Antibiotic resistance (also known as anti-microbial resistance, or AMR) is a growing public health threat. In a recent national opinion survey , over 80% of Americans said they are concerned that antibiotic resistance will make infections more difficult or impossible to treat, and could even become deadly. However, when it comes to the details, survey data indicated that few are aware of what can be done to slow the progression of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, in honor of Antibiotics Awareness Week, Research!America hosted a guest blog series to highlight the work of some amazing initiatives that are leading the crusade against anti-microbial resistance. To provide the academic...

Dear Research Advocate: Happy Thanksgiving Week! I’m writing early to give us all a holiday. Last Thursday and Friday, l capped off a week of visiting our members at the McKnight Brain Institute (MBI) and the Health Science Center at the University of Florida. Research!America Chair Emeritus, and former member of Congress, the Honorable John Edward Porter, joined me at a Town Hall session during which students, postdocs, faculty, and administrators asked about the best ways to make the case for research with the current and new Congress. At MBI we heard patient advocate extraordinaire Jennifer French, Neurotech Network Executive Director, forcefully articulate the importance of a needed “...

This is the fourth installment in a blog series about awareness of antibacterial resistance in recognition of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, November 12-18, 2018. Check back for more blog posts soon! Which of our interventions, devices, and cures could save lives from antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? What roadblocks are keeping us from making the next groundbreaking discovery to combat AMR? What investments would stop its spread? Over the next year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is asking leaders around the world to commit to action in one of these areas and join The AMR Challenge . We need your help...

Dear Research Advocate: At our post-election briefing this morning at AAAS in Washington, DC, the discussion focused on opportunities for advocacy given the composition and characteristics of the new Congress, and the importance of building new champions from among the nearly 100 new members of Congress. Of note — at last count, there are seven science-trained new members, a very welcome development! There is no doubt that a divided Congress can cause gridlock, but inaction is not a foregone conclusion, as was emphasized by our Chair, the Hon. Michael N. Castle. There are important, science-relevant issues, such as infrastructure, STEM education, and the opioid crisis, that both parties...