American Institute of Biological Sciences

Nonprofit scientific association

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is a nonprofit scientific public charitable organization. The organization's mission is to promote the use of science to inform decision making and advance biology for the benefit of science and society.

AIBS serves as a society of societies. AIBS has over 115 member organizations and is headquartered in Herndon, VA. Its staff work to achieve its mission by publishing the peer reviewed journal BioScience, providing peer review and advisory support services for funding organizations, providing professional development for scientists and students, advocating for science policy and educating the public about biology. AIBS works with like minded organizations, funding agencies, and nonprofit and for profit entities to promote the use of science to inform decision making. AIBS is governed by an esteemed Board of Directors and a Council of representatives of our member organizations.

AIBS was established in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences. The overarching goal was to unify the individuals and organizations that collectively represent the biological sciences, so that the community could address matters of common concern. In the 1950s, AIBS became an independent, member governed, nonprofit 501(c)3 public charity scientific organization. The organization continues to work diligently to communicate biology to the scientific community, funders, policymakers, and other groups interested in exploring cross cutting ideas in the biological sciences

AIBS is committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the biological sciences. AIBS is focusing on the development and expansion of programs that center on our core activities of assessment, training, communication, and advocacy.

The Scientific Peer Advisory and Review Services (SPARS) department is focused on coordinating, facilitating, and promoting independent, equitable evaluation processes to inform decision making. AIBS SPARS partners with a diverse group of organizations that are focused on a wide variety of research and funding efforts. AIBS SPARS facilitates review/advisory support services to ensure thorough and structured assessment processes are performed by vetted, qualified experts. AIBS SPARS staff are experts in review processes and advisory services, which are often provided for proposed research grants and progress reports, ongoing funded research programs / portfolios, retrospective impact analyses, and for advisory boards and committees.

The empirical basis upon which peer review rests is limited. To build up this literature base, AIBS SPARS staff perform in house research and meta analyses on the peer review process and share results with the scientific community through publications and presentations.

The Public Policy Office works to educate policymakers about the importance of investing in biology and advocates for policies that serve the needs of researchers, educators, and other biological science professionals. Issues addressed by the office include but are not limited to: funding for the biological sciences; funding for research infrastructure, including scientific collections and field stations; strengthening science education policy; investing in the scientific workforce; and promoting scientific integrity and transparency.

AIBS conducts a yearly photo contest that helps communicate science through imagery. Photographs entered into the contest must depict a person, such as a scientist, researcher, collections curator, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a natural history collection, on a computer, in a classroom, or elsewhere.

AIBS publishes BioScience, a peer reviewed monthly journal with content written and edited for accessibility to researchers, educators, and students. The journal is heavily cited, with a 2021 Impact Factor of 11.687. AIBS also publishes BioScience Talks, a companion podcast to the journal. BioScience includes articles about research findings and techniques, advances in biology education, professionally written feature articles about new developments in biology, discussions of professional issues, book reviews, news about AIBS, and a policy column (Washington Watch). Roundtables, forums, and viewpoint articles offer the perspectives of opinion leaders and invite further commentary.