January 10, 2022

PHILADELPHIA — Today, 314 Action Fund announced its endorsement of Bilal Mahmood in the race to represent the California State Assembly’s seventeenth district, which will hold primary elections on February 15th ahead of the seat’s special election this April.

A neuroscientist by training, Mahmood received his bachelor’s degrees in biology and economics from Stanford in 2009 and his master’s in bioscience enterprise from University of Cambridge in 2010. While at Stanford, Mahmood worked as a researcher investigating the use of stem cells for scarless wound healing. Additionally, Mahmood served as a policy analyst in the Obama administration and co-founded an analytics startup that was acquired in 2020.

“Bilal Mahmood has dedicated his life and career to the kind of innovative spirit that Californians need from their government representation, especially during the ongoing pandemic,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action. “From combating the effects of climate change on his district and on the state to tackling housing insecurity in his community, Bilal will be an exceptional representative for AD-17.”

314 Action recently launched a $10 million, cycle-long advocacy campaign focused on engaging voters on critical science issues — including climate change, health care, and the pandemic response — and holding anti-science public figures accountable. Additionally, 314 Action has engaged its base of six million grassroots members to push for pro-science legislation at the federal and state levels. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will work to elect scientists across all levels of government, with initial targets of seven U.S. Senate races, forty U.S. House races, and twenty-one statewide races.

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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as in helping over 100 statewide, state legislative, and municipal candidates win their races. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.