Graduate Researcher Martin Selected to Attend Hill Day 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 11, 2014) — University of Kentucky graduate researcher Sarah Martin received the honor of being one of only 20 students from across the country — and the only one from Kentucky — selected to attend the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Hill Day 2014 in Washington D.C.
ASBMB's Hill Day is an annual event that provides an opportunity for graduate students and postdocs from across the nation to come to the nation's capitol to meet with members of Congress and advocate on behalf of the biomedical research enterprise.
Students are selected for Hill Day through a process based on their application and interest in research. This event encourages young researchers to become involved in science advocacy and continue to promote the importance of research in the future — the invited students are selected based on their passion for communicating about their own research science, their previous experience interacting with elected officials and policy advocates, and a demonstrated interest in working towards an improved funding climate for scientists.
Martin's research focuses on understanding why some prostate cancer patients become resistant to chemotherapy and how it may be possible to target that resistance with new treatments.
During Hill Day, she met with Kentucky officials, including Rep. Andy Barr and the offices of Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul. She also met with political officials from around the country, including those of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Al Franken, Sen. Roy Blunt, and Sen. Jerry Moran, as well as the representatives from offices of Rep. Kevin Yoger, Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, and Rep. Lacy Clay.
Martin, who attended UK for both her undergraduate and master’s degrees, credits the University for her success at the event and the many opportunities she’s received to conduct and advocate her research. She is looking to complete her doctorate in biochemistry in May 2015 and hopes to receive a Science Policy Fellowship in Washington D.C. following graduation.
"ASBMB’s Hill Day was a wonderful experience, and I’m now trying to identify ways I can advocate for science in the future," Martin said. "I hope to make an impact by speaking out, writing letters and emails to my congressional representatives, and working within our own state to ensure that UK receives the essential funding we require to continue to make important strides forward in our research and to take full advantage of every NIH and NSF dollar we receive."
MEDIA CONTACT: Allison Perry, (859) 323-2399 or allison.perry@uky.edu