Alliance Member Meetings
All employees of Research!America members are eligible to join alliance member meetings. If your organization is not a Research!America member and you’re interested in more information about the alliance, email Katie Goode at kgoode@researchamerica.org
Upcoming Meetings
Research!America Alliance Member Meeting with Pete Kirkham
Date: Wednesday, October 28, 2020; 1:00 p.m. ET
Past Meetings
Research!America Alliance Member Call on BRAIN Initiative
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020; 1:00 p.m. ET
NINDS Director Dr. Walter Koroshetz, BRAIN Initiative Director Dr. John Ngai, Chief of the Scientific and Public Engagement Branch in the Office of Neuroscience Communications and Engagement (ONCE) Dr. Samantha White who provided an update on this Initiative and relevant issues such as neuroethics.
Research!America Alliance Member Call on ClinicalTrials.gov with Anna Fine and Becky Williams
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2020; 2:30 p.m. ET
Guest speakers Rebecca Williams, PharmD, MPH, acting director of ClinicalTrials.gov at the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health and Anna Fine, PharmD, Deputy Director at NLM ClinicalTrials.gov detailed the role ClinicalTrials.gov is playing in COVID-19 information-sharing and the status of a major ClinicalTrials.gov modernization project in which Research!America has been participating. Access the summary report of the modernization comments here. Watch the recording here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Lou Garrison and Dr. Andras Incze
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2020; 11:00 a.m. ET
Dr. Lou Garrison, Professor Emeritus, Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington and Dr. András Incze, founder and CEO of Akceso Advisors, discussed the International Reference Pricing (IRP) model as it relates to a recent Executive Order on drug costs. Dr. Garrison and Dr. Incze emphasized that the E.O. could have long-term negative impacts on R&D and access to treatments worldwide. As an alternative, Drs. Garrison and Incze outlined how a value-based approach - one in which price is tied to the value of a therapy's health outcomes - could function to address affordability while supporting innovation. For a copy of the slides presented, please contact Dr. Lou Garrison at lgarrisn@uw.edu.
Research!America Alliance Member Call about Injury Prevention Research
Date: Thursday, October 1, 2020; 1:30 p.m. ET
You can view the full recording here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Larry Tabak
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2020; 2:30 p.m. ET
Dr. Larry Tabak, Principal Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health, discussed how NIH is addressing the current funding situation due to COVID-19 and the outlook for FY2021 grants. Dr. Tabak stressed the continued flexibility of NIH regarding the needs of extramural researchers. The extramural staff at NIH have worked diligently to switch to remote operations, and processes like peer review and the application process have continued to be successful. In some areas, like peer review, the remote model may even be continued beyond the pandemic. Regarding the flexibility of the Institutes/Centers (ICs), many are considering extensions on a grant-by-grant basis, recognizing that researchers face unique challenges during this time. Overall, flexibility has and will continue to be key for all parties. In October, a survey will be sent to extramural organizers/researchers and feedback is greatly appreciated.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stable
Date: Monday, July 27, 2020, 2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. ET
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, MD, Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), discussed that the groups of his institute’s focus -- racial and ethnic minorities, those from low socio-economic status, underserved rural residents, and sexual and gender minorities -- have a shorter life expectancy than other Americans. COVID-19 has spotlighted this dramatically.
Access his recent opinion piece on this in JAMA. Dr. Pérez-Stable also discussed funding opportunities for scientists -- of particular interest for those working alongside NIMHD-- through NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative.
The full recording and slides are here.
Research!America Alliance Member Meeting with Dr. Judith Salerno
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2020, 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m. ET
Judith A. Salerno, MD, MS, President of The New York Academy of Medicine, shared her experience returning to clinical work at Bellevue Hospital during the height of the COVID-19 crisis in New York City. Dr. Salerno joined the palliative care unit, connecting families with loved ones in the ICU, which was logistically difficult given that most of her patients were intubated, and family members could not visit in person. When Dr. Salerno arrived at Bellevue, there were seven ICUs full of intubated COVID-19 patients. The vast majority were people of color, and about half of Dr. Salerno’s patients’ families did not speak English, so she had to speak through a translator. Many of the patients had worked in environments like kitchens or construction sites and lived in apartments with many other people. Some delayed seeking care because they did not know they were entitled to care no matter their legal status; others had to keep working because they needed the money.
Dr. Salerno also discussed the severe PPE shortage. On her first day, Dr. Salerno received just one N95 mask to use, though she eventually accumulated five masks that she rotated through -- one for each day of the week. Dr. Salerno noted that she saw many unanticipated symptoms given that doctors thought COVID-19 was an acute respiratory syndrome; these included kidney failure, strokes, and clotting such that limbs required amputation. Dr. Salerno and her colleagues also saw guidance shifting early on because there was no clear understanding of best practices at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, Dr. Salerno says, there is much clearer guidance, like using anticoagulants, acquiring dialysis machines, and implementing new treatment regimens.
Research!America Alliance Member Meeting with Dr. Gary Gibbons
Date: Monday, July 13, 2020, 1 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Gary Gibbons, MD, Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) discussed NHLBI's COVID-19 response given the significance of heart and lung conditions, racial and ethnic disparities in the pandemic’s impact, and the effect of COVID-19 on research outside the pandemic’s sphere. Dr. Gibbons explained how COVID-19 is affecting many of the organ systems under the umbrella of NHLBI. The institute is working to understand the pathophysiology of COVID-19, test new treatments, promote blood safety, and test behavioral, social and community-based interventions. Dr. Gibbons also explained that COVID-19 seems to specifically affect the blood, leading to blood clots which can damage the heart and lungs. Dr. Gibbons has high hopes for serum treatment from recovered patients being used to prevent the disease from worsening in other patients. NHLBI has also launched a collaboration called connect, which does just that among different clinical trial sectors within the NHLBI. Dr. Gibbons also touched on Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with COVID-19 and how NHBLI is investigating this disease. See the recording here.
Research!America Alliance Member Meeting with Dr. Chris Austin
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2020, 4 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Chris Austin, MD, Director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health joined us to talk about NCATS's new Open Data Portal, National COVID Cohort Collaborative and other NCATS priorities. Also on the live video call was Dr. Joni Rutter, Deputy Director of NCATS, who discussed the current open science initiatives at NCATS in the context of COVID-19. The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) is a centralized, secure platform to store and study data. The goal is to collect and harmonize up to 1-2 million U.S. clinical health records. Then, collaborative analytics will be performed to develop treatments and answer questions like “Can we predict who might have severe outcomes?”
Another initiative, SARS-CoV-2 OpenData, is speeding the identification of drugs for COVID-19 by sharing results and methods from ongoing research of drug repurposing. The idea is to run as many experiments as possible across all drugs and to make the data immediately available to the world.
Finally, CURE ID is a mobile app created from a collaboration between NCATS and the FDA. The app allows health care workers to share their clinical experience using approved drugs to treat diseases other than the one they were originally intended for.
See the recorded meeting here.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)
Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2020, 11:30 a.m. ET
Featuring: Congressman Tom Cole
Research!America members met virtually with Congressman Tom Cole, the ranking member of the Labor-H subcommittee. Rep. Cole explained that Congress is working on both the appropriation markups and another supplemental bill. Congressman Cole expects that the supplemental will be completed by late July or early August. It will include financing for personal assistance, NIH, state and tribal assistance, and school and daycare funding. The congressman expressed the need for Congress to set aside emergency money and to build up the CDC’s infrastructure to prepare for a future crisis. Equating COVID-19 to a “biomedical Pearl Harbor,” Rep. Cole emphasized that we “need to spend billions to save trillions” and prioritize strengthening our public health system and research enterprise during this appropriations season. Overall, Rep. Cole thinks that NIH will receive increased funding but that in the next year they may see a dip in funding since most of this year’s funding is coming from supplements.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Tom Frieden
Date: Monday, June 29, 2020, 1:30 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Tom Frieden, CEO, Resolve to Save Lives
Former CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, joined alliance members to discuss a proposal he and other public health leaders have developed to expedite the resources needed when pandemics and other national public health emergencies arise. Dr. Frieden advocated for a balanced portfolio of research that spans basic to operational across a range of agencies, to achieve the maximum possible health benefit. He argued that research should not just be led by the NIH -- it should include the FDA, CDC, BARDA, HHS, and Department of Agriculture. Dr. Frieden stated that the federal government has not stepped up to lead during this emergency, emphasizing that public health must guide us forward. He advocated for sustained support for public health through funding and public messaging, disease surveillance, more nuanced reopening strategies, and use of the “Box-it-in” approach, which includes widespread testing, contact tracing, isolating infected people, and quarantine periods. Dr. Frieden mentioned a resource for state-level data: covidexitstrategy.org, which was created by Resolve to Save Lives.
If you are a Research!America alliance member, click here to see the recording.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Nora Volkow
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2020, 1 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at NIH and Patrick J. Kennedy, Former U.S. Representative (D – RI) and Founder of the Kennedy Forum.
After hearing from Dr. Volkow, The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy spoke about his experience on Capitol Hill striving for more inclusive mental health reform. He applauded NIDA for emphasizing service related research. Mr. Kennedy explained that depression needs to have it’s own agency, similar to NCI or NIDA and that we will need a “Moon Shot” to make vast improvements for depression treatment and regulations. Mr. Kennedy also expressed the need for mental health services to be reimbursable by insurance companies.
Immigration Update with Scott Corley and Michael Maloney
Date: Monday, June 22, 2020, 2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Featuring: Scott Corley, President of Corley Consulting and Michael Moloney, CEO of the American Institute of Physics.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Jeff Allen
Date: Friday, June 19, 2020, 12 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Jeff Allen, President and CEO of Friends of Cancer Research
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier
Date: Thursday, June 11, 2020, 1 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, The White House
Dr. Droegemeier anticipates the administration releasing its R&D priorities memo in July, and that education will figure prominently. He welcomed suggestions for reinvigorating the research enterprise as it reopens. In closing, he said, “The research enterprise is the future of our country. Science has a special moment right now; we can’t take our foot off the gas.”
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Josh Gordon
Date: June 1, 2020, 1 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Josh Gordon, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Dr. Gordon discussed the Institute’s work about NIMH's COVID-19 response and the critical intersection between the pandemic and mental health. He explained that the global impact, social isolation, and the length of the crisis will affect people’s mental health and require innovative solutions. While many NIMH clinical trials have been stalled due to COVID-19, new survey and telehealth trials have begun to obtain the best possible understanding of how this crisis is affecting patient populations. Dr. Gordon further explained that NIMH has opened and will open more supplementary opportunities for extramural researchers to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and possible solutions.
If you are an alliance member, click here to view the recording.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Carolyn Clancy and Dr. Rachel Ramoni
Date: May 29, 2020, 2 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Deputy Under Secretary for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (10X), Veterans Health Administration; Dr. Rachel Ramoni, Chief Research and Development Officer (10P9), Veterans Health Administration
This alliance call hosted two members of the Veterans Health Administration; Dr. Carolyn Clancy, the Deputy Secretary for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Network, and Dr. Rachel Ramoni, Chief Research and Development officer. Dr. Clancy began the discussion by demonstrating the breadth and funding of the Veteran’s Association. Dr. Ramoni then spoke about the VA’s overarching strategic principles and the valuable clinical trials structure which has allowed the VA to quickly adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. The VA is uniquely positioned to contribute to research. During the COVID-19 crisis, the VA has expanded access for the Mayo Clinic convalescent-plasma protocol at more that 80 VA medical clinics, conducted the HITCH clinical trial which is testing a prostate cancer drug, degarelix, as a COVID-19 treatment, conducted the Epidemiology, Immunology, and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 (EPIC3) “natural history” observational study with DOD, assisted in NIAID-sponsored trials of remdesivir and baricitinib, and worked with big data and informatics. During the question portion of the meeting, Dr. Clancy explained that the VA is making strong progress in telehealth. For a recap of this discussion, click here.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-8)
Date: Thursday, May 28, 3 p.m. ET
An alliance member call with U.S. Representative Don Beyer, (D-VA-8) to discuss current priorities and recent AHRQ proposals.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with Dr. Victor Dzau
Date: May 22, 2020, 1 p.m. ET
Featuring: Dr. Victor Dzau, President of the National Academy of Medicine
Dr. Dzau discussed the NAM's work related to COVID-19, main issues in what it will take to effectively respond to the pandemic, and what might change in how we respond to future outbreaks. Dr. Dzau started the conversation with an impressive overview of the National Academy of Medicine’s response to COVID19. He explained that an expert committee has completed 11 expert consultations on topics ranging from virus shedding to the effectiveness of fabric masks. Dr. Dzau also stressed the importance of innovation and technology.
If you are an alliance member, click here to view the recording.
Research!America Alliance Member Webinar with the Honorable Louis W. Sullivan
Date: May 11, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Louis Sullivan, former Secretary, Health and Human Services, and Chairman, Sullivan Alliance to Transform the Health Professions.
Dr. Sullivan spoke about the importance of biomedical research and how it has improved human health. In 1989, Dr. Sullivan was on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS crisis as secretary of HHS under the Bush administration. Today, HIV/AIDS patients live longer and healthier lives because of biomedical innovation. Dr. Sullivan explained that examples of research leading to treatments and vaccines, such as HIV/AIDS, smallpox, and polio, can be used to show the public the importance of biomedical research. Now, in the current pandemic, biomedical research must continue to be a high priority. Dr. Sullivan also discussed the African American, Latino, and Indigenous populations which are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Minorities have higher infection rates and hospitalization rates and are more likely to die from COVID-19 than non-minorities. Dr. Sullivan explained that this is because more minorities work in service jobs, minorities have a history of distrusting medical professionals, and are more likely to have underlying conditions such as heart disease and obesity which make patients more susceptible to COVID-19. Dr. Sullivan finished his remarks by stating that investing in health is an investment in a better future.
You can view the recording here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Peter Hotez
Date: May 6, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the Baylor School of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine
Dr. Peter Hotez spoke about the history of vaccines, COVID-19 vaccine development, and the spread of the novel coronavirus across the southern hemisphere. He also spoke about the anti-science and anti-vaccine movements in our country and globally.
You can watch the meeting here and you can view his slides here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Keith Yamamoto
Date: April 30, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health; Dr. Keith Yamamoto, Professor Emeritus; Vice Chancellor for Science Policy and Strategy; Director, UCSF Precision Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Collins provided an overview of NIH’s unprecedented Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) and the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative. Dr. Yamamoto discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the research ecosystem and highlighted some of the collaborations taking place to respond to the pandemic. Listen to the recording here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Donna Cryer
Date: April 28, 2020
Featuring: Donna Cryer, President and CEO of the Global Liver Institute; Leslie Ritter, Associate Vice President, Federal Government Relations at National MS Society
Donna shared updates on her organization's comprehensive COVID-19 response program. Leslie discussed the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on research supported by voluntary health associations, philanthropies and scientific societies.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg
Date: April 20, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg, President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and chair of the National Academies Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases
Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg discussed the steps needed to contain and ultimately end the COVID-19 pandemic.
For a recording of the call, click here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Rick Bright and Scott Whitaker
Date: April 15, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Rick Bright, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); Scott Whitaker, President and CEO of AdvaMed
Scott Whitaker discussed how the medical device and diagnostic sectors are working on to combat the pandemic. Dr. Rick Bright provided an update on BARDA's COVID-19 efforts.
You can find a link to this terrific conversation here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Robert Redfield
Date: April 13, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Research!America hosted a conference call for our members and partners on April 13, 2020, with Dr. Robert Redfield who provided an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic and the CDC’s response.
There is no recording available for this call. Access highlights from the call here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Adrienne Hallett
Date: April 9, 2020
Featuring: Adrienne Hallett, Director of the NIH Office for Legislative Policy and Analysis
Research!America hosted a conference call for our members and partners on April 9, 2020 with Adrienne Hallett who shared updates on NIH COVID-19 response efforts.
There is no recording available for this call.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Georges Benjamin
Date: April 7, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of APHA
Research!America hosted a call on April 7, 2020, with Research!America board member and APHA Executive Director Dr. Georges Benjamin, discussing the nationwide response to COVID-19 and National Public Health Week.
Access Dr. Benjamin’s presentation here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Rear Admiral Erica Schwartz and Emily Holubowich
Date: March 30, 2020
Featuring: Rear Admiral Erica Schwartz, Deputy Surgeon General; Emily Holubowich, Vice President of Federal Advocacy of the American Heart Association
There is no recording available of this call.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Skorton
Date: March 24, 2020
Featuring: Dr. David Skorton, President of the Association of American Medical Colleges
Research!America hosted a call on March 24, 2020, with Dr. David Skorton on strategies for academic health centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a content-filled, motivating conversation, Dr. Skorton and his colleagues emphasized the irreplaceable value of fundamental research and the critical importance of public-private partnerships.
You can find a link to this terrific conversation, including alliance member Q&A, here.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan Curay and Dana Acton
Date: March 19, 2020
Featuring: Dana Acton, Legislative Director for House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY-17); Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, Director of the Office of Medical Policy at FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay provided an update on FDA’s implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act and Dana Acton discussed FY21 appropriations and supplemental COVID-19 funding.
Research!America Alliance Member Call with Dr. Larry Tabak and Dr. Michael Lauer
Date: March 16, 2020
Featuring: Dr. Larry Tabak, Principal Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health; Dr. Michael Lauer, Deputy Director for Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Tabak and Dr. Lauer discussed NIH’s efforts to ensure research institutions and scientists are accorded the flexibility needed as they confront COVID-19-related research disruptions.
A recording of the detail-rich call can be accessed here.