The accomplishments of the 2019 Research!America Advocacy Award honorees have led to a greater understanding of health disparities, breakthroughs as the result of the convergence of engineering and life sciences, advanced treatments based on genomic research, and improved outcomes for patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. As Research!America celebrates its 30th anniversary, the alliancee will honor these awardees and others to be named in the coming weeks at the Advocacy Awards Dinner on March 13, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
The Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, MD, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and president emeritus of the Morehouse School of Medicine, will receive the 2019 John Edward Porter Legacy Award for his strong commitment to advancing research and public health, and his efforts to improve the health behaviors of Americans, as well as his work raising funds for scholarships for black students in the health professions. He also established the Office of Research on Minority Health (now known as the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities) at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Sullivan is the founding dean and director of the Medical Education Program at Morehouse College.
Susan Hockfield, PhD, will receive the Geoffrey Beane Foundation Builders of Science Award for her leadership 
as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she had a substantial impact on scientific breakthroughs while bringing together life, physical, and engineering sciences. As chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she has championed youth involvement in science and supported women and minorities in research. She is now President Emerita of MIT and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
David R. Williams, MPH, PhD, will be the inaugural recipient of the Herbert Pardes Family Award for National Leadership in Advocacy for Research. Dr. Williams, currently the Florence and Laura Norman Professor of Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology, Harvard University, developed the Everyday Discrimination Scale, now one of the most widely used measures of discrimination in health studies. His work on implicit bias and how it detrimentally affects the health of minority populations has greatly enhanced our understanding of social influences on health.
Denny Sanford, health care philanthropist and long-time supporter of Sanford Health and Sanford Research Institute in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will be presented with the Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award in recognition of his philanthropy and advocacy in support of medical research. His dedication to research and children’s health have led to the development of children’s clinics worldwide and genomic research to treat and prevent breast cancer, experimental research on diabetes treatments, adult stem cell therapy development, and much more.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) will be the recipient of the Paul G. Rogers Distinguished Organization Advocacy Award in recognition for its work supporting a wide range of innovative research programs that seek to discover and develop new and effective therapies for cystic fibrosis. CFF’s investment in basic research, drug development, clinical research have resulted in many new treatments for CF, and its efforts in advocating for patients have meant better, highly specialized care for those who suffer from this disease.
The honorees for the Isadore Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion and the Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy will be announced in the coming weeks.
Visit www.researchamerica.org/advocacy_awards for more information.
This year’s Nobel Prize winners in medicine and chemistry remind us of the enormous value of our nation’s investment in research. While these honors reflect prestigious peer recognition for the scientists who receive them, they are really much more. The prize represents a celebration of the enormous progress these avenues of research have had to improve the human condition. We are often asked why we use taxpayer dollars to fund research and what the return on this investment is. Well, a look at this year’s winners shows us in stark terms why our federal investment is a best buy for the American taxpayer. 
In a panel discussion hosted by Research!America on October 3 on Capitol Hill, speakers called for more research and explored issues related to workplace accommodations for migraine patients. “We want to work,” said Eileen Brewer, a migraine patient who serves on the board of Clusterbusters. Twenty-two percent of migraine patients have lost jobs due to their condition, she noted, adding that employers should provide “compassionate” accommodations for employees who live with the disease. She described various cost-effective measures such as anti-glare screens on computers, quiet rooms and fragrance-free cleaning products. Migraine patients also have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to Stacey Worthy, JD, of the Aimed Alliance. “Migraine is the 6th most prevalent disability according to the WHO (World Health Organization),” she said, adding that the ADA allows individuals with migraine to request accommodations from employers and some may even qualify for disability payments. But, she noted, migraine is not included in the Social Security Listing of Impairments, known as the “blue book,” which would make it easier for patients to qualify. “Science must drive policy because policy drives change,” emphasized Amy Miller, PhD, President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR.). Women are three times more likely than men to experience migraine, she said, adding that more research could lead to a greater understanding, for example, of how hormones influence migraine. Kevin Lenaburg, the moderator of the panel and executive director of the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP) said funding for migraine research has yet to match the severity and burden of the disease.
Early career scientists at the University of California, Davis say they were inspired by Research!America president and CEO Mary Woolley’s presentation on changing hearts and minds for science on September 17. The seminar was “eye-opening, motivating and amazing,” tweeted one of the participants as Woolley described ways scientists can connect with the public and build meaningful relationships with policymakers. “What do elected officials and scientists have in common? Serving the public’s interest,” she told the group. “It was especially rewarding to talk to scientists who are fired with enthusiasm and determination to find the solutions to what ails us, and ready, willing and able to advocate,” said Woolley. She visited both the Davis and Sacramento campuses, which together encompass a medical school, veterinary school including a primate center, school of engineering, law school, nursing school and graduate and undergraduate science programs, “all highly ranked and highly collaborative,” she added. 
Research!America’s Bipartisan Civic Engagement initiative is well underway as graduate and post-doc science policy groups host public and candidate engagement events across the nation. 
Awards and prizes are in the news – the Nobel prizes prominently among them, underscoring how investing in science pays off in finding solutions to what ails us. Every stakeholder in science should be amplifying the stories of the Nobel; and, every stakeholder in science should be thanking congressional leaders for their stalwart support for the science that will make future solutions, and future Nobel prizes, possible. Both these opportunities are covered in more detail in this newsletter; please take a look and get involved. 
The aphorism "a rising tide lifts all boats" as applied to the research enterprise could be the working mantra of members of the 
The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN) held its Washington, D.C. launch on September 25 to kick off its new campaign, #GiveFive, in order to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect as a major public health problem. Five children die every day as a consequence of child abuse and neglect; reaching out to five people to spread the word about reversing this statistic is a step in the right direction. Speaking at the National Press Club, the foundation’s co-founder Lori Poland, MA, LLC, RRT, emphasized that EndCAN’s goal is to bridge together the many organizations, agencies, and sectors working on the issue and “change the conversation from being seen as a social and legal problem to a mental health and public health problem.” 
Research!America’s 2018 National Health Research Forum “Straight Talk: New Thinking on Persistent Challenges” generated media coverage on Bloomberg BNA and Elsevier Connect. National Journal live-streamed the Forum and social media messages about the event generated significant conversations online.
In a Business Journal article, Research!America board member Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, praised a new California law which requires milk or water to be the default drink sold with kids’ meals at fast-food and full-service restaurants. “We strongly encourage other states and communities to follow suit, and we call on restaurants nationwide to take immediate action on their own by removing unhealthy drinks from kids’ meals.” 
Research!America board member Rush Holt, PhD, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science was quoted in a Science magazine article about the new Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues, which provides nonpartisan science-related information for decision-makers. “At a time when decision-makers too often ignore, misunderstand, or misuse relevant evidence, we need new ways to communicate policy-relevant scientific evidence to decision-makers and influencers in all areas of government and society.” 
In an Medpage Today article about addressing barriers in expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorders, Research!America board member Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, and director, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University, said that only a third of individuals with opioid use disorder received treatment at a specialty facility or private doctor’s office.
was quoted in a Modern Healthcare article about the Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium, an opportunity for medical schools across the country to change their curriculums with support from the AMA. “The AMA is excited to continue to foster this environment where individuals and institutions can learn from each other and innovate.”