In This Issue of The Research Advocate
From Washington
Research Measures Advance in Congress
VA Research Increases
CPH Foundation Event Marks National Influenza Vaccination Week
From Research!America
Research Leaders to Headline 2010 National Forum
Cancer Fact Sheet Highlights Importance of Investment
Spotlight on Rogers Society Ambassadors
Regular Features
Member Spotlight: Chicago Council on Science & Technology
Spotlight on a Member of Congress: Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
President's Message
Special Thanks to New and Renewing Research!America Alliance Members
In the News
Download the entire February 2010 Research Advocate as a PDF.
Research Measures Advance in Congress
The Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on December 24, 2009, after months of negotiation to secure the required 60 votes. The Senate bill, which has been the starting point for final negotiations, includes a number of provisions of interest to the research community.
Among the impacts on research, the Senate bill proposes a framework for supporting comparative effectiveness research long-term, although it differs from the House CER proposal. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) championed a temporary tax credit, which will allow small companies to offset a portion of resources spent on therapeutic development activities, including hiring scientists and conducting clinical studies. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) sponsored the Cures Acceleration Network Act with the goal of getting novel therapies to patients faster through new grantmaking mechanisms at the National Institutes of Health. The measure would also facilitate review by the Food and Drug Administration for therapies developed through CAN.
VA Research Increases
In the flurry of activity on Capitol Hill before Christmas, Congress approved a $71 million increase over 2009 for medical and prosthetics research at the Department of Veterans Affairs, bringing the total to $581 million. This includes a $48 million increase for research to address the critical needs of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. Funding for the VA also provides $580 million as medical care support, which covers physician researcher salaries and overhead.
Event Marks National Influenza Vaccination Week
Congressional representatives, survivors and public health officials alerted media, families and children to take advantage of a widely available supply of the H1N1 flu vaccine at a January 13 event.
The Capitol Hill briefing organized by the Campaign for Public Health Foundation in coordination with the Congressional Study Group on Public Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others took place during National Influenza Vaccination Week.
Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH, director of the HHS National Vaccine Program Office, pointed to public health and prevention research that shows vaccines are the best means of preventing H1N1.
Reps. James McGovern (D-MA), co-chair of the Congressional Study Group on Public Health, and Judy Chu (D-CA) agreed, asking the audience to remain vigilant. Henry Lin, MD, reminded us of the tragedy that can occur when the flu is not prevented, with the story of his son who died of H1N1 in October. Luke DuVall, a high school football player who survived H1N1, also attended.
One hundred people received free H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccinations from Georgetown University's KIDS Mobile Medical Care Clinic and the DC Department of Health.
Research Leaders to Headline 2010 National Forum
At Research!America's seventh annual National Forum, two panel sessions will explore both the translation of ideas into solutions and how to personalize health while keeping an eye on the bigger picture of America's health.
Following in the tradition of previous years, the Forum will feature a prestigious line-up of participants.
Representing the leading federal agencies for science and health will be: Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health; Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Margaret Hamburg, MD, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Other confirmed participants include: Paul Chew, MD, who serves as the chief science and medical officer for sanofi-aventis U.S.; Robert Tjian, PhD, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Jack Watters, MD, the vice president of external medical affairs for Pfizer Inc.
The National Forum will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on March 16, 2010, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. For more information and to register online, visit www.researchamerica.org/forums.
Cancer Fact Sheet Highlights Importance of Investment
Today, cancer is the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 85. Medical research has led to vast advances in prevention, early detection and treatment of the disease, which has improved survival rates over the last 30 years. But cancer is far from being cured.
To highlight current advances in cancer research and to emphasize the need for increased funding, Research!America has updated our fact sheet about cancer (PDF) in our Investment in Research Saves Lives and Money series. The fact sheet was developed in partnership with Pfizer Inc and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and initially released at a Capitol Hill briefing in October, "The Quest for Cures: Horizons in Cancer Research." The fact sheet series is available online at www.researchamerica.org/issue_briefs.
Spotlight: Rogers Society Ambassadors
On January 14, Scott Ratzan, MD, Johnson & Johnson; Lee Reichman, MD, MPH, Global Tuberculosis Institute, New Jersey Medical School; and Kimberly Handler, Research!America, met with New Jersey policy makers in their district offices.
In the wake of the Haiti earthquake, they emphasized the world's interconnectedness and the research needed to address global health impacts of such disasters.
New Jersey has the fourth highest Haitian population in the U.S. Haiti is home to 45,000 Americans, with thousands more on-site now through rescue and relief efforts.
"We will always see an outpouring of humanitarian efforts to help those in need," Ratzan said in a meeting with Sen. Robert Menendez's (D-NJ) office. "But diseases, outbreaks and health complications also play a significant role in the aftermath of any disaster, and the greater our investment in research in global health, the better prepared we can be to prevent further loss of life."
Carolyn Gehl Fefferman, Esq., Menendez's senior advisor, concurred. "If there is something we can do about it, we should be doing it."
Member Spotlight: Chicago Council on Science & Technology
The Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) seeks to be the preeminent regional consortium for science and technology-related education and policy and a prominent voice nationally. C2ST advocates for regional science policy and is among the nation's leading sources of information on policy issues of science and technology.
C2ST, a nonprofit membership organization established in 2006, works to link to a network of individuals and heighten the awareness of science and technology in the greater Chicago community.
"Our rich agenda includes basic and applied science and technology from areas spanning bioscience and engineering," said Alan Schriesheim, PhD, co-founder and president. "Specifically, National Institutes of Health funding is vital for producing the advanced research and development that we highlight."
The council's advocacy strategy includes delivering relevant science and technology programs to wide audiences. One such program is its upcoming Women in Science Symposium-Chicago 2010, to be presented April 17 in partnership with Association for Women in Science-Chicago Area Chapter.
Research!America board member Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, of Children's Memorial Research Center in Chicago, is on the steering committee for this event.
Women scientists at the academic, industry and government levels will attend and be able to better recognize the number and diversity of their counterparts. The symposium aims to create a sense of solidarity among women in science across disciplines and broaden the spectrum of opportunities for women scientists in Chicago.
For more information, including videos of past C2ST programs, visit www.c2st.org.
Spotlight: Member of Congress
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) is a long-time champion for research to improve health. He has represented Illinois for more than 25 years, first in the House of Representatives (District 20) and in his current position since 1997. Durbin is the Assistant Majority Leader and serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Rules and Administration Committee and the Appropriations Committee, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee.
Durbin played a critical role in securing $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, joining Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) as a co-sponsor of the amendment to include the additional funding. Most recently, language from Durbin's Congenital Heart Futures Act to increase awareness, education and research into congenital heart disease was included in the Senate-passed health care reform bill.
Durbin is a public health and anti-tobacco advocate. He also has spoken out for global health research, and Research!America presented a briefing in cooperation with his office in October 2009. Durbin said, "I strongly support investments in global health research. Breakthrough treatments have the potential to save millions of lives while playing a critical role in strengthening health and security at home."
President's Message
The public context for research is as difficult to predict as the course of research itself. The public context I'm referring to consists of the current level and nature of public support, reflected (1) by the level of attention and support of elected officials, (2) by media attention- positive and negative-to research and the people and institutions that conduct it, and, importantly, (3) by organized patient/voluntary health organizations, committed to smart research efficiently translated to cures, treatments and prevention.
For our alliance members, Research!America keeps a finger firmly on the pulse of this public context, listening to questions and concerns and framing messages with this knowledge base firmly in mind. One message, clearly delivered in the Massachusetts' January 20 election is "pay more attention to jobs." We should not miss the importance now of emphasizing job creation and maintenance as one of three important benefits of investment in research, along with improvements in health and quality of life and the reality that research drives over half the U.S. economy.
Research creates businesses (more jobs, more growth for communities and the nation) and ensures U.S. economic and scientific leadership. This latter should by no means be taken for granted. Each dollar not invested is a step toward eventual loss of leadership, even competitiveness. As I wrote in a letter in January in The New York Times, this is "the 21st-century equivalent of a Sputnik wake-up call and should galvanize American determination to maintain scientific leadership." Won't you join us in delivering this wake-up call? Nothing less than our economy is at stake.
Media Matters
Top Areas for Research and NIH in 2010
Francis S. Collins, MD, director of the National Institutes of Health, laid out five areas of great promise for biomedical research and NIH in Science: investing in high-throughput technologies to advance basic research, translational medicine, research as part of health reform, focusing more on global health research and reinvigorating the research community by encouraging innovation.
In an interview with Research!America member the American Academy of Physician Assistants' PA Professional magazine, Collins said physician assistants' proactive stance on emerging research fields such as genetics and genomics, taking full advantage of new technologies, one of his top priorities.
The Bureau of National Affairs' Medical Research Law and Policy Report discussed the most important areas of medical research in 2010 with several experts. Mary Woolley, president of Research!America, said these would be investing in research to stimulate the economy and create game-changing treatments, improving the quality and delivery of health care, and developing conflict of interest and public disclosure policies for researchers.
Stopping America's Scientific Brain Drain
The New York Times published a letter to the editor from Woolley, responding to an article about U.S.-based, foreign-born scientists returning home, a trend that is threatening U.S. competitiveness. In her letter, Woolley described the trend as "the 21st-century equivalent of a Sputnik wake-up call" that "should galvanize American determination to maintain scientific leadership." She cited a report from Research!America member Battelle recently published in R&D Magazine.
Explaining Science to the Public
Chris Mooney, journalist and co-author of Unscientific America, wrote in The Washington Post that researchers should be both scientists and science communicators. He called for more training for scientists in media and communication, citing Cornelia Dean's Am I Making Myself Clear?
Stem Cell Research: Looking Back, Looking Forward
National Public Radio's Joe Palca, PhD, looked back on 10 years of stem cell research on "Morning Edition." He highlighted California's Proposition 71, which authorized $3 billion over 10 years for embryonic stem cell research. Robert Klein, JD, a leader in this initiative, will receive a 2010 Research!America Advocacy Award for his work. The Wall Street Journal blog Venture Capital Dispatch noted that the stem cell research market is growing, particularly since the repeal of the federal funding ban on embryonic stem cell lines created after 2001.
A Cystic Fibrosis Registry
The New York Times highlighted Research!America member the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's registry, which gathers data from patients at more than 100 centers nationwide. The registry has been so effective at helping find treatments for individual patients that other organizations such as the National Parkinson Foundation have created similar registries. The NIH Office of Rare Diseases Research plans to link registries to help find treatments for patients with rare disorders.
Special Thanks to New and Renewing Research!America Alliance Members
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Anatomists
American Cancer Society
American Chronic Pain Association
American Lung Association
American Medical Group Association
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Society of Hematology
American Society for Virology
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of Professors of Medicine
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Aurora Economic Development Council
Biophysical Society
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
The J. David Gladstone Institutes
Harvard School of Public Health
International & American Association for Dental Research
Life Technologies
Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research
Society for the Study of Reproduction
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of South Florida
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Not yet a member? Join Research!America today at www.researchamerica.org/become_member.
Download the entire February 2010 Research Advocate as a PDF.