Federal funding for biomedical sciences plays a critical role in training the next generation of scientists.

Science can promote an understanding between people at a really fundamental level.

I think actively promoting women in science is very important because the data has certainly shown that there has been an underrepresentation.

I enjoyed biology in high school, and that brought me to a research lab at U.C. Santa Barbara. I loved doing experiments, and I had fun with them. I realized this kind of problem-solving fit my intellectual style.

Another cause of change, one less noticeable but fundamental, is the modern growth of population closely connected with scientific and medical discoveries. It is interesting that the United Nations has set up a special Commission to study this question.

The Obama administration has already imposed burdensome regulations - for instance, the sprawling Clean Power Plan aimed at wiping out the coal industry - that will raise the cost of energy and put hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work.

One of the biggest things I learned was not to tell myself 'no' before someone else. As someone who's creative, I know the inner critic can be really loud. Early on in my career, I would just listen to it and tell myself 'no.'

I should have known better. Pro-life arguments are now based on scientific evidence and the pro-choice arguments are not. That is a cultural, historical fact.