In This Issue
From Washington
Policy Update: Election Outcome Bodes Well for Research
Keeping Public Health in the Debate
Global Health IS America's Health: A Capitol Hill Briefing
Kington Named Acting NIH Director
From Research!America
Your Candidates-Your Health Makes Research a Priority in the Election and Beyond
Your Congress-Your Health: Research and Health Policy in the 111th Congress
Giving Thanks: Honoring Public Health Heroes
In the News
Regular Features
President's Message
Member Spotlight: Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies
Policy Update: Election Outcome Bodes Well for Research
The outlook for health and research seems positive following the election. President-elect Barack Obama has promised increases for basic research across the federal government, and Congressional leaders have identified research and innovation as an element of economic recovery efforts. Members of Obama's transition team also have indicated he will overturn President Bush's executive order to limit federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
On November 17, the Senate returned for a lame duck session. Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) and Appropriations Chair Robert Byrd (WV) proposed a $100.3 billion economic stimulus package, including $1 billion for the National Institutes of Health. At press time, passage seemed unlikely due to opposition from Republicans and a veto threat from President Bush.
In the House of Representatives, the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health considered including NIH funding in an economic stimulus package at a hearing on November 13. Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone (NJ) said, "While there's no question regarding the importance of the research NIH conducts to improve our health, it also provides real direct economic benefits at the local level." Pallone predicted, however, that funding would be more likely in a stimulus package considered by the next Congress.
Research!America joined more than 180 organizations on a letter to Congressional leaders in support of including $1.9 billion for NIH in an economic stimulus package, an effort led by the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research.
For updates on funding for research to improve health, visit www.researchamerica.org/advocacy.
Keeping Public Health in the Health Care Debate
As congressional leaders begin setting the groundwork for a possible health care reform package early next year, the Campaign for Public Health is working to ensure public health is part of that debate. In conjunction with the Congressional Study Group on Public Health, CPH presented the fourth in a series of five Capitol Hill briefings focused on infectious disease and the global nature of health.CPH is simultaneously tracking the federal appropriations process and is working to influence funding for public health programs. New charts detailing the negative impact of inflation on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are available at www.fundcdc.org.
Global Health IS America's Health: A Capitol Hill Briefing
Research!America's Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research and FamiliesUSA's Global Health Initiative hosted a Capitol Hill briefing, "Global Health IS America's Health," on November 18. With the sponsorship of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Task Force on Health and the Environment and Congressional Global Health Caucus, the briefing, attended by 129 people, illustrated how global health and America's health are intertwined.
Rogers Society Ambassadors Samuel Stanley Jr., MD, and Eric Bing, MD, PhD, MPH, each spoke about the return the U.S. receives on its investment in global health research, both at home and abroad. "When we support research, there is a real economic impact," Stanley said. Bing discussed the importance of health diplomacy through research, saying, "Our relationships abroad are an asset, not a liability."
Stanley and Bing made use of their trip to Washington with personal visits to members and Committee staffers on the Hill before and after the briefing.
Kington Named Acting NIH Director
Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt recently announced the appointment of Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, as acting director of the National Institutes of Health, following the departure of Elias A. Zerhouni, MD. Kington served as NIH deputy director since 2003, and prior to that, as associate director of NIH's Office for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.
His work has focused on the relationship between race, socioeconomic status and health, particularly among minority populations.
As a veteran in health disparities research, Kington participated last June in a Research!America dinner that brought together key stakeholders to discuss strategies for advancing health services research.
Your Candidates-Your Health Makes Research a Priority in the Election and Beyond
Research!America and its partners in Your Candidates-Your Health 2008 met November 11 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science auditorium in Washington, DC, to discuss the initiative's impact and look ahead to the new administration. After an introduction from Alan I. Leshner, PhD, AAAS CEO and Research!America board member, The Honorable John Edward Porter, Research!America's chair, rallied attendees.
"Spending by government is all about priorities," he said. "Priorities will be chosen, and money will be spent. We have to be sure that our priorities are included in the discussion."
Porter also discussed the need for President-elect Barack Obama to quickly name a cabinet-level science adviser, echoing a report released in September from a National Academy of Science committee he chaired.
Stacie Propst, PhD, vice president of science policy and outreach at Research!America, shared the results of Your Candidates-Your Health 2008 and how the research community can continue to use it as an advocacy tool.
Keynote speaker Bart Moore, head of research, Atlantic Media (National Journal, The Atlantic), offered strategies for communicating with Congress. Moore praised the initiative as "a foot in the door" to the 187 members of the 111th Congress who have responded to Your Candidates-Your Health or Your Congress-Your Health. Some initiative highlights include:
- an interview with Research!America President Mary Woolley on NPR's Science Friday,
- a demonstration at Rep. John Conyers' Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference Health Care Forum, and
- a moderated discussion between representatives from the John McCain 2008 and Barack Obama 2008 campaigns about the economic impact of health research.
Media attention helped Your Candidates-Your Health reach about 111 million Americans through publications such as The Scientist, Nature, Science and The Hill.
Your Congress-Your Health: Research and Health Policy in the 111th Congress
Research!America continues to engage policymakers with the Your Congress-Your Health initiative, which was first launched in partnership with the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. On the heels of Your Candidates-Your Health 2008, we are ramping up efforts to continue our research and health policy dialogues with Congress.
Thirty-five percent of the 111th Congress has responded to one or more of the previous Your Congress-Your Health or Your Candidates-Your Health initiatives. These 187 members are on the record with their positions on funding for research and health, and their responses provide a starting point for continued conversations.
Research!America will use recent poll data and media and blog outreach to mobilize stakeholders and reach out to the rest of Congress. Our combined efforts will bring accountability and transparency to the policymaking, enabling constituents to monitor the progress of the 111th Congress on these issues.
To be a part of this initiative, e-mail rgrunewald@researchamerica.org.
Giving Thanks: Honoring Public Health Heroes
Research!America, the American Public Health Association, Association of Schools of Public Health, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, National Alliance for Hispanic Health and National Association of County & City Health Officials celebrated our public health heroes on Monday, November 24, the fourth annual Public Health Thank You Day.
Following are thoughts from a few of the public health researchers who work to protect our health.
To read more, visit www.publichealththankyouday.org.
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Vincent Castranova, PhD 
James Mercy, PhD 
James Pirkle, MD, PhD
Sonja Rasmussen, MD, MS Media Matters
John Porter Quoted in the New York Times
The Honorable John Edward Porter, Research!America chair and former Illinois congressman, was quoted in a front-page New York Times article on the importance of research for the U.S. economy and global competitiveness. Porter said, "If we do not have an innovation agenda, if we do not invest in science research, if we do not provide encouragement for our kids to pursue careers in math and science, I don't see where our country can go economically in the future." The article was also published in the International Herald Tribune, Gainesville Sun (FL), Sarasota Herald Tribune (FL), Wilmington Star-News (NC), Gadsden Times (AL), Houma Today (LA), PoliGazette and MSNBC.com.
The Post-Election Landscape for Research
Porter was also quoted in an ABCNews.com article on science in the new administration. He said "the sooner Obama appoints a science adviser, the better" and "the high-level position should represent all the sciences."
Stacie Propst, PhD, vice president of policy and outreach at Research!America, echoed Porter's words in an interview for The Scientist's blog. Regarding science appointments, she said, "We would like to see a cabinet-level adviser in the new administration."
A November 19 Associated Press story also quoted Porter, praising the selection of former Sen. Tom Daschle (SD) to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Research!America President Mary Woolley was quoted in an article from the November 2008 issue of Nature Medicine about the prospect of a cabinet-level science adviser: it would take "that pall of undervaluing science off the table."
Time to Improve Research Funds
Research!America Burroughs-Wellcome Fund Science Policy Fellow Hillary Lewis, JD, had a letter to the editor published in the Houston Chronicle calling for more federal funding for health research. She writes, "As a former researcher at Baylor College of Medicine and an advocate for the advancement of science, I call for action in Washington. We need to fund research to improve health and boost the economy. Unleash innovation and build a brighter future for us all."
Propst was quoted in The Deal, an economics-focused newsweekly, in an article about the stagnant National Institutes of Health funding. She calls for the NIH budget to outpace the cost of inflation as well as a 3% boost.
Fixing a Broken Health Care System
The Huffington Post blog cited a Research!America public opinion poll in an article written by Rear Adm. Susan J. Blumenthal, MD, MPA (ret.); Yi-An Ko; Elizabeth M. Moore; and Erica L. Cook. They write that the U.S. spends twice as much on health care as any other nation, yet Americans only receive the right treatment half of the time. The authors argue that the U.S. needs to make a greater investment in research to improve the quality of health care.
John R. Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society and a Research!America board member, wrote an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the need to improve health care in the U.S. Seffrin wrote that Americans need to focus on prevention and on coordinating the care that individual patients receive in order to improve the health care system.
President's Message
Priorities. That's what the transition team, our president-elect and members of the 111th Congress are determining right now and what they will be acting on when they take office. Our challenge is to assure that research is one of those priorities. Based on commitments made by Obama during his campaign (and those of candidates running for Congress), we have reason to be optimistic that action will follow statements of support for research. But we cannot be complacent, given the pent-up demand of other interests and the challenging economic climate. We must make our case anew with an eye to today's realities. We are well equipped to do so, stressing the economic benefits of investment in research to our economy and global competitiveness. We must all now work together to make this case in every state and Congressional district.
Research!America and our 48 partners in www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org achieved high visibility for research in the media, in the presidential campaign and many Congressional campaigns. We now have responses to questions integral to our mission from 187 incoming members of the 111th Congress. Our priority for now is to drive this number up to create an increasingly valuable advocacy tool. We are seeking partners for www.yourcongressyourhealth.org and will work to assure maximum exposure and impact. (Please be in touch if you would like to sign on!)
It's been quite a year. My colleagues and I thank you for the privilege of being your partners in advocacy and extend our very best wishes for a healthy, happy holiday season and a new year of re-dedication to putting research to work!
Member Spotlight: Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies
The American Legacy Foundation's Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies is ideally positioned to play a leadership role in strengthening the national agenda for next generation research in tobacco control.
With the many pressing issues in public health, it is easy to forget that tobacco use remains the single biggest preventable cause of disability, disease burden, premature death and excessive cost in the United States today.
The Schroeder Institute (SI) is working to change this with its twofold core vision, said David Abrams, PhD, executive director.
"First, we work collaboratively to identify research areas of extraordinary opportunity to reduce tobacco use prevalence more efficiently," Abrams said. "The second part of our vision is to conduct sponsored research in key areas of extraordinary opportunity."
The institute acts as a "think-tank" to stimulate new research priorities.
"Science must keep pace with a rapidly changing landscape of discovery and communication technologies and with shifts in tobacco industry products and marketing schemes," Abrams said. "We will identify pressing gaps, critical leverage points or emerging trends that need breakthrough research."
The SI works to advance research in several ways, including congressional briefings and Capitol Hill meetings about the importance of behavioral and social sciences broadly and tobacco control research in particular.
As former director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health, Abrams established strong partnerships with others in the research community active in advocating for the strongest level of funding possible for behavioral and social sciences research.
Despite the exciting discoveries and promises of genetics and genomics, primary prevention has been underfunded and underutilized to improve the nation's health and well-being, to reduce the disparities in disability and disease, and to reduce the enormous cost of health care.
"Tobacco use behavior is the leading example of the powerful role that research can play in understanding and changing lifestyle behaviors and the environment," Abrams said. "Investing in the behavioral and social sciences can have a massive impact on improving health and quality of life, but more needs to be done to put what we know into practice and policy.
"Increased support for tobacco control research is absolutely critical if we are to jump-start the stalled rate of smoking in this country and ensure that all individuals-regardless of race, ethnicity, birthplace, education, or income-are able to quit successfully and live in smoke-free environments."
The institute is a "relatively new kid on the block," having recently joined Research!America's advocacy alliance, Abrams said. But it is already reaping benefits of that partnership.
"Each of the major areas of focus of Research!America are critical to our success and impact," Abrams said. "Research!America's leadership in ensuring strong, increased investment in health research is critical to our mission of conducting cutting-edge, impactful sponsored research. Research!America helps to bridge the gap between research, practice and policy, which is entirely consistent with our mission and mandate."
For more information, visit www.americanlegacy.org/2616.aspx.
Research!America members can download the entire December Research Advocate 
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