Research!America partnered with the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research for the first in a series of Capitol Hill briefings June 1 on how the National Institutes of Health will spend the $10.4 billion in funds provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Anthony Fauci, MD, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke about programs and opportunities that are involved in NIAID’s distribution of ARRA dollars. Research!America was a co-sponsor of the briefing.

Fauci emphasized the short- and long-term effects of biomedical research supported by the recovery act. While the short-term goal is to stimulate the economy, he explained, the research done in the next two years will have longer reaching effects on science.

The $1.1 billion provided for NIAID will fund grants that approach some of the biggest scientific problems of our time, such as stopping the HIV pandemic. Fauci also addressed the H1N1 flu pandemic, calling research and preparation of a flu vaccine “a very good way of using ARRA funds.”

Fauci made a case for the economic impact of research, citing the example of a robust research lab with grant funding. “[Research] has a compound, domino effect of stimulating the economy,” he said.

Looking toward the future of biomedical research, Fauci saw an ongoing need for new funding. As he concluded, “The mosaic of biomedical research is eternally unfinished.”

--Allison Bland