Home » Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter » Celebration, Inspiration, Call to Action

Celebration, Inspiration, Call to Action

A man and a woman--Senator Chris Coons and Mary Woolley—stand on a stage in front of a blue backdrop repeatedly printed with the “Research!America” logo. They are smiling while jointly holding a clear glass award shaped like a waving American flag. The man wears a dark suit with a white shirt and burgundy tie, and the woman wears a dark dress with a floral design on the shoulder. The photo appears to capture the moment an award is being presented.Earlier this week, we hosted Research!America’s 30th annual Advocacy Awards at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. We were incredibly pleased to welcome Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), who accepted the Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), also received the Whitehead award, but unfortunately was unable to join us in person. In a future letter, we will share a recording of the awards program that will feature Sen. Coons’ remarks, the video acceptance Sen. Britt shared with us, as well as two special panel discussions with the other extraordinary individuals we recognized at the event.

I was honored and humbled to be one of the awardees this year, and welcomed the opportunity to close the awards program with a call to action that was intentionally provocative. See my remarks here. And explore photos from the event here.

On the Hill: While the House was not in session this week, work on the FY27 appropriations process continues.

  • As a reminder, Research!America maintains a tracker of appropriations request deadlines for each member of Congress. Background on the appropriations process and how to weigh in can be found here.
  • The House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the NIH on Tuesday, March 17, at 10:30 a.m. ET in 2358-C Rayburn House Office Building, featuring NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. Watch the hearing here.
  • According to CQ Roll Call reporting (subscription required), House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said he does not expect the Trump Administration to revive its previously proposed 40% cut to NIH funding after Congress rejected that funding level during the FY26 appropriations process. The president’s FY27 budget request is expected the week of March 30.

Bipartisan Letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy: Late last week, a bipartisan group of 31 members of Congress sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. expressing concerns about the nature and impact of vacancies on NIH advisory councils. The primary concern is that only one member was added across 24 councils in the past year, and some institutes risk losing all members in 2026. Advisory councils play a pivotal role in guiding funding decisions. Read the full letter here.

Economic Impact of NIH: United for Medical Research released its 2026 update on the role of NIH in the U.S. economy. Key takeaways from this report:

  • In 2025, NIH generated $94.15 billion in economic activity. That’s a return on investment of more than 250%: every dollar invested in NIH-funded research resulted in $2.57 of economic activity;
  • NIH research supported 390,863 jobs nationwide.

Read the full report here.

Input on the NIH Strategic Plan: The NIH will host two webinars to introduce the Institute’s strategic planning process and gather input regarding the agency’s next five-year plan covering Fiscal Years 2027-2031. Learn more about the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan here, and register for the first webinar on March 16 here.

FDA Leadership Change: The FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) announced this week that its director, Dr. Vinay Prasad, will depart the agency again at the end of April. As a reminder, CBER evaluates the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, gene and cell therapies, and other critically important medical advances. We will keep you up to date as the search for Dr. Prasad’s successor moves forward.

Infographic titled “Confidence in Nurses, Doctors, and Scientists Is High.” A horizontal stacked bar chart shows how much confidence U.S. adults have in various professions to act in the public’s best interest. Response categories include “a great deal,” “a fair amount,” “not too much,” “none at all,” and “not sure.” Nurses receive the highest confidence ratings, with 55% saying “a great deal” and 37% “a fair amount.” Doctors follow with 47% “a great deal” and 42% “a fair amount.” Scientists have 44% “a great deal” and 39% “a fair amount.” K–12 teachers show 39% “a great deal” and 41% “a fair amount.” Police officers have 29% “a great deal” and 42% “a fair amount.” Military leaders show 28% “a great deal” and 43% “a fair amount.” College and university professors have 26% “a great deal” and 45% “a fair amount.” Public health officials show 25% “a great deal” and 45% “a fair amount.” Religious leaders receive 20% “a great deal” and 34% “a fair amount.” Business leaders show 14% “a great deal” and 37% “a fair amount.” Elected officials receive the lowest confidence, with 12% “a great deal” and 28% “a fair amount.” Notes at the bottom state that confidence in scientists increased 5 percentage points from January 2025 among those expressing “a great deal” or “a fair amount,” rising from 78% to 83%, the highest level since 2020. Source: Research!America poll of U.S. adults conducted with Zogby Analytics in January 2026.Confidence in Scientists: Late last week, the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania released a poll that found Americans are expressing greater confidence in federal scientists and independent medical groups. (Read more here.) This mirrors our own survey findings, pictured here, which show that an overwhelming majority (83%) of Americans say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in scientists, an increase of five points over last year. Explore our full 2026 national survey findings here.

Defeating Alzheimer’s Disease: With an estimated 7.2 million Americans facing Alzheimer’s disease, the race for a cure has never been more urgent. Join us next Thursday, March 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET, for a breakfast briefing on Capitol Hill. The briefing will look at progress against Alzheimer’s disease and explore the urgent need for innovative partnerships and policies to overcome scientific and clinical challenges. Learn more and register here.

Join the Research!America Alliance: If your organization is interested in promoting research and its role in driving faster medical and public health progress, please consider joining the Research!America alliance. The membership process is straightforward, the benefits are compelling, and your participation informs and intensifies our community’s influence both on and off Capitol Hill. Email Associate Director of Membership and Development Operations Donald Cook for more information.

Home