Archive for the ‘Research Investment/Funding’ Category
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health released an updated table of Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories. The table displays the annual support level for various research, condition and disease categories based on grants, contracts and other funding mechanisms used across NIH. There are 218 research and disease areas covered by the table.
NIH notes that consistent with the Administration’s emphasis on transparency, a separate column has been added to distinguish FY 2009 actual support funded from American Recovery & Reinvestment Act accounts from projects funded by regular NIH appropriations.
This type of data can be used in many ways, including Research Takes Cents, comparisons of selected American leisure spending to the costs associated with conducting research.
For example, Americans spent more than $8.8 billion on Super Bowl game-related merchandise, apparel and snacks, according to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association. That could fund more than 47 years of NIH research into head and spine trauma injuries at FY 2010 funding levels (estimated $184 million).
Tags: Research Takes Cents
Posted in National Institutes of Health, Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Research!America today released a 2010 update of our Research: An Economic Driver fact sheet with a greater emphasis on jobs and a lasting recovery. The fact sheet highlights that:
• Innovation is the key to global competitiveness, new and better jobs, a resilient economy and the attainment of essential national goals;
• Eighty-eight percent of Americans think that investing in research is important to job creation and incomes;
• Seventeen of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the U.S. are related to medical research or health care; and
• Research saves money as well as lives: for instance, use of the polio vaccine has saved the U.S. an estimated $180 billion in treatment costs for the disease.
We’ve assembled these facts and more to make the economic case for investing in research. We encourage you to use this important advocacy tool as Congress starts their work on FY 2011 funding for research to improve health.
The Research: An Economic Driver fact sheet is part of the Investment in Research Saves Lives and Money series, which was developed with The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation as a founding partner.
Tags: fact sheet
Posted in Economic Impact, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
President Obama’s FY 2011 budget was released to Congress today. In addition to $32.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health, the President requested $611 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This would represent a $214 million (54%) increase over FY 2010. $286 million is targeted for comparative effectiveness research.
Research!America member the American Public Health Association detailed the FY 2011 budget request for the CDC. The request includes $6.342 billion for CDC, a $125 million cut (2%) over the FY 2010 appropriation of $6.467 billion. Detailed information about the budget is available here.
Tags: FY 2011, Obama
Posted in Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
This morning, President Obama transmitted his FY 2011 budget to Congress, including a message explaining his priorities and plans to continue recovering the economy.
My Budget includes funds to lay the groundwork for these reforms—by investing in health information technology, patient-centered research, and prevention and wellness—as well as to improve the health of the Nation by increasing the number of primary care physicians, protecting the safety of our food and drugs, and investing in critical biomedical research.
The budget included $32.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a 3.2% increase from FY 2011. The Office of Management and Budget provides a fact sheet detailing the budgets of other federal agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Bloomberg published an article on the ways that FY 2011 research funding may fall short. While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided a boost for health research, continued investment is needed to spur innovation and keep the U.S. competitive.
“Whenever there is a breakthrough in health care, the benefit is enjoyed worldwide,” she said. “But the economic benefit goes to the country where the breakthrough is made. Will those new startups be here or will they be in Singapore or India or China?
“Japan has been cutting its spending in those years and many see that as ceding the No. 2 position in the world to China,” Woolley said. “It could happen to the U.S. It happened before in autos and consumer electronics.”
Continue reading the article here.
Tags: Bloomberg, FY 2011, Obama
Posted in Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Today’s Orlando Business Journal includes an article on medical research funding in Florida. Research!America’s state-by-state research funding maps were referenced in the article, which is available online to subscribers only.
Florida pulled in $100 million for medical research last year through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, said Alexandria, Va.-based Research!America, which tracks research funding.
More than half of that funding, or $66 million, was split between the Gainesville area, which includes the research-intensive University of Florida, and South Florida. Only about 3 percent, or $3 million, came to the Central Florida area.
But that’s likely to change as Orlando amps up its medical research infrastructure with a new medical school, new state-of-the-art research facilities, star scientists and powerful partners.
For Research!America’s research funding resources in Florida, see:
Economic Impact of Research
NIH, CDC, NSF and AHRQ Funding
ARRA Funding
Tags: ARRA, Orlando Business Journal
Posted in Economic Impact, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Research!America’s board chair, former Illinois Congressman John Edward Porter, and president, Mary Woolley, urge President Obama to make research a priority in his upcoming FY 2011 budget proposal.
Porter said, “The President has a chance to show the American people that investing in health and medical research is one of his strategies for creating jobs now for Americans, as well as for finding life-saving treatments for diseases that currently have none. Investing in research today gives us a stronger economic future for our children and grandchildren-and is the only way we will continue our leadership in science and innovation.”
He added, “Local and state economies throughout the U.S. are still feeling a deep impact from the economic recession. Federal research funding creates jobs at universities, small businesses and research institutes that stimulate local economies. Investing in health and medical research must be a priority in 2011, so we don’t lose the new capacity and momentum gained from stimulus dollars that went to research.”
Continue reading for Research!America’s budget recommendations for federal research agencies.
Tags: FY 2011, Obama, The H, The Honorable John Edward Porter
Posted in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The Scientist’s Bob Grant asked members of the research community what a budget freeze would mean for science in an entry posted today on their NewsBlog. Research!America President Mary Woolley was quoted expressing concern for the impact of the freeze on “an innovation-driven economy.” Research!America members Emory University and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology also responded.
“We’re hopeful that science is enough of a priority in the president’s agenda that the scientific agencies we care about will not be included [in the freeze,” FASEB spokesperson Carrie Wolinetz told The Scientist. “It’s something that we’re waiting to hear more details about.”
Continue reading the post here.
Tags: Obama, The Scientist
Posted in Mary Woolley, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
An $8 million National Institutes of Health grant provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will fund the completion of an unfinished floor of the Biomedical Research Tower at Ohio State University Medical Center, a Research!America member. The project will be the second phase of construction since the Tower’s opening in 2006, where Research!America president Mary Woolley gave a keynote presentation applauding research and advocacy for health taking place at the University.
The finished floor will house cancer researchers and their teams, adding to the number of scientists that will eventually total 800 when the tower is completed, according to OSU Medical Center.
Tags: ARRA, Ohio State University
Posted in Mary Woolley, Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
A study published this week in The Journal of the American Medical Association reports on the state of research funding in the United States.
The authors found that “After a decade of doubling, the rate of increase in biomedical research funding slowed from 2003 to 2007, and after adjustment for inflation, the absolute level of funding from the National Institutes of Health and industry appears to have decreased by 2% in 2008.”
The authors’ findings reinforce Research!America’s annual U.S. Investment in Health Research report, which shows us that we are headed in the wrong direction. Research!America has been tracking and analyzing the various streams of funding that make up the total U.S. investment in health research for a decade. Our most recent report estimates $131 billion was spent on research to improve health in 2008, just 5.5% of our nation’s total health spending.
Take action now to advocate for more funding for health research. Only with robust investment will the U.S. be able to expand the capacity of NIH and other research institutions to improve health and drive economic growth.
Tags: JAMA, US Investment in Health Research
Posted in Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
The New York Times has published a letter to the editor from Research!America President Mary Woolley. The letter appears in today’s print edition and was published late yesterday online.
In response to the Times’ January 7 front-page story, “Fighting Trend, China Is Luring Scientists Home,” Woolley asks,
Will we put America back on track to stay the world’s leader in science and innovation, or let other nations reap the gains in jobs, growth and quality of life that once gave us such a source of pride and economic strength?
Woolley points to Japan, which has lost its lead in research and development spending to China and India, according to a report from Research!America member Battelle published in R&D Magazine last month.
Another letter, from David Anderson, PhD, of Research!America member the California Institute of Technology, notes “the difficulty [for foreign-born life scientists] in obtaining research funding from the National Institutes of Health.”
Tags: Battelle, LTE, New York Times, NYT, R&D Magazine
Posted in Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Margaret Anderson, executive director of FasterCures, a Research!America member, looked forward to this medical research in the new year. She predicted the course of research at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration and drew attention to health information technology and health reform:
6) Healthcare reform: is that all there is? What will Congress and the rest of Washington do in 2010 with healthcare “reformed?” We hope to see attention devoted to medical research, which is key to reducing healthcare costs, ensuring a productive workforce, allowing us to compete globally, and most importantly improve quality of life.
Continue reading Anderson’s list.
Tags: FasterCures, Huffington Post
Posted in Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
China is gaining scientific edge by attracting Chinese researchers working in the United States with a growing investment in research and development, reports The New York Times.
China’s spending on research and development has steadily increased for a decade and now amounts to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product. The United States devotes 2.7 percent of its G.D.P. to research and development, but China’s share is far higher than that of most other developing countries.
While these scientists face political challenges when they return to their country, the Chinese government’s active investment in R&D is quickly closing the innovation gap between the U.S. and China.
Tags: China, innovation, New York Times
Posted in Innovation/Competitiveness, Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
The National Institutes of Health is accepting applications for new grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. $80 million in ARRA funds have been made available for research in the five key areas of research opportunities identified by Francis Collins, MD, PhD, NIH director. Collins detailed these five themes in a piece for Science Magazine this week.
More information on these new grants is available here. To see how ARRA-supported NIH funding is affecting your community, see Research!America’s map tool.
Tags: ARRA, Collins
Posted in National Institutes of Health, Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote a column for Science Magazine’s January 1, 2010 issue summarizing five areas of opportunity for NIH that are “ripe for major advances,” including high-throughput technologies, translational medicine, benefiting health care reform, focusing more on global health and reinvigorating and empowering the biomedical research community. The article reemphasizes the five themes that Collins prioritized when he was sworn in as director in August 2009.
The entire article is available online to subscribers.
Tags: Francis Collins, Science Magazine
Posted in National Institutes of Health, Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
2009 was a major year for stem cell research, with President Obama overturning restrictions on stem cell research and more recently, federally funded scientists beginning research on stem cell lines approved under the National Institutes of Health’s guidelines.
Harvard Magazine looks ahead to the future of stem cell research, from accelerating personalized treatments to new collaborations between disciplines. The article describes how Harvard scientists are using stem cells as research tools in innovative and varied ways.
Research!America continues to be a resource for stem cell research advocates. Linday’s Life Science Communication blog talked about the need for stem cell research funding and pointed her readers to Research!America’s stem cell research issue page.
Tags: Harvard, Stem Cell Research
Posted in Personalized Medicine, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, Stem Cell Research | No Comments »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
At the invitation of the Global Forum for Health Research, Research!America’s Emily Connelly, science policy and outreach director, took part in a pre-conference session that brought together leading experts around the world who track resources for health research. Joining her was Karen A. Goraleski, our vice president for public health partnerships.
The meeting in Havana, Cuba, was another step toward the goal of global agreement and clarity on addressing the many challenges in tracking investment in global health research including inadequate data, inconsistent methodology and lack of transparency.
Connelly later participated in a breakout session on global investments in health research and innovation moderated by Jeffrey Drazen, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. Connelly’s remarks included highlights from Research!America’s latest Investment in Health Research report, poll data and advocacy efforts through the Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research.
Furthering Research!America’s international collaboration with Council on Health Research for Development (Switzerland), Goraleski participated in a session working to identify strategies to engage civil society in research for health, a new concept for many countries.
Connelly posted more about her experiences in Cuba over at the New Voices for Research blog.
Tags: Global Forum for Health Research, U.S. Health Research Investment report
Posted in Global Health Research, Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Research!America responded to medical and health research funding levels in the final FY 2010 appropriations bill. Approved Sunday by the Senate, the bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.
The National Institutes of Health received $31.0 billion, a 2.3% increase over FY 2009; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received $ 6.7 billion, a 1.9% increase; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality received $397 million, a 6.7% increase; and the National Science Foundation received $6.9 billion, a 6.7% increase.
Read Research!America board chair The Honorable John Edward Porter and Research!America president Mary Woolley’s statements on research funding in FY 2010 appropriations.
Tags: appropriations, FY 2010
Posted in Mary Woolley, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, The Honorable John Edward Porter | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Alan Leshner, PhD, introduces the panel
Today I attended a Capitol Hill briefing held by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and
The Hastings Center titled “
Beyond Mammograms: Perspectives on Comparative Effectiveness Research.” While the discussion did not focus on the current mammography debate playing out in the media, it did use it as a jumping-off point for some of the concerns that have emerged from different stakeholders as CER plays a more major role.
The clearest voice in support of CER was Steven Pearson, MD (President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review; Senior Fellow at America’s Health Insurance Plans; and Visiting Scientist, Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health), who took us through the background of CER and how it fits into the framework of health care reform, which includes the need to improve care and cut costs. Pearson recommended a grading or rating system to guide clinicians’ decisions based on CER evidence (i.e., x treatment is superior to y treatment). He also suggested that patient and clinician organizations be given a leadership role in the development of guidelines based on CER.
The following two panelists expressed concerns for the groups they represented. Richard Payne, MD (Professor of Medicine and Divinity, Duke University), came from the perspective of a physician who has to make decisions that affect individual patients. “There will never be enough data to make medicine totally evidence-based,” he said.
Steve Findlay, MPH (Senior Health Policy Analyst, Consumers Union), focused on patient and consumers’ understanding of what CER really is. Findlay thought the Web provides opportunities to communicate CER. In response to this, Pearson said that simplifying information about CER has led to many of the myths and misconceptions about its goals, which is primarily to improve care.
Alan Leshner, PhD, a Research!America board member and CEO of AAAS, moderated the panel and closed with the important distinction between comparative effectiveness research and cost effectiveness research, suggesting that these are often confused in talking about CER.
-Allison Bland
Tags: AAAS, Alan Leshner, comparative effectiveness research
Posted in Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Monday, December 14th, 2009
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a Research!America member, reported on research funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and its impact on the University, Duke University and the state. UNC used Research!America’s NIH ARRA Funding Map to determine where North Carolina stood in relation to other states’ stimulus research funding.
Together, UNC and Duke faculty have helped place North Carolina among the leading states for attracting ARRA funding. According to www.recovery.gov and www.researchamerica.org, North Carolina currently ranks:
* 5th for the number of jobs created or saved by the stimulus program.
* 6th for National Institutes of Health (NIH) stimulus funding.
* 10th for total stimulus funding.
Duke and Carolina have also combined to make North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District the third-highest funded district for NIH stimulus funds, according to www.researchamerica.org. The NIH has committed $160.3 million for 434 projects in the Fourth District, which includes Durham and Orange counties, part of Wake County and a small portion of Chatham County. Only Massachusetts’ Eighth District, which includes Cambridge and about 70 percent of Boston, and Washington’s Seventh District, which includes Seattle, have received more NIH funding.
See the impact of NIH ARRA funds on your community and state.
Tags: ARRA
Posted in Economic Impact, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | No Comments »
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Yesterday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy opened the conversation on implementing a policy that would make federally funded research publicly accessible. The National Institutes of Health implemented an open access policy last year, but the Administration is seeking public input on access to research funded by other science agencies. The discussion will take place in three stages.
Join the discussion on the OSTP blog.
Tags: Office of Science and Technology Policy, open access
Posted in Research Investment/Funding | No Comments »