In This Issue
From Washington
Policy Update: Economic Recovery Package Anticipated
Working on Two Advocacy Fronts for CDC
Obama Team, Congress Prepare to Reverse ESCR Policy
From Research!America
Report Estimates U.S. Health Research Funding at $122 Billion
Global Health Leaders Discuss Partnerships, Innovation
Fact Sheet Highlights Global Violence Prevention
Get Involved: Help Build The 435 Project
In the News
Regular Features
President's Message
Member Spotlight: Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Research!America Adds Value for Our Members
Policy Update: Economic Recovery Package Anticipated
The 111th Congress will be sworn in January 6 and is expected to quickly take action on an economic recovery package. It is hoped that the legislation will be ready for President-elect Barack Obama to sign shortly after his inauguration. Some health measures are expected in the bill, and Research!America is working to ensure research is part of the package.
Research!America sent letters to the Obama-Biden transition team and congressional leaders urging them to include $11.1 billion for research in the economic recovery package. The recommendations for each agency are:
- NIH - $8.6 billion (FY08 budget = $29.2 billion)
- NSF - $1.4 billion (FY08 budget = $6.1 billon)
- CDC - $1.0 billion (FY08 budget = $6.4 billion)
- AHRQ - $97 million (FY08 budget = $335 million)
The additional funds would help NIH, NSF, CDC and AHRQ compensate for lost opportunities that have resulted from the stagnation in federal funding for research in recent years.
Another decision facing Obama is the selection of the next NIH director. Research!America led the effort to urge Obama to appoint the NIH director as soon as possible; 430 organizations signed on to a letter of support, which was sent to the transition team at the end of November.
Visit www.researchamerica.org/advocacy to see the letters and the latest updates on advocating for research to improve health.
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Working on Two Advocacy Fronts for CDC
The Campaign for Public Health's effort to include public health in health reform has involved more than 60 organizations in five meetings on Capitol Hill. These meetings, presented in partnership with the Congressional Study Group on Public Health, resulted in a document highlighting several key public health concerns. CPH and Study Group staffers are planning to share the document and main points of the meetings with various House and Senate committees.
CPH is leading a sign-on letter to House leadership, key Senate members and to Obama Administration officials that highlights the need for public health in this economy. The letter cites the recent National Association of County and City Health Officials study that found many local health departments are cutting back just as the population needs public health measures more than ever. More at www.fundcdc.org.
Obama Team, Congress Prepare to Reverse ESCR Policy
President-elect Barack Obama is primed to take an important and long-awaited measure: lifting restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. His team released a statement, confirmed by future Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel in a recent interview, promising swift action on ESCR policy. In the meantime, congressional champions and advocates are planning their next moves.
Reps. Mike Castle (DE) and Diana DeGette (CO) cosponsored the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2008 before Congress recessed in September. The bill, if passed in the next session, could complement a potential executive order by clarifying federal stem cell policy and setting the stage for ethical guidelines. Both the Obama policy and the legislation would reverse the policy established by President Bush that limits federally funded research to a handful of embryonic stem cell lines created before August 2001. Meanwhile, a state ballot initiative passed in Michigan will expand ESCR to include newly derived cell lines. The measure was supported by Cure Michigan, a group endorsed by Research!America. In Colorado, voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot proposal which would have defined fertilization as "the moment an egg becomes a person," which would have had widespread implications for ESCR.
Report Estimates U.S. Health Research Funding at $122 Billion
In a troubling repeat of last year, the U.S. investment in research to improve health remains flat at 5.5% of all health-related spending. Research!America's recently released 2007 Investment in U.S. Health Research report estimates that the amount spent on research increased from $116 billion in 2006 to $122 billion in 2007. National health expenditures again grew faster than the economy, up 6.7% from $2.1 trillion to $2.25 trillion, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Federal dollars as a percentage of the total amount available to researchers fell in 2007. Federal funding accounted for 31% of all health research spending, a decrease from the 2006 level of 32.5%. Industry funded 56% of all research in 2007, up from 55.7% last year. Philanthropic foundations, universities, and state and local governments increased funding. They provided 13.2% of the money available to researchers in 2007. This increase helped compensate for decreased federal funds and the limited increase by industry.
Funding for research as a component of health-related spending is holding steady, partly because of the 17% increase in funding from universities, foundations and other sources between 2006 and 2007.
Holding steady is not enough. Investment in research must be at a level that can be relied upon to consistently fund research designed to counteract the current and emerging health issues facing Americans today. Scientists cannot meet America's expectations for progress without increased access to funding. The investment in research numbers, especially in these tough economic times, illustrate the continuing challenges facing Research!America and its partners in striving to increase the proportion of health dollars spent on research. Download the report at www.researchamerica.org/research_investment.
Global Health Leaders Discuss Partnerships, Innovation
Eighty-five percent of Californians think global health is an issue of concern to their state, according to a new poll released at Partnerships in Global Health Research: A Bridge to the World, a Research Partners Forum presented by Research!America; Pfizer; University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health; and University of California, San Francisco Global Health Sciences on December 8.
Dial Hewlett Jr., MD, a senior director and medical lead for academic medicine for Pfizer's U.S. External Medical Affairs, opened the program. Research!America President Mary Woolley presented the results of the poll of California residents. Haile T. Debas, MD, UCSF Global Health Sciences executive director, introduced a plan for a degree-granting school of global health that will be part of the UC system.
Stephen M. Shortell, PhD, MPH, UC Berkeley School of Public Health dean, introduced the forum moderator, Betty Ann Bowser, health correspondent for PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," who led an engaging conversation on a range of topics in global health, including public-private partnerships.
"[Such] relationships have to be mutually beneficial," Debas said. "If it's beneficial to only one side, it will not work."
In addition to Shortell and Debas, other panelists were Joe Cerrell, director, Global Health Policy & Advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Charles Knirsch, MD, MPH, vice president and site head, Global Medical Research and Development, Pfizer Inc; Carmen Portillo, RN, PhD, interim chair, department of community health systems, School of Nursing, UCSF, and Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research Ambassador; and Art Reingold, MD, associate dean for research and associate director, Center for Global Public Health, UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
The panelists shared personal experiences in global health research with the audience of about 150 academicians and representatives from business, government and non-profit organizations.
"We have to market successes better ... if more people knew how much progress was actually being made ... they could be motivated to do more in these areas," Cerrell said.
Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, focused her keynote address on the ways global health research will benefit development in other countries, emphasizing that an all-encompassing approach to global health will produce greater results.
"Glocality [is] the idea that a problem that is global is simultaneously local - local for somebody," she said, reinforcing that global health is America's health.
Visit www.researchamerica.org/sanfrancisco to download a podcast of the event and complete findings of the California public opinion poll.
Fact Sheet Highlights Global Violence Prevention
Research!America and Global Violence Prevention released a new fact sheet on global violence this month as part of the Investment in Research Saves Lives and Money series. The publication highlights the immense toll that violence takes on world health and security.
Violence is a leading cause of death among 15- to 29-year-olds and disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries. Yet violence, like many diseases, is preventable. Aside from the social value of violence prevention, research also shows that preventing violence removes a major economic drain. The U.S. saved close to $15 billion on health care, police response and lost productivity during the first five years of the Violence Against Women Act.
Download the fact sheet here (PDF).
Get Involved: Help Build The 435 Project
The 435 Project, Research!America's campaign to empower advocates for medical and health research, seeks to engage health research advocates in every Congressional district through coordinated messaging, effective use of social marketing and new media, and new alliances with business leaders. Become a supporter of this ambitious campaign to set a new model for research advocacy and learn more at www.researchamerica.org/435project_donate.
Media Matters
Looking for a Populist Champion for Public Health
Mary Woolley, Research!America president, and Jim Wells, PhD, professor at the University of California, San Francisco, spoke with Nick Zagorski, PhD, of ASBMB Today about their October editorial in Science magazine. Wells said, "We need someone who understands science but ... [can] communicate the vulnerability of the global health situation, point out the medical, economic and global security risks, and call people out to action."
Advocacy for Global Health Research
Research!America's newly released public opinion poll data on attitudes towards global health research was cited by the Bay Area News Group and was published in the group's Contra Costa Times newspaper. Donald Burke, MD, dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research Ambassador, was featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's "Thinkers" series. Burke talked about his work to find an AIDS vaccine and his research to find treatments for other infectious diseases. He said, "American military personnel are frequently sent into parts of the world with these diseases," and "expanding global travel and migration also mean that more and more people come into contact with these diseases."
The Capitol Hill briefing "Global Health IS America's Health," organized by Research!America, FamiliesUSA, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Congressional Global Health Caucus, received coverage in CQ Healthbeat.
A Look Ahead For Science
Reed V. Tuckson, MD, executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group and a Research!America emeritus board member, told Washington Post writer Ceci Connelly that "one way to reconfigure health spending under the new administration is to shift large sums into prevention and wellness." He also said, "The idea is to tackle the handful of preventable, chronic illnesses."
Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, president of Children's Memorial Research Center at Northwestern University and Research!America board treasurer, said in a Wall Street Journal article that "President-elect Obama's pledge to overturn the current restrictions on embryonic stem cell research would give the signal that it's acceptable to work in this promising field."
The Honorable John Edward Porter, Research!America chair, was quoted in Science magazine: "Signs to watch for that will be critical for science in the new administration include the identity and status of the new president's science adviser and how fast he is appointed."
Mary Woolley was quoted in the Bureau of National Affairs' Medical Research Law & Policy Report: "I think the Obama administration truly understands that science is a solution for this country at a time when we're looking for solutions to tough challenges." In an article in the Baltimore Business Journal, she talked about the importance of an economic stimulus package to increase funding for NIH and other federal research agencies.
President's Message
Research!America achieves our 20th birthday this month. We look forward to at least that many more years of innovative, high-impact advocacy for research as we develop new ways to help you become more effective advocates.
As I write I am imbued with the spirit of renewal and purpose inspired so lyrically and with just the right touch of humor by Dr. Maya Angelou, who opened the first NIH Summit on The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities. Nearly 4,000 people attended. The opening program, which I moderated, included an award to former NIH Director Harold Varmus and a tribute to the late Hon. Paul G. Rogers, a lifelong champion of health equity.
Putting research to work to eliminate health disparities is one of several key challenges facing our nation as we begin a year of hope and promise in the face of a severe economic downturn. Research!America Chair John Edward Porter and I, along with staff colleagues, have been working hard to assure that U.S.-based research becomes the driver of global economic recovery that it can and will be if we put science back to work and if we give hope and support to young scientists. We are optimistic that the new Congress will pass and President-elect Obama will sign in to law an economic recovery program to set the stage for exactly that. We have shared our positions on this with the Obama transition team and with Congressional leaders and we urge our members to reinforce the case for research as a key to economic recovery to your elected representatives.
Member Spotlight: Association of University Centers on Disabilities
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities is a membership organization that supports and promotes three national networks of university-based interdisciplinary research, training and service programs. The networks are the 67 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, the 38 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Programs and the 14 Intellectual Developmental Disability Resource Centers. There is a least one center in every state and territory.
AUCD and its members are a resource for those concerned about people living with developmental and other disabilities and their families.
"Our networks focus on developing new knowledge, training the next cohort of interdisciplinary professionals and working with community disability organizations to develop exemplary services and supports to improve the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities," said George Jesien, PhD, AUCD's executive director. "We envision a future in which culturally appropriate supports that lead to independence, productivity and a satisfying quality of life are universally available across the life span."
AUCD's recent annual meeting opened with a video of President-elect Barack Obama's disability policy speech and concluded with an uplifting presentation by a member of the Obama-Biden transition team, Michael Strautmanis, director of public liaison and intergovernmental affairs. Strautmanis provided a clear overview of Obama's disability agenda and demonstrated a deep understanding and sincere commitment to disabilityrelated issues.
Research!America President Mary Woolley also spoke at the meeting. Her keynote presentation is available for Research!America members to download at www.researchamerica.org/speeches.
In addition to being a Research!America member, AUCD was also a supporting partner in our voter education initiative, Your Candidates-Your Health 2008.
"We strongly believe in communicating directly with all of our constituents including elected officials and candidates for office," Jesien said. "This voter education initiative provided our members and the public with such an opportunity, and we were proud to be a supporting partner."
For more information about AUCD, visit www.aucd.org.
Research!America Adds Value for Our Members
- By being one of the strongest and most widely respected voices for medical research advocacy in Washington and across the nation: Research!America's chair, board of directors, president and top staff engage in extensive outreach to policy makers and national scientific and medical research leaders
- By providing unique, proven advocacy tools, such as public opinion poll data and local, national and global economic investment reports, on a timely, often-updated basis for our members
- Because we are regularly sought out by key media and are often named as the "go-to" for information on research advocacy and policy
- By pioneering outreach to the next generation of medical and scientific leadership by offering training in and encouraging involvement in advocacy and public service
Research!America members can download the entire January Research Advocate 
using their member log in. E-mail kfuller@researchamerica.org if you need your log-in information.