funding

Dear Research Advocate, Word of a plan to pass an FY18 omnibus bill in the House by the end of July has surfaced . The plan would require the House to rapidly draft, mark up and stitch together 12 appropriations bills. If House leadership takes this route, it is unclear what overall budget numbers they would work from; rumor has it they may adhere relatively closely to the “sequestration” budget caps established in 2011. Ironically, that would be significantly better than the president’s budget but, as I discussed last week , far worse than what is needed: an agreement to raise the caps and permit more budget flexibility. Call your members of Congress to make the case ; and follow up with a...

Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of researchers are working to better understand a wide range of diseases and conditions, from cancer to heart disease, to rare disorders to Alzheimer disease, and countless others, in order to improve the health and well-being of people in every corner of America and the world. The lifeblood for the majority of these researchers is federal funding received through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through more than 57,000 research and training grants, NIH directly supports approximately 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 universities and organizations located in all 50 states. This funding, in turn, supports local economies and...

Why Research is Needed Now to Stop the Progression of Parkinson’s Disease Not long ago, as I approached middle age, I started feeling like I hit a wall. It didn’t make sense to me. At age 40 I set out on a path to be healthy at age 50, both physically and emotionally. I knew a lot of people who burned out at 50 and I wasn’t going to be one of them. I exercised regularly and ate a healthy diet heavy on fruits and vegetables. I had a strong support network both at home and work. Looking from the outside everything was great – our family was all healthy, our business had recovered from the great recession and everything seemed to be going my way both personally and professionally. Still,...

Dear Research Advocate: That so many well-informed patient advocates are working for House passage of the 21st Century Cures bill (H.R. 6) is an excellent indication of just how important this legislation is to all of us looking for answers to what (literally) ails us. This makes it all the more puzzling that there aren’t more supporters weighing in from the science community. It may be because many don’t know about the bill yet -- a preliminary report from a poll of scientists we have in the field right now shows that only one in 5 members of the science community say they have heard of the bill. If you are a researcher and a regular reader of this letter, I know you know about it! Will...