Alondra Nelson to leave White House science office

Alondra Nelson, who led the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) during a tumultuous period last year, is leaving next week to return to her faculty position at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey. Her decision was first reported by Axios.

A 64-year-old sociologist, Nelson has a lengthy resume of “firsts” as she has climbed the ranks of academia and government, including being the first Black person, and first woman, to lead OSTP. She took over as acting director from then–OSTP Director Eric Lander after he acknowledged bullying behavior and resigned in February 2022.

Nelson acknowledged the challenges she was facing in an interview with Science . “We are turning a corner here, there’s lots of change that needs to happen,” she said 1 month into the role . She served for 8 months until the current director, Arati Prabhakar, became the first woman of color to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the president’s science adviser.

“[Nelson] has been a critical voice on equity, civil rights, and opportunity for all Americans,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed told Axios. “Her impact in this White House will far outlast her time in this building.”

President Joe Biden initially appointed Nelson to the new position of deputy OSTP director for science and society, a post she resumed after Prabhakar came on board. In that job, she oversaw the administration’s efforts on ethical artificial intelligence, research integrity, and greater transparency in science. Her work included an August 2022 memorandum directing all U.S. research agencies to make federally funded papers free on publication, as well as the underlying data.

Nelson took a 2-year leave of absence from IAS, where she had just been named chair of its school of social sciences, to join the Biden administration. She had previously led the Social Science Research Council, an independent, nonprofit funding agency, after serving on the faculties of Yale and Columbia universities. Nelson told Axios she is stepping down on 10 February.