ABOVE: Gabby Salinas is a research assistant at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy who is campaigning for a seat in the Tennessee state Senate.
ANDREA MORALES
Like many other scientists across the country, the results of the 2016 election were a wake-up call for Jasmine Clark, a microbiology lecturer at Atlanta’s Emory University. She first started with organizing a March for Science event in Atlanta, but she wanted to do more. When she found that her state representative up for election was running uncontested, she decided to run for a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives.
“In the democratic caucus in Georgia, there is no scientist at all,” Clark says. Having a research background will help her craft evidence-based policies to address issues that aren’t necessarily science-related, she says. “I think we need someone who can legislate outside of emotion and partisanship.”
In May, she won the election ...
