The Research Advocate November 2010

In This Issue of The Research Advocate

Research!America, American Chemical Society Hold Capitol Hill Briefing

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)

Research!America and the American Chemical Society, along with honorary co-hosts Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), hosted a Capitol Hill briefing to discuss the importance of investing in early-career scientists and researchers whose work will maintain our nation's competitiveness and increase our economic prosperity.

The briefing was moderated by James Gentile, PhD, president of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Panelists included Iain Cockburn, PhD, professor of finance and economics at the Boston University School of Management; Marshall Shuler, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University; Raquel Lieberman, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Georgia Tech; and Meryl Comer, president of the Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer's Initiative.

As early-career scientists themselves, Lieberman and Shuler provided perspectives on the unique challenges they face in obtaining funding and establishing a foothold in the field. Cockburn cited public investment in research as one of the distinguishing features of the life sciences sector. Comer offered a caregiver's perspective.

Research!America's chair, former congressman John Edward Porter, opened and closed the event.

Research!Sweden Announced, For Health and Prosperity

Forska!Sverige, a Swedish advocacy group modeled after Research!America, only recently launched, but that hasn't prevented the fledgling group from thinking about the challenges it faces.

"The political interest for research is low, due to the shortsighted political reality," the organization's executive board member, Anna Nilsson Vindefjärd, PhD, wrote in an e-mail. "Many politicians also seem to believe that the public does not prioritize research. It has gone so far that our new government has decided not to have a minister of research anymore. It is clear that Sweden needs an organization to put research back on the map and show why it is important for health and prosperity."

The group announced its kickoff September 23 in an event for the founding members that featured Research!America President and CEO Mary Woolley. Beyond that, Vindefjärd said, Forska!Sverige has done little in the way of self-promotion until the organization is fully registered. Among those that know, the group has been well-received, Vindefjärd said.

Forska!Sverige has a board at this point, with Vindefjärd as the board's executive member. Once funding is in place, she is likely to take the role of executive director and staff will be recruited in order for the organization to become operational.

Collins Testifies at Senate Hearing on ESCR

Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health, underscored the importance of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) at a Senate subcommittee hearing on September 16.

Collins introduced the three types of stem cells used in research - embryonic stem cells (ESC), adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) - and said, "All of them are interesting; all of them are important."

Some opponents of ESCR argue that adult stem cells can be used in place of ESC. But, as Collins explained, there are subtle differences among the cell types, and it is integral to compare adult stem cells or iPSC with ESC. If we cannot use ESC in research, we also damage the potential of adult stem cells and iPSC, Collins said.

A recent poll commissioned by Research!America showed that 70% of Americans favor expanding federal funding for ESCR. For more information about this important policy issue, visit http://www.researchamerica.org/pages/edit/stemcell_issue.

Policy Update

Health Research as Common Ground in the New Congress: A Post-Election Analysis

How will the elections impact investment in health research? What can the advocacy community expect from the 112th Congress? What strategies will ensure research remains a funding priority?

Join us November 16 for a panel that will help us survey the landscape after this year's midterm elections. The event, a part of our Your Candidates-Your Health voter education initiative, will be held in the auditorium at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, DC.

Confirmed speakers include Albert H. Teich, PhD, AAAS director of science and policy programs; former congressman John Edward Porter, Research!America chair; Stacie Propst, PhD, Research!America vice president of science policy and outreach; Mary Woolley, Research!America president and CEO; and Norman J. Ornstein, PhD, of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.

Admission is free, and the event begins at 10 a.m. with coffee and networking. To register, visit http://www.researchamerica.org/pages/edit/event_listing.

Tell Congress Where America Stands

Research!America's annual America Speaks poll data summary will be available online in November. This year's edition, Volume 11, looks back at the key findings from Research!America's public opinion polling released in 2010.

America Speaks is an excellent tool for advocacy demonstrating America's support for research to improve health.

Volume 11 is sponsored by the United Health Foundation, which has sponsored each edition of America Speaks since 2001.

CPH Update

The Campaign for Public Health Foundation is proud to announce the winners of the Unsung Heroes of Public Health Awards.

Cecilia Rosales, MD, is the recipient of the 2010 Wavemaker Award, honoring a disease control or prevention expert for exceptional work on large-scale public health challenges. Her work has improved health among border populations in the U.S. and Mexico. Janet Zola, MPH, was awarded the 2010 Rock in the Pond Award, recognizing an individual for outstanding work on community-based public health efforts. Zola has been commended for her cutting-edge hepatitis B prevention efforts to improve the health of at-risk and minority populations in the San Francisco area.

A reception to honor the award winners will be held November 18 in Washington, DC. To register, visit www.cphfoundation.org/annual_awards.html.

Advancing Regulatory Science for Public Health

The Food and Drug Administration released a report outlining its plans to advance regulatory science through its new Regulatory Science Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to improve the way food and medical products are assessed before they become available to consumers, thereby advancing public health in the U.S. The report proposes seven ways to accomplish this goal: by accelerating the delivery of new medical treatments to patients; improving pediatric and child health; increasing protection against emerging infectious diseases and terrorism; enhancing safety and health through informatics; increasing protection of the U.S. food supply; modernizing safety testing; and improving tobacco regulation. The FDA will build additional partnerships with academia, industry and government as part of the initiative. The agency plans to use $25 million from President Barack Obama's proposed FY11 FDA budget to implement the new initiative.

Advocacy & Action

Take action now! Urge your representative and senators to pass the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act (H.R. 4808 in the House and S. 3766 in the Senate) this year. The U.S. must continue to invest in embryonic stem cell research, and a legislative solution is necessary to ensure that federal funding for this important research is no longer vulnerable to political or ideological challenge. Call on Congress to pass a bill in 2010 that explicitly authorizes the NIH to fund hESC research.

Write to your delegation in support of embryonic stem cell research now! Visit http://capwiz.com/ram/home.

Member Spotlight: BIND Biosciences

BIND Biosciences was launched in 2007 by Harvard researchers Robert Langer, DSc, and Omid Farokhzad, MD, to license patents of their work from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. The company specializes in medical nanotechnology.

Trying to get liposomes to deliver medicine to a targeted spot within the human body is a challenging task. Scott Minick saw this firsthand as director, president and COO of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals. In his next job as a managing director for ARCH Venture Partners, Minick searched throughout the country at universities and small companies, looking for a technology to succeed where liposomes had come up short.

That lengthy search eventually brought him to BIND Biosciences, where Minick found the technology and team that he sought, and ARCH invested in the company.

The Cambridge, MA-based company's Medicinal Nanoengineering platform allows drugs to target specific sites of disease in the body without affecting other, healthy regions.

For example, Minick said, cancer drugs can be placed into a targeted nanoparticle and achieve high concentrations in the tumor. "That means increased efficacy and improved safety," he said.

After becoming a board member at BIND, Minick was helping to search for a new chief executive; eventually, the board asked him if he was interested in the position. Minick accepted, and his new role was announced on January 11. "It was an honor to join BIND's team of highly experienced drug development scientists to bring this important new technology to patients," Minick explained.

Minick, a bench scientist by training, said that Research!America's goals align with both his and BIND's.

"I see the need to invest in innovative technologies and bringing that to help patients," he said. "Research!America's mission resonates with me."

Visit bindbio.com for more.

Research!America Adds Value for Our Members

Research!America stands on a reputation of innovative advocacy that generates results serving our mission and the interests of our members:

America Speaks, our annual recap of a year's worth of polling, provides data that allows our members to supplement their advocacy with proof of public support.
Research!America's briefings on Capitol Hill help us showcase to lawmakers and their staffs the importance of keeping funding for health research a top priority.
To facilitate the national conversation on the intertwined topics of health, research and the economy, Research!America and our partners have invited all candidates for federal office to participate in Your Candidates-Your Health.
Research!America's advocacy tools help scientists become effective advocates for research funding and policy. Our polling shows that scientists collectively speak with one of the most trusted voices, in the public's view; our resources help them make their voices heard by elected officials and others.

President's Message

The tumultuous midterm election season sets a discouraging tone in American politics. With civility joining the endangered species list, it has become increasingly difficult to find common political ground on previously bipartisan topics like the value of investing in research as a public good. It used to be that our primary challenge was raising the visibility and urgency of research. Now the advocacy challenge also involves stressing the critical role research and innovation play in "getting the job done" - getting several important jobs done, in fact: creating jobs for individuals in the health research sector and jobs for those who work alongside that sector; the job of assuring that research and innovation are leveraged to full capacity on behalf of the patient as health reform is implemented; and the job of prioritizing research and development to drive our nation's economic productivity and global competitiveness.

Moving research up the priority ladder in a new Congress will not be easy. Along with our partners in the voter education initiative Your Candidates-Your Health, we have laid the foundation for strategy development by making it known, repeatedly, to every candidate for election that their positions on health and research for health matter to a broad constituency. We invite you to join us November 16 at the AAAS auditorium in Washington to participate in what I am sure will be a lively and productive discussion of the challenges ahead. More than ever before, it is critical to our success as a broad group of stakeholders that we join forces and speak with one voice.

Media Matters

Nursing Research in the News

Martha N. Hill, PhD, RN, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a Research!America board member, wrote an op-ed for the Baltimore Sun on the increasingly global shortage of nurses. She emphasized that the world's most serious health threats, such as TB and malnutrition, require a nursing research.

Prevention in Health Care Reform

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association and a Research!America board member, authored a Baltimore Sun op-ed in which he praised the Prevention and Public Health Fund provision included in the health care reform legislation. "This fund invests in proven strategies that prevent people from getting sick in the first place," he wrote.

Federal Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research

According to Research!America's Your Candidates-Your Health poll, 70% of Americans support expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. This finding was cited in Nature and the blog Health Commentary with Dr. Mike Magee. Research!America's Mary Woolley was also quoted by Medill News Service, calling on the stem cell community to tell the public, policy makers and the media that embryonic stem cell research saves lives, creates jobs and boosts the U.S. economy.

Woolley authored an article in the 2010 World Stem Cell Report which gives a historical perspective on public opinion polling and advocacy efforts that have helped shaped federal policies for embryonic stem cell research. Woolley wrote, "informed advocates have a powerful role to play in educating policy makers and the public about the benefits, risks and responsible approaches to human embryonic stem cell research."

Research Funding in FY11 and Beyond

Research!America's 2009 U.S. Investment in Health Research report indicates that health research spending in all sectors accounted for only 5.6% of all health spending in the U.S. in 2009. That amount represents a 0.1% increase from 2008, continuing a flattening trend for U.S. research spending that began in 2005. The report was featured in an article by United Press International.

John Edward Porter, Research!America's chair, and Woolley were quoted in a USA Today Science Fair blog article supporting the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act and the extension of the R&D tax credit. They also called for a greater investment in U.S. science research and education. In turn, Research!America's Stacie Propst, PhD, told The News-Journal of Wilmington, DE, that "research is the lifeblood of our economy and economic future, and we are not investing in it the way we should be."

Global Health R&D Advocacy

We find ourselves in unprecedented times. Globalization has eliminated the distance barrier; global is local. And Research!America is on board.
Our national investment in global health research and development is an investment in our own health, economy and security. Research!America is taking this message home, focusing on policy makers and constituents in select states. Beginning with Illinois, we are working with businesses, researchers and key players in that state’s global health research industry to showcase not only the lives saved here and abroad but also the economic value generated at home from our investment in global health R&D. We are engaging Illinoisans and key officials in a collaborative discussion at a salon dinner. Results from statewide polls about public attitudes on the U.S. investment in global health R&D will be released in coordination with the dinners, along with new publications illustrating the health and economic impact of this investment for the selected states or regions, and what various federal agencies conducting global health R&D are doing to improve America’s health.

Principal Partner Thank You

Special Thanks to Renewing Research!America Alliance Members

AAALAC International
American Association of Public Health Dentistry
The American Physiological Society
Association of Independent Research Institutes
Boston University School of Dental Medicine
Boston University School of Public Health
Clinical Research Forum
The Critical Path Institute (C-PATH)
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Harvard Medical School
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA)
The Medical College of Wisconsin
New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research
Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy
Northwest Association for Biomedical Research
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Pfizer Inc
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
University of Florida
University of Louisville
University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Van Andel Research Institute
Washington University in St. Louis Center for Health Policy
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

Not yet a member? Join Research!America today at www.researchamerica.org/become_member.

Download the entire November 2010 Research Advocate as a PDF.

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The Research Advocate November 2010

In This Issue of The Research Advocate

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