In this Issue of The Research Advocate
From Washington
Frieden, CDC Staff Speak at Hill Briefings
Policy Update
From Research!America
Your Candidates-Your Health 2010 Launches
Global Health R&D Advocacy
Regular Features
President's Message
Member Spotlight: ZERO — The Project to End Prostate Cancer
Spotlight on Congress: Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
In the News
Download the entire July-August 2010 Research Advocate as a PDF.
Your Candidates–Your Health 2010 Launches
Your Candidates–Your Health 2010, Research!America’s voter education initiative, has launched.
Already, we have sent out questionnaires to candidates whose primaries have occurred. After other state primaries take place, more candidates will be invited. Once we receive candidates’ responses, they are reviewed and posted on www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org.
In polling by Research!America and other organizations, Americans have consistently said that medical, health and scientific research is important. But only 8% said that they know where their elected officials stand on those issues.
Your Candidates–Your Health helps to change that. Candidates are asked to respond to 15 questions, and areas for further comment are provided.
Members of the public can search for their candidates by ZIP code, by state or by candidate name.
Spanish content is also available on the website, provided by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.
This initiative is made possible by the support of Pfizer Inc; the Society for Neuroscience; the Alzheimer’s Association; the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; the American Association for Dental Research; the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; the American Public Health Association; the Association of Independent Research Institutes; Baylor College of Medicine; Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science; the Food Allergy Initiative; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; the J. David Gladstone Institutes; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; the National Bone Health Alliance; NAHH; the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy; the United Health Foundation; the University of Maryland, Baltimore; the University of Maryland School of Medicine; the University of Michigan; Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center; and Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine.
To join us in support of this project, e-mail info@researchamerica.org.
Visit the site and urge your candidates to respond.
Frieden, CDC Staff Speak at Hill Briefings
Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, met with congressional members and staff during two Capitol Hill briefings May 27 to offer a first-hand report of how the CDC is working to protect the health of Americans.
The briefings, sponsored by the Campaign for Public Health Foundation, included a morning session on the House side and an afternoon session in the Senate.
Frieden outlined his top five priorities, which include strengthening CDC’s disease surveillance system and support for health departments; leadership in global health; ability to reduce causes of premature death and preventable injuries; and its ability to affect health policies to improve health. Within the many challenges public health faces today, he said that the CDC will also look for the “winnable battles” that offer some immediate health gains. Among them are tobacco control; nutrition, physical activity, obesity and food safety; health care-associated infections and motor vehicle injury prevention.
Citing his experience as former health commissioner of New York City, he reaffirmed that significant health improvements are possible through changes in evidence-based policy.
During a question-and-answer session, Frieden and his staff were asked about the CDC’s response to the Gulf oil spill, health data in the U.S. Virgin Islands and their bi-national work with the government of Mexico.
Read more at www.CPHFoundation.org.
Members Take Action: ZERO —The Project to End Prostate Cancer
As the economy worsened, ZERO — The Project to End Prostate Cancer knew it needed to revamp some of its goals. With some sources of funding drying up, its plan for state chapters would not be paid for by donor money alone.
Instead of chapters, the 14-year-old organization found a different method to reach men: running. ZERO’s Dash for Dad racing series will hold 14 events this fall from Albuquerque, NM, to Long Island, NY. And Jamie Bearse, ZERO’s chief operating officer, expects there to be 20 events in 2011.
Through the races, along with other outreach events, ZERO hopes to attract local activists, Bearse said.
The organization traces its roots to 1996 in Las Colinas, TX. Since then, ZERO has helped federal research funds increase by 500% and administered more than 100,000 free tests. Partnerships with Major League Baseball, NASCAR and Gillette Co. have helped raise the organization’s profile.
One of ZERO’s upcoming initiatives is Generation ZERO. “We want this to be the first generation that is free from prostate cancer,” Bearse said. “The aim is that for kids
today, when they’re in their 30s, 40s and 50s, that prostate cancer is a memory.” To do that, he said, a sure-fire test for prostate cancer must be created, and the difference between fast-growing tumors and slow-growing tumors must be discovered.
That can all be accomplished by advocating to maintain funding for prostate cancer research. ZERO advocates for such funding by working with talented researchers and doctors and bringing 150-200 people to a single Capitol Hill event.
Visit www.zerocancer.org for more.
Spotlight on Congress: Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has long recognized the importance of research funding.
“In order to keep our competitive edge,” he said during his election campaign, “we need increased funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.”
Casey recently invited his Senate colleagues to join him on a letter to the Appropriations Committee asking for $35 billion to be allocated to NIH in FY 2011. His letter proposes an 11.9% increase in funding for NIH and emphasizes that this comes at a critical time for the agency — the recent boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding will run out this year, further decreasing NIH’s buying power.
He also understands that the importance of medical research goes beyond curing disease. “This ... illustrates the benefit of NIH funding for not only medical research in the U.S. and around the world, but also the positive economic impact,” Casey said. “In the U.S. Senate, I have been a strong supporter of increased funding for the NIH, and we still have more to do.”
Casey is an active proponent not only of research funding but also of health care for children as well as math and science education, which will lead to more skilled workers that can help the U.S. keep its scientific edge.
President's Message
In a recent conversation with New York Times journalist Robert Draper about the difficulty of achieving bipartisan policy, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) referenced the importance of public opinion polling and aligning policy with top-of-mind public concerns — the economy and jobs being first and foremost these days. He summed it up: “Reason always prevails, if you can market it right.”
Research!America is well-versed in the components of policy-making success: We have reason on our side, in our mission and in the brainpower of our members, but we know reason is not enough. That’s why we have kept our finger on the pulse of public sentiment for almost two decades, helping our members frame the case for research in the moment. We have led the stakeholder community in emphasizing the economic case for research investment through a number of tools and message points as well as our annual economic impact award. Above all, we know marketing — recent high-profile awards to
our web-based educational initiative are the latest case in point.
Our track record is a good reason for our members to have confidence in, and help promulgate and support, our voter education initiative, Your Candidates–Your Health. Candidates for Congress this fall have many issues to address; we want to ensure that research for health is one of them. If they don’t hear from the stakeholders in research for health before Election Day, the odds that they will become champions for research after taking office are low. It’s time to seize the moment and to do so in a savvy way. Please join us!
Media Matters
Revolutionizing Personalized Medicine
Margaret Hamburg, MD, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health, provided an overview of a new FDA-NIH collaboration in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Making Public Health a Priority
David Hemenway, PhD, professor of health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health, in a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective column outlined four reasons we under-spend on public health. He urged policy makers and the public to reverse this trend.
Great Strides in HIV Research
Collins and Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, co-authored an article in PARADE magazine highlighting the strides in HIV research over the past 20 years. Collins and Fauci wrote that much more needs to be done to research and, ultimately, prevent HIV.
Avoiding a Post-Stimulus Cliff
Many in the research community are worried about a steep drop in NIH funding in FY 2011. A Science article cited Research!America’s $35 billion request for NIH as one way to avoid a research funding “cliff.”
The Economic Impact of Research
Nature magazine published a letter from Mary Woolley highlighting the work of economists, including former Garfield Award winners David Meltzer, MD, PhD, and David Cutler, PhD, who have demonstrated the economic impact of research. Her letter was in response to the article “What Science Is Really Worth,” which questioned whether the economic benefits of research are being oversold.
Research Champions Leaving Congress
Woolley was quoted in Nature on the future of medical research advocacy once Congressional champions, including Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Rep. David Obey (D-WI), leave Congress in 2011.
Health Equity: Getting Beyond Hope
Woolley authored an article for the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural & Minority Medicine’s Health Disparities Policy blog on the value of research in addressing health disparities. She wrote, “For hope to make an impact, it must inspire action and commitment to a purpose. Health disparities cannot be eliminated without a sustained, significant investment in research.”
Research Enterprise Poll
Research!America and Eli Lilly and Company released a poll on topics including public trust in the approval system and in sources of medical information. The poll findings received coverage with United Press International, in the blog Health Commentary with Dr. Mike Magee and the Chain Drug Review magazine. Woolley highlighted the findings in an audio news release which generated 6 million impressions and in interviews with 14 radio stations.
Policy Update
Research Funding and Authorization Legislation Advance Slowly
Following months of negotiations, Congress has begun to move ahead with determining FY 2011 discretionary funding levels, including those for research. The House of Representatives recently passed a resolution (H.R. 1493) that limits discretionary spending to $1.121 trillion, about $7 billion less than President Barack Obama’s recommendation and $3 billion less than the budget resolution approved by the
Senate Budget Committee. This allows the appropriations process to move forward with enforceable limits.
The House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee has approved $32 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $6.8 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and $411 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in FY 2011. The House Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee approved $7.42 billion for the National Science Foundation while the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $7.35 billion. The House Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee approved $2.57 billion for the Food and Drug Administration, and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $2.50 billion.
On May 28, the House passed the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 5116) on the third try. The bill, a legislative priority for retiring House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), authorizes $84 billion for research, education and innovation over the next five years at NSF, the Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Opponents to the bill, led by Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX), added an antipornography provision shortly before the first scheduled vote, forcing the bill back to committee. Opponents also sought to reduce the authorization period to three years, eliminate new programs and freeze spending at FY 2010 levels. Gordon’s strategy split the amendment offered by Hall into nine parts that were voted on separately. This allowed the unanimous approval of the anti-pornography provision, while other provisions that would have limited research funding were defeated. The COMPETES Act is now in the hands of the Senate.
Call for Nominations: Public Health’s Unsung Heroes
In an effort to recognize those making gains in disease control and prevention, the CPH Foundation will recognize two “unsung heroes” at a reception in November. One award will be presented to an individual working on a large national or international effort; the other is targeted at those running smaller, community-based public health programs. Both awards will be presented to individuals who have not received previous national recognition but whose work is making a difference.
Nominations are being accepted at www.cphfoundation.org/annual_awards.html and are due September 10. A distinguished committee will select the two winners, and the awards will be presented at a November 18 reception in Washington, DC.
To sponsor the event or learn more, contact CPH Foundation Executive Director Karl Moeller at KarlM@CPHFoundation.org or at 202-898-0435.
Global Health R&D Advocacy
U.S.-Style Advocacy Gets Global Play
The April issue of International Innovation featured an interview with members of
Research!America’s Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research.
Based in the UK, International Innovation is a leading global health care research publication, supported and used by research leaders from academia, the private sector and key stakeholders from institutes and governments around the world. It features reports of the latest research as well as interviews with leaders in the research community.
The editors see Research!America’s use of innovative advocacy and leveraging of public opinion to increased U.S. investment in global health research and development as a unique contribution to its global readership. Research!America’s Karen A. Goraleski has been added as a regular contributor to its leadership blog at www.research-europe.com.
Special Thanks to New and Renewing Research!America Alliance Members
Academic Pediatric Association
The Allen Institute for Brain Science
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
American College of Sports Medicine
American Pain Society
American Society for Microbiology
Association of American Physicians
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry
Baylor College of Medicine - Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Broad Institute
Burrill & Company
CFIDS Association of America
Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry
Children’s National Medical Center
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Institute for Systems Biology
Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Hereditary Disease Foundation
The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Howard University College of Dentistry
Kidney Cancer Association
Lupus Foundation of America
Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Association of Children’s Hospitals/Related Institutions
National Health Council
Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation
Purdue Pharma
The Rockefeller University
Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation
The University of Akron
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Union of Concerned Scientists
University of Cincinnati
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine
University of Toledo Medical Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber
Not yet a member? Join Research!America today at www.researchamerica.org/become_member.
Check out our July-August Research Advocate insert for more information on our voter education initiative, Your Candidates–Your Health!
Download the entire July-August 2010 Research Advocate as a PDF.