This last weekend, I tagged along with my wife as she presented at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago. Like every year, thousands of neuroscientists descended on this year’s chosen convention center to share research, pick up on new ideas before they get published in peer-reviewed journals, and grab a free tote bag or two along the way. However, this year’s meeting was short of a few would-be attendees.
As reported by NPR (along with other sources), scientists from Iran, Mexico, and India had to present their research from afar or send surrogates due to visa issues. The only reason they were able to present their research at all was because of the Science Knows No Borders program, which was set up by the Society for Neuroscience for people facing visa issues. The fact that such a program even needs to exist is a disgrace.
While I’m typically not a fan of “skilled immigrant” narratives that imply that the majority of immigrants and refuge seekers are expendable, a country that refuses visas to academics looking to share their research with the world is only interested in causing harm with their immigration policy. The United States government funds all sorts of scientific research, but that does not mean that researchers are agents of the government, or that they are not simply pursuing truth. Similarly, to act as if researchers from other countries are a danger to the United States is xenophobic and does nothing but hinder psychological progress.
Anyways, it is of course naive to expect scientific pursuits to be free of political interference, as nothing in this world exists in a non-political vacuum. However, I believe we should strive for an ideal world where scientific research is allowed to be shared across borders, regardless of where one happened to be born or they language they speak. Just as the best studies are unbiased and aiming only for the truth, so should scientific research be allowed to proceed unhindered by hateful political policies.
References
Hamilton, Jon. “U.S. Travel Ban Disrupts The World’s Largest Brain Science Meeting.” NPR. National Public Radio, 24 October 2019. Web. 27 October 2019.
