Welcome to Talking Precision Medicine (TPM podcast) — the podcast in which we discuss the future of healthcare and health technology, and how advances in data and data science are fueling the next industrial revolution.
In this episode, I’m joined by Colette Delawalla, founder and CEO of Stand Up For Science. What began as frustration over a federal “banned words” list evolved into a national mobilization effort to defend scientific freedom and evidence-based policymaking. We talk about the organization’s origin story, its National Day of Action on March 7, 2026, the communication gap in science on the political left, the campaign to impeach RFK Jr., and what rebuilding American science might require in the years ahead.
Come on in and have a listen.
Episode highlights:
About Stand Up For Science
- The organization began in February 2025 after a federal “banned words” list threatened Colette’s NIH dissertation grant and, more broadly, the ability of scientists to ask fundamental questions.
- What started as a call to protest rapidly mobilized hundreds of thousands of people across more than 170 events worldwide.
- Today, Stand Up For Science operates as both a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4), with 21 staff across Atlanta and Washington, D.C., including former civil servants and policy experts focused on science advocacy.
“That word list came out days before my dissertation grant was due to the university to be submitted to the NIH. And my university was like ‘rewrite your grant’. I’m not rewriting my grant in three days, get out of here!”
National Day of Action, March 7th, 2026
- The second National Day of Action will take place on Saturday, March 7, with rallies planned across the United States and internationally.
- Supporters can find events on the website map or host their own local action if none exist nearby.
- The organization emphasizes mobilization, fundraising, and broad participation to sustain its advocacy efforts.
“If you don’t see a location on the map that you want there to be an event at, be the change you want to see in the world and host one. So, you know, get in the game.”
Why science became a political target
- Colette argues that the assault on science reflects converging forces, including corruption, authoritarian tactics, and ideological movements that benefit from weakening evidence-based systems.
- She points to efforts that dismantle scientific agencies, discredit expertise, and remove evidence that contradicts political agendas.
- In her view, science is not collateral damage, it is strategically central to broader power structures.
“One of the comments was ‘why would you want to save people who are destined to die?’ They said the quiet part out loud, right? That all of these things are to just allow like Darwin survival of the fittest type of approach.”
The problem of communication in science on the political left
- Scientists are trained to think in nuance and gray areas, while media ecosystems reward certainty and emotional clarity.
- The left, Colette argues, consistently underperforms in communications compared to the right, particularly in fast-moving digital spaces.
- Stand Up For Science focuses on framing science around tangible benefits in people’s daily lives rather than abstract processes.
“The left in general, the whole left sucks at coms, the whole left. We are starting to see some forward progress in some places, but like generally speaking, just terrible. And the right has it so unlocked.”
Impeaching RFK Jr. and the Quack-o-gram campaign
- The organization worked with Representative Haley Stevens’ office and public health experts to draft and file articles of impeachment against RFK Jr.
- Through the “Quack-o-gram” campaign, supporters can send rubber ducks to their representatives urging them to co-sponsor impeachment.
- More than 10,000 ducks have been delivered, requiring congressional staff to log each as a constituent message.
“We have one of our government team members dressed up in a duck costume [to deliver the ducks]. There are literally armfuls of these ducks and we just give them to the staffers and they’re bouncing all over the place, people are just beside themselves. And they squeak, it’s the whole thing!”
Priorities for the future
- Rebuilding scientific agencies will require removing political appointees, restoring career expertise, and rebuilding entire departments that have been dismantled.
- Colette emphasizes resilience and accountability in the early years of reconstruction, including scaffolding policies that can later be phased out.
- Reestablishing international trust and partnerships will be essential to restoring U.S. scientific leadership.
“The first place we’re going to have to start is our scientific agencies. I think that things like removing political appointees, putting in career bureaucrats, I think that sort of rebuilding, beginning to rebuild, you know, entire departments that have just been wiped from the face of the Earth but are incredibly important.”
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