Bhaven N. Sampat, an economist by training, is working to understand how to design policies and institutions to promote scientific progress and shape innovation to address public problems. Sampat, who recently joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Science and Innovation Policy, studies science funding, the links between scientific research and innovation, and patent policy.

"I'm interested in science policy with the ultimate goal of solving public problems and improving social outcomes," Sampat says. "New knowledge and technologies have the potential to drive tremendous improvements in human well-being. That's my North Star."

Sampat's work brings historical perspective and data together with modern empirical approaches to better understand how policy decisions shape science and innovation. He has examined the role of World War II research and development in shaping U.S. science, science policy, and innovation; pharmaceutical patent policy in the U.S. and globally; and the economics, history, and politics of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the largest single funder of biomedical research in the world. His work also examines how different stakeholders, including taxpayers, scientific interest groups, universities, Congress, and industry, interact to influence science policy.

About the BDP

• Name: Bhaven N. Sampat
• Title: Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Science and Innovation Policy
• Appointments: School of Government and Policy; Carey Business School
• BDP cluster: Promoting and Governing Technological Advances
• Previous role: Consortium for Science Policy and Outcomes and School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University
• Education: BA in Economics, Columbia University; MA in Economics, Columbia University; PhD in Economics, Columbia University

The stakes are enormous. For example, in health, the focus of much of his recent work, Sampat says there is much to gain from getting policy right.

"The economic value of new and better treatments, to say nothing of the human benefits, runs into the trillions of dollars," Sampat explains. "The rate and direction of medical progress depend not just on scientific and technical factors but also on institutional design and policy choices. Improving our approaches to funding and governing science and innovation can yield large benefits for generations to come."

Sampat notes that we are at a critical moment in which the post-World War II framework for science policy in the U.S., which laid the foundation for the relationship between the federal government and scientific research, is under extraordinary strain.

"We're at an inflection point right now where core aspects of the U.S. innovation system are under pressure," Sampat says. "In rebuilding science policy, we will need to confront age-old questions: How should we fund science? What are the roles of universities? What are the appropriate roles of science in democracy? What are the appropriate roles of democracy in science? What is the value of science, and to whom? As we think about the future, this is also an important moment to step back and think about the fundamentals of what we're doing and to draw on the last 75 years of evidence, together with modern techniques and data, to help inform what comes next."

At the same time, Sampat says that recent advances in computational social science and artificial intelligence are transforming how researchers can measure and understand the innovation system. Where scholars once relied primarily on counting patents, publications, and citations, new techniques now allow researchers to analyze the text of documents and trace linkages across different parts of the innovation ecosystem with far greater sophistication.

"We're in the middle of a revolution in our ability to measure, track, and understand the innovation system," Sampat says. "There have been tremendous advances in how we measure the links between science, innovation, and outcomes. That opens up the opportunity to do much more in a much more nuanced way than we've typically done."

Sampat, who spent most of his career at Columbia University before moving to Arizona State University, comes to Johns Hopkins as part of the Promoting and Governing Technological Advances BDP cluster. He describes the opportunity to join the nation's first research university—and a long-standing leader in federally funded science and medicine—as particularly meaningful, given his career studying universities, federal science funding, and life science innovation.

"Johns Hopkins is an old institution, but it has a startup mindset and is building in new directions," Sampat says. "I'm thrilled to be at this institution that embodies everything I know and love about universities, but that also gives me the opportunity to think creatively and reimagine what's possible. I'm particularly excited to be part of the founding faculty of the new School of Government and Policy, reimagining policy research and education for the challenges of the 21st century, and joining the Carey Business School, an international leader in the business of health."

Sampat emphasizes that the most pressing questions cannot be answered from within any single discipline, and he looks forward to working with colleagues from across the university.

"I'm excited to work on science and innovation policy issues with scientists, technologists, engineers, and social scientists across campus and connect with the amazing faculty across Hopkins working to improve health and healthcare," Sampat says. "I don't think we're going to build what comes next from any one discipline. The opportunity to bring highly accomplished scholars with different lenses together to tackle a common set of problems is invigorating."

Says William Howell, the inaugural dean of the School of Government and Policy: "We are so fortunate to have Bhaven Sampat in our community, teaching our students, and contributing to the intellectual life and foundations of our university. And at a time when profound questions are being asked about the future of the research university and the returns from public investment in basic science, his long track record of study and his deep sense of history offer wellsprings of insight and leadership."

Adds Carey Business School Dean Alex Triantis: "Bhaven Sampat brings a remarkable portfolio of research that is groundbreaking, interdisciplinary, and highly impactful. His deep knowledge of the economics of science, innovation policy, and the institutions that shape scientific progress positions him to engage meaningfully with faculty across the university and advance important conversations about how research shapes health and society."