Adriana Bankston

U.S. House of Representatives

Adriana Bankston, PhD is an advocate for scientific research and innovation at the federal level. For close to a decade, Adriana Bankston has worked to nurture U.S. competitiveness in science and technology through a number of roles with universities, non-profits and scientific societies. As the first-ever AAAS/ASGCT Congressional Policy Fellow, Adriana currently works to support sustained federal research funding in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Previously, Adriana supported scientific research and the future STEM pipeline as a Principal Legislative Analyst with University of California Federal Governmental Relations, where she advocated for the university’s research priorities with Congress, the Administration and federal agencies. Prior to this role, Adriana advocated for federally funded research in neuroscience as a Policy & Advocacy Fellow with the Society for Neuroscience, where she provided staff support for special and on-going projects, including SfN’s annual lobby event and the society’s annual meeting.

Adriana contributed to policy entrepreneurship with the Federation of American Scientists to make the work of policymakers more impactful. She is also a member of the AAAS Section X Steering Group, and previously served as CEO & Managing Publisher of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance. In recognition of her work to support the U.S. scientific enterprise, Adriana was awarded the inaugural ARIS Emerging Broader Impacts Leader Award, and the Top 20 in 2022 Award For Excellence in Advocacy from The Advocacy Association. Adriana earned her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University.