In This Issue of The Research Advocate
From Washington
Senators Harkin, Specter and Kennedy Honored as Research Champions
Policy Update: Collins Takes the Helm at NIH
CPH Update: Health Reform Must Include Prevention
AHRQ Reports on Disparities
From Research!America
New Advocacy Resource: NIH ARRA Map
Your Congress-Your Health Poll Findings
Bringing Global Health Research Home
In the News
Regular Features
President's Message
Member Spotlight: Foundation for Biomedical Research
Research!America Adds Value
Senators Harkin, Specter and Kennedy Honored as Research Champions
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation and Research!America recognized Sen. Tom Harkin (IA), Sen. Arlen Specter (PA) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (MA) for their leadership for research and for highlighting the importance of a shared commitment to making research for health a high national priority.
The August 4 ceremony at the Russell Senate Office Building occurred just weeks before Kennedy's death.
The event was emceed by Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, former National Institutes of Health director, and was attended by distinguished scientists, Nobel laureates, members of Congress and other leaders in health research, including Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, NIH director, and Nobel Laureate Joseph L. Goldstein, MD.
"I have always believed that it is a prime responsibility of the federal government to support the National Institutes of Health," Harkin said. "In the six decades since World War II, the United States has been the global leader in science, biomedical research and technological innovation. We have been respected, admired, even held in awe for our dazzling advances and breakthroughs. But our work is not over yet, which is why I will continue to work to fund medical research."
In closing, Harkin called on advocates: "The next great challenge is solid funding for 2011. We're going to need all of your advocating in the next year so we don't fall off the (funding) cliff. Redouble your efforts!"
Specter spoke about federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and his fight for future NIH funding.
"I am honored to be recognized, along with my esteemed colleagues Senator Harkin and Senator Kennedy, for my work in the Senate to advance health and medical research," he said. "Health is one of our nation's greatest capital assets and I will continue to fight to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health and to press forward in seeking cures for the maladies of the world."
Although Kennedy was unable to attend, his lifelong friend and FNIH board member Mrs. William McCormick Blair accepted on his behalf.
"Teddy deeply appreciates the award and has deep respect for the impact of Research!America. He loved Mary Lasker, and he created the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health," she said. "As a nation we have an extraordinary scientific imagination. We can change the major causes of death, disease and disability and enhance our quality of life." Back to top.
Policy Update: Collins Takes the Helm at NIH
On his first day as director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, called for more funding for the agency. Collins was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7 and sworn in 10 days later. Collins took the opportunity to speak with the NIH staff and reporters about his priorities, specifying that stable, predictable funding is at the very top. He is focused on what will happen when the $10.4 billion provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act runs out in 2011.
Senate Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Tom Harkin (IA) cited the ARRA funding as the reason for proposing a minimal 1.4% increase for NIH in FY 2010. Although the overall increase for NIH aligns with the president's budget request, the Senate bill does not designate a special increase to cancer and autism research, as the president requested.
The Senate bill would provide $6.8 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 2.7% increase and an improvement upon the president's budget proposal and the House-approved level. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality would be flat-funded at $372 million in the Senate bill, which matches the President's request and the House bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved these funding levels and the full Senate is expected to consider the LHHS bill this fall. For updates on FY 2010 funding, please visit www.researchamerica.org/advocacy. Back to top.
CPH Update: Health Reform Must Include Prevention
The Campaign for Public Health met with more than 25 key legislators and congressional staff this summer to discuss the importance of community or population- based prevention efforts. CPH continues to stress that real health care reform will do more than just find better ways to care for those who become ill. It also needs to do more to keep Americans healthy in the first place.
In September, the CPH Foundation will partner with the CDC Foundation to present a two-day tour for 30 heads of voluntary health organizations, of the CDC's Atlanta campuses. This tour will highlight the CDC's vast public health work. The CPH Foundation is working to secure additional participants for a tour for members of Congress later this year. More at www.fundcdc.org. Back to top.
AHRQ Reports on Disparities
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently released the National Healthcare Disparities Report. The purpose of the congressionally mandated report is to identify differences and gaps in which some populations receive worse care than others and to track changes over time.
The goal is to encourage and support the development of national, state, tribal and community solutions using national data and benchmarks on disparities. Although the report identifies areas with little to no progress in reducing disparities, AHRQ is optimistic that the report "will help policy makers ensure that all patients receive the health care they need to make their lives better."
For more, see www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/Key.htm. Back to top.
New Advocacy Resource: NIH ARRA Funding Map
Research!America has developed an interactive map that details how the National Institutes of Health American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding is distributed on the state and district levels.
In addition to research highlights on each state page, there are links to Your Congress-Your Health where visitors are encouraged to send a message to their members of Congress about the issues of research, health and the economy.
Nationwide, communities are already seeing the benefits of more than $1.3 billion awarded in NIH ARRA funding for more than 6,018 projects. ARRA grants will continue to be awarded through 2010, and our Web site will be updated to reflect the disbursement.
Research!America wants to underscore the value and economic impact of research projects funded by the Recovery Act. Please tell us how this unprecedented investment is impacting your institution and your community. Share your stories with Heather Benson, manager of science outreach, at hbenson@researchamerica.org. Back to top.
Your Congress-Your Health Poll Findings
New poll findings released as part of Your Congress -Your Health indicate that the American public believes health care costs can be lowered while simultaneously improving quality of care (76%). In addition, 71% think research to improve health is part of the solution to our rising health care costs.
The poll finds that Americans want research to guide the way to health reform, yet a majority are not well-informed about where their senators and representative stand on health care issues or medical, health and scientific research.
Research!America and our partners have asked all members of the 111th Congress to share their positions and priorities on these issues. To encourage your members of Congress to respond and to see more findings from the poll, visit www.yourcongressyourhealth.org.
Personalize this month's insert and fax it or drop it off at a member's district office. Back to top.
Bringing Global Health Research Home
In meetings arranged by the Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research, global health researchers met with legislators' offices in their home states to hand deliver the message that increasing the U.S. investment in global health research is the smart thing to do for America and the right thing to do for the world. In addition to saving lives, this research is an avenue toward reviving state economies, attracting industry and creating high-level jobs.
In Georgia, Rogers Society staff and Ambassadors Daniel G. Colley, PhD, University of Georgia, Athens; Walter Dowdle, PhD, and Mark Rosenberg, MD, The Task Force for Global Health, met with the offices of Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, and Reps. John Lewis and Paul Broun.
Each researcher summed up how his research and respective institution contributes to the increasingly important industry of global health research in Georgia.
Colley called attention to the University of Georgia, Athens' initial investment of $1.6 million with three researchers to create the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. The Center has since brought in an additional $44 million to the state and attracted top-level researchers and professionals.
Dowdle and Rosenberg said The Task Force for Global Health has expanded its full time staff from three to 55.
At similar meetings in Colorado with staff from the offices of Sen. Mark Udall and Rep. Betsy Markey, Ambassador Barry Beaty, PhD, of Colorado State University, said, "While many people think of us in the lab, each researcher here at CSU is really a small business."
This was most visible by CSU's Infectious Disease Supercluster, an alliance created to bridge the gap between academia and business. In talking about the Supercluster's enterprise arm, MicroRx, Beaty said, "We need to take discoveries in the lab and move them into the field. We know how to take viruses and mosquitoes apart, and industry knows how to make the product. We need to be able to connect to better health, using our research and public-private partnerships to make a difference. Our model here at CSU is the key to building companies and high-paying jobs for Colorado." Back to top.
Media Matters
The War Against Cancer
Gina Kolata, science reporter for The New York Times, wrote an article on cancer clinical trials as part of her series on the war against cancer. She described the very low enrollment in clinical trials by adult cancer patients and the barriers for patients and physicians in participating in trials.
James D. Watson, MD, PhD, Nobel laureate and chancellor emeritus of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, wrote a New York Times op-ed in which he called for bold new efforts to restart the war on cancer, leveraging new knowledge about cancer's genetic and chemical characteristics, to work toward new drugs that cure the disease, not just extend survival incrementally. CSHL is a Research!America member.
Measuring the Impact of NIH Funding
The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published an important study (Manton et al., July 7, 2009) on the economic impact of National Institutes of Health funding. The authors write that "a significantly greater, and more prolonged, investment in NIH, and indeed all, federal research would provide a greater stimulus to U.S. economic growth."
Research!America In the News
Mark M. Rasenick, PhD, professor of physiology, biophysics and psychiatry at the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago and an Ambassador in Research!America's Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research, wrote an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune on the biology of mental health problems. He wrote that a global research effort drawing on people with different genetic backgrounds is needed to better understand the root of depression.
Research!America Chair The Hon. John Edward Porter welcomed the White House's nomination of Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, as the director of the NIH. Porter was quoted by reporters at the Associated Press, Congressional Quarterly's Health Beat, The Scientist and the blog of Research!America member Biotechnology Industry Organization that Collins' nomination was "perfect." He said, "Francis Collins understands all of science and has a broad vision for advancing human health through research."
The August 4 reception (see page 1) hosted by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, Foundation for NIH and Research!America to honor Sens. Tom Harkin (IA), Ted Kennedy (MA) and Arlen Specter (PA) received photo coverage in the Washington Times and the newspaper Roll Call.
Mary Woolley, Research!America president, was quoted in Stanford Medicine magazine on research funding in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). She said that the research community looks forward to catching up on the ground that has been lost since 2004 when the NIH budget started to decrease relative to biomedical inflation.
The Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN) published an article on ARRA funding for the Mayo Clinic and cited Research!America's estimate that stimulus-funded NIH grants could create as many as 70,000 jobs nationwide. Back to top.
President's Message
Finding consensus around reform of health care in this country is exceedingly difficult, trying patience and testing the very ethos of our nation. Perhaps the only area of agreement is the importance of assuring we arrive at a "uniquely American" solution. This is a goal well aligned to the promise of research.
The United States is still the undisputed, and widely emulated, global leader in research for health. We have much to show for investment by both public and private sectors: substantially increased longevity, years of productivity for people over 65, and the conversion of heart disease, HIV/AIDS and many types of cancers to manageable chronic diseases instead of death sentences. And more.
Research has before and will again be a game-changer, something that substantially and permanently changes health for the better - costing us less, individually and collectively, even as we achieve better health for individuals and populations. What are examples of such research-driven game-changers on the horizon? A vaccine for H1N1 that will keep students in school and adults productively at work, therapies for early-onset Alzheimer's that delay disability for years, customized gene therapy to reverse cystic fibrosis and other devastating diseases. And more.
Americans are said to be worried about "sweeping change" as health reforms are discussed. History shows that we embrace sweeping change immediately when it clearly means better health. Why are we satisfied with anything less than a significant ramping up of research, the activity most likely to provide the most dramatic game-changers: new cures, treatments and preventions that save lives and save money? Back to top.
Member Spotlight: Foundation for Biomedical Research
The mission of the Foundation for Biomedical Research is to educate the public about the essential role of humane animal research in the quest for medical advancements, treatments and cures for both humans and animals.
For nearly 30 years the Foundation for Biomedical Research has been working diligently to educate the public about the importance of animal research. Its basic strategy is to help people who have been affected by disease, which is virtually everyone, understand how animal research is directly related to their own lives.
"Nearly every medicine and treatment in use today has roots in animal research; our lives would be drastically different without it," said Frankie Trull, FBR president.
FBR commissions public opinion polls and has found a precipitous drop in public support of animal research, from 64% in 2004 to 54% in 2008. In response, FBR recently launched ResearchSaves, a campaign to explain why animal research is an essential step in finding new treatments and cures for disease.
"ResearchSaves corrects misconceptions about biomedical research and stresses that animal research is important, humane and necessary to save lives," Trull said.
The campaign includes a robust media strategy to reach as many Americans as possible, including national TV and radio spots, billboards in select markets, social media outreach through Twitter and Facebook, and ResearchSaves, a quarterly magazine that highlights the latest medical breakthroughs with foundations in animal research.
For more information or to make a donation, visit researchsaves.org. Back to top.
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:
- To facilitate the national conversation on the intertwined topics of health, research and the economy, Research!America and our partners have invited all members of the 111th Congress to participate in Your Congress-Your Health. This constituent education initiative is designed to provide our stakeholders and Americans more broadly with information about where their members of Congress stand on critical issues in a single, easy-to-search online resource.
- We led the effort, mobilized our leadership and grassroots, and boldly supported Sen. Arlen Specter's successful call for $10 billion for NIH in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. After five years of flat funding, ARRA funds being disbursed across the nation are a vital reinvestment in U.S. health-related research. Our new interactive map tracks how the funding is distributed and highlights research being funded and conducted by our alliance members.
- We are committed to increasing funding for research that improves health, specifically raising the budget of the National Institutes of Health to $40 billion as quickly as possible to ensure critical research capacity built up through ARRA funded grants will continue.
- We lead the way in ensuring research is positioned as part of the solution to our nation's economic and health challenges.
- We are working to keep research high on the agenda during health reform discussions.
- Research!America began commissioning polls in 1992 in an effort to understand public support for medical, health and scientific research. The results of Research!America's polls have proven invaluable to our alliance of 500 member organizations and, in turn, to the fulfillment of our mission to make research a higher national priority. In response to growing usage and demand, Research!America has expanded its portfolio, which now includes state, national and issue-specific polling. Poll data is available by request or at www.researchamerica.org/public_opinion.
Download the entire September Research Advocate as a PDF.