics while working at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Controlling Genes in Animals

During his research, he created special systems to control how genes work in the brains of animals. This helped scientists study how animals form long-term memories.

Fighting Mosquito-Borne Diseases

The system he developed is now used to create male mosquitoes that cannot have babies. This helps control diseases like dengue fever, which are spread by mosquitoes.

Creating Research Tools

Dr. Stebbins also made the first special protein called a "monoclonal antibody" against something called luciferase. This antibody is now sold around the world in kits that scientists use for their research.

Career in Science and Policy

Michael Stebbins has worked in many important roles, helping to connect science with government decisions.

Working with Research Data

He was a member of the National Academies of Science, Board on Research Data and Information. This group helps manage and share scientific research data.

Improving Cancer Care

He is on the Board of Directors for the Value in Cancer Care Consortium. This group works to make cancer treatments easier to get, more affordable, and more effective.

Sharing Clinical Research Data

Dr. Stebbins also leads the board for Vivli. Vivli's goal is to help share information from clinical research studies around the world. This means more scientists can learn from each other's work.

Promoting Science in Government

He was the former President of the SEA Action Fund and helped start Scientists and Engineers for America (SEA). This group works to make sure that government decisions are based on good science.

Focus on Biological Safety

He was also the Director of Biology Policy for the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). In this role, he worked on preventing the use of biological weapons. He also helped prepare for attacks using biological, nuclear, or chemical weapons. His work focused on using science and technology responsibly.

Joining the White House Team

In November 2008, Michael Stebbins was chosen to be part of President Obama's team. He worked with the Office of Science Technology and Policy.

Key Initiatives at the White House

At the White House, Dr. Stebbins helped create and lead important projects in life sciences research. These included:

• Improving mental health for military veterans.
• Fighting against bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
• Making sure that scientific research funded by the government is available to everyone.
• Helping to improve the health of pollinators like bees.
• Making the rules for biotechnology products simpler and better.

Work at a Foundation

After his time at the White House, Dr. Stebbins became the Vice President of Science and Technology for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. He opened their office in Washington D.C. and helped the foundation decide where to invest in science and technology projects.

Creating ARPA-H

In April 2020, Dr. Stebbins helped write a proposal for a new government agency. This agency would be like DARPA, which develops new technologies for defense, but it would focus on health. This idea was later adopted by President Biden's team. It became the model for creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). ARPA-H works on big, challenging health problems.

Working with Senators and Journals

Earlier in his career, Dr. Stebbins worked for U. S. Senator Harry Reid. He helped lead efforts to allow federal money to be used for certain types of stem cell research. He also worked to help people with disabilities.

He was a policy fellow for the National Human Genome Research Institute. He also worked as a senior editor for the science journal Nature Genetics. He was a science journalist for Reuters and wrote for Seed Magazine. He also advises ScienCentral, a company that creates science news stories for TV channels like ABC and NBC.