weekly letter

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Science: Front and Center

By Mary Woolley on March 19, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, Because Research!America’s membership spans the ecosystem of stakeholders in research, we are fortunate to have access to a broad and comprehensive range of information you might find helpful. Visit and share our COVID-19 webpage. www.ResearchAmerica.org/COVID19 . A CDC report just out indicates that younger Americans have been hospitalized with COVID-19 at a higher rate than anticipated. As we look ahead to the use of vaccines against this and other threats, we have new (in the field just last evening) survey data showing that almost two-thirds of Americans ages 18-29 may not fully understand the role of vaccines. Better news is that this demographic is increasingly...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: High alert

By Mary Woolley on March 12, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, At this challenging time, Research!America is laser-focused on helping to advance policy and funding actions to speed the day we see the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. You will be hearing more from us as we share what we know, including ways you can get involved in advocacy at this important time. We invite you to be in touch with us with your suggestions. While we took the step of postponing one of our signature events — our Advocacy Awards Dinner — we look forward to announcing a new date. As we hit the “send” button, members of Congress and the White House are negotiating a supplemental budget package focused on mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Meeting Americans’ Expectations

By Mary Woolley on March 5, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, In their different ways, Super Tuesday and COVID-19 both speak to public sentiment. What are Americans’ expectations for those who represent them in Washington — and candidates who want to represent them in Washington — when it comes to promoting and protecting their best interests? A new Research!America-commissioned survey (in the field just days before COVID-19 captured worldwide public attention) found that Americans want their policymakers to consult with public health professionals and scientists; are deeply concerned about a diversity of public health issues affecting their families, their communities, and our nation as a whole; and believe there should be...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Building trust, driving progress

By Mary Woolley on February 20, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, Partnering with the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI), Research!America commissioned a survey released this week finding that not only do Americans strongly support organ and tissue donation for research, they believe it is important to encourage more people to donate for both medical and research purposes. Respondents admire those who donate for research as well as for transplant. We may be at an important inflection point with more research made possible because more people will donate. Speaking of surveys, the AAAS Annual Meeting last week was jam-packed with programs about how the public trusts (or mostly trusts) science and appreciates scientific...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: We can’t ignore the President’s budget

By Mary Woolley on February 13, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, The President released his proposed budget for FY21 earlier this week, kicking off the federal budget season. The President’s budget is a statement of priorities, even if it has no force of law (it’s the Congress that is charged in the Constitution with the ‘power of the purse’), and it rightly gets considerable attention. We think it’s deeply damaging for our nation that a higher priority isn’t being placed on science. Among the counterproductive proposals in the budget is a more than 7% cut to NIH and a double-digit cut to the CDC. Our colleague Jenny was quoted in Bloomberg Government as noting that, as underscored by the coronavirus outbreak, “the most important...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: State of the Union: Key Takeaways

By Mary Woolley on February 6, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, We were pleased to hear President Trump, in his State of the Union address (SOTU) earlier this week, highlight the importance of progress against health threats. Specifically he referenced mental health challenges, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, the opioid epidemic, childhood cancer, and the current coronavirus outbreak. What we didn’t hear, unfortunately, is that the President will grow federal funding for research. Nor did we hear him speak of plans to assure U.S. leadership in the global R&D arena, giving it the priority merited by its strategic significance. The President’s references during the SOTU to dramatically lowering prescription drug...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: A long week

By Mary Woolley on January 30, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, There’s a lot going on right now, so this letter is a bit longer than usual. Stay with me! Let’s start with the Super Bowl. According to the National Retail Federation, this year’s Super Bowl-related spending is on track to be the highest ever: $17.2 billion. That’s enough to fund: NIH-sponsored research on chronic pain for more than 26 years. CDC’s National Center for Injury and Prevention Control for almost 27 years. The entire Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality budget , which plays a profoundly underappreciated role in driving better health and healthcare, for more than 38 years. This is a wealthy country; we don’t need to stop spending on all things Super...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: A Call to Action

By Mary Woolley on January 23, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, This week’s headlines about the coronavirus certainly underscore how nimble and prepared our federal research agencies must always be. It’s a compelling reason health research agencies must be well-funded and well-coordinated. The CDC, FDA, and NIH trifecta are on high alert, playing leading roles in global efforts to identify and contain the deadly virus. After Chinese researchers sequenced the virus’ genome, they posted it in GenBank, a database managed by NIH. The CDC has submitted a diagnostic test to the FDA for use in select public health labs around the country. NIH is working with industry on a vaccine they hope to have ready for human trials in a few months...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Troubling trends

By Mary Woolley on January 16, 2020

Dear Research Advocate, Last summer, the administration announced a new policy targeting fetal tissue research. The Washington Post reported this week on the troubling consequences for scientists, scientific progress, and thus patients. Research!America stood with patients and researchers against this retrograde policy change when it was first contemplated and, as part of a coalition led by the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISCCR), we continue to push back. (It’s well to remember that fetal tissue research is not only playing a significant role today in research for vaccine development, Down syndrome, MS, and Parkinson’s, but its untapped potential holds significance for...

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Resolutions

By Mary Woolley on January 9, 2020

Dear Research Advocate: As 2020 begins, you no doubt have made personal and professional resolutions. How could you not? With information concerning exercise , diet , and smoking cessation flooding our screens, one feels almost left out if not pledging improvement. (The links above are to evidence-based sources only; not current reality, but hope springs eternal). Here are a few advocacy resolutions to consider: Resolution1: Celebrate your successes! Members of the Research!America Alliance have much to be proud of and grateful for as we look back at 2019. Individually and collectively, day in and day out, we spoke out: we made the case for raising the budget caps, boosting science funding...

weekly letter

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Science: Front and Center

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: High alert

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Meeting Americans’ Expectations

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Building trust, driving progress

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: We can’t ignore the President’s budget

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: State of the Union: Key Takeaways

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: A long week

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: A Call to Action

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Troubling trends

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter: Resolutions

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