Tag Archives: saveresearch

Rally for Medical Research: Building a grassroots movement to make medical research a higher national priority

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Thousands of scientists, patients and research advocates gathered on the grounds of the Carnegie Library in Washington, DC, on April 8 to unite behind a call for increased funding for medical research. The Rally for Medical Research was organized by the American Association for Cancer Research in conjunction with their annual meeting and was supported by more than 200 partnering organizations — including Research!America. The program featured statements from patients and their families, scientists, policy makers, and research advocates. Cokie Roberts of ABC News and NPR, cancer survivor and research advocate, was the master of ceremonies. Continue reading →

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Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Clinical Research, Economic Impact, National Institutes of Health, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, The Honorable John Edward Porter | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Watch the Rally for Medical Research

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Just because you’re not in Washington, DC doesn’t mean you can’t still watch the Rally for Medical Research! Cokie Roberts of National Public Radio will emcee the event featuring members of Congress, cancer survivors like actress Maura Tierney (ER, NewsRadio), leaders from the scientific community including NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, and  Research!America Chair, Hon. John Edward Porter.

Here’s the video:

Take a moment and contact your Congressperson and Senators today, tell them to make medical research a higher national priority!

Follow updates from the Rally on Twitter via @ResearchAmerica or #RallyMedRes.

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Interdisciplinary Research, National Institutes of Health, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, The Honorable John Edward Porter | Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Medical research is at risk

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April is National Cancer Control Month, and there is no better time to step up and advocate for lifesaving medical research. A recent report from “PBS NewsHour” highlights the crippling effects of sequestration on funding for cancer research. The story of the Riggins laboratory is just one example of labs all over the country having to slow or stop promising research due to a lack of funding.

According to the American Cancer Society’s 2013 report, more than half a million Americans are expected to die from cancer this year alone. Continue reading →

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevention & Public Health, Research Advocacy, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Reasons for Research: Research!America’s 2012 Annual Report

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Now available online, Research!America’s Annual Report, “Reasons for Research,” recounts the progress  made in research advocacy by Research!America and its members representing academia, industry, scientific societies, patient groups and foundations. In addition to highlighting the 2012 Advocacy Awardees and Garfield Economic Impact Awardees, the report details Research!America initiatives such as the ongoing Save Research campaign and the Your Candidates–Your Health national voter education initiative. The annual report also includes polling data, statements from speakers at the National Health Research Forum — including the heads of the federal health agencies — and other Research!America  activities in collaboration with members and partners.

The theme for this year’s report, Reasons for Research, is reflected in a new webpage on Research!America’s website. Here you can read testimonials of patients and young scientists highlighting their reasons for research. Without continued advocacy and support for biomedical and health research, these young scientists may not be able to pursue their passion: investigating cures and treatments for patients like those featured on this webpage.

Posted in: Public Opinion, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, Your Candidates-Your Health | Tagged: , , , ,

Researchers develop nanoparticles to kill HIV with bee venom

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New research from Research!America member Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis  shows that a component of bee venom can be safely used to target and kill HIV virus particles while leaving human cells intact. The compound, called melittin, punches holes in the outer protective coat, or “envelope,” of viruses, including HIV. Researchers modified the nanoparticle to protect human cells from the toxin by adding “bumpers” to prevent the toxin-laden particles from fusing with cells, yet the smaller virus particles are able to fit between these bumpers and interact with melittin.

The lead author on the study, Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, says that application of this new compound should be highly effective in preventing new infections and controlling existing infections, particularly in HIV strains that are resistant to current therapies.

“We are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV,” Hood said in an article from the WUSTL Newsroom. “The virus has to have a protective coat,” making it theoretically impossible for the virus to adapt to the toxin and become resistant to a therapy based on melittin. Researchers say that this nanoparticle can be administered through a vaginal gel to prevent new infections or intravenously to control existing infections.

This new research, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gives new life to the nanoparticle that was originally developed as an artificial blood product. Though the particle “didn’t work very well for delivering oxygen … it circulates safely in the body” and can be adapted to fight many kinds of infections or disease processes, according to Hood’s interview with WUSTL. These early findings are based on work done in a cell-based research system but show great promise for clinical trials. Hood and his colleagues are confident that these nanoparticles could be easily manufactured in large quantities to make clinical trials possible. Read more about this study in the Huffington Post or see the original scientific article, published in Antiviral Therapy.

Advances in biomedical research like this study are at risk of losing funding under sequestration, which took effect March 1. And with these across-the-board cuts to federal research agencies, clinical trials with this nanoparticle antiviral compound or other promising drugs may not happen. Without basic science research into novel therapeutic strategies or mechanisms of disease, potential cures for deadly disease will remain elusive.

-by Megan Kane, Communications Intern 

Posted in: Basic Research/Basic Science, Global and Public Health R&D, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: SOTU and – now what??

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Dear Research Advocate,

Setting a breathtaking goal for Congress and the nation, the president called for returning our nation to levels of R&D investment not seen since the height of the space race in his State of the Union address Tuesday evening. He spoke of the potential to defeat Alzheimer’s and to assure an “AIDS-free generation”; and he used the human genome project to illustrate the economic as well as human return on taxpayer investment in research. We were thrilled that the president listed medical research among the nation’s top priorities – along with defense, education and energy – right at the beginning of his speech, when he described the devastating damage that sequestration would do to the things the nation values most. This is, I think, an indication that the hard work of the research advocacy community in driving our research-as-a-priority message is paying off, just as we saw in media coverage of the Save Research advocacy campaign we launched after the election with many of our partners in advocacy. Our voices are being heard! It is time to thank the president, and it’s also time to urge Congress to take action. We must strongly advocate avoiding any proposal that threatens U.S. biomedical innovation, public or private sector-driven. See highlights of the science portions of the president’s speech and our press statement.

Speaking, as the president did, of Alzheimer’s, did you know that the annual cost of Alzheimer’s is $200 billion? By 2050, that number is expected to rocket to $1 trillion! To address the looming threat of across-the-board funding cuts, USAgainstAlzheimers has launched a major advocacy push, sending thousands of letters to Congress, leading a sign-on letter of researchers, and running a full-page ad in Roll Call.

As pointed out by columnist Robert McCartney in The Washington Post, television and radio this morning, biomedical research will be hurt by sequestration as much as defense, right here in the National Capital Area. He quoted NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins extensively and also cited Children’s National Medical Center’s Dr. Eric Hoffman, whose important work on muscular dystrophy has stalled as NIH has held back funding until decisions are made by Congress. Meanwhile, patients are waiting. The idea that Dr. Hoffman’s work – and all of medical research, as well as education, energy and defense and much more – is considered “discretionary” is more than revealing, it is unacceptable to Americans.

Fighting to avoid sequestration, the defense and non-defense communities held a joint event this week to highlight the dangers posed by sequestration, as reported in CQ Roll Call. Leaders from the aerospace industry along with members of the university, health, and science community released new estimates demonstrating that sequestration could rob the American economy of 2 million jobs, causing another recession. Also bringing the message home, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) held a Q&A session with federal workers at the NIH, saying that sequestration would lead to the loss of 100,000 jobs, considering both Bethesda-based NIH employees and businesses that work with them.

Have you brought the message home, so that your representative and senators are hearing it and will act? We can help – contact your representatives and email our science policy director, Max G. Bronstein, to learn about other ways boost your engagement. Only 15 days until the March 1st sequestration deadline.

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Food & Drug Administration, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: Going Viral as we Face the Next Cliff

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Dear Research Advocate,

The two-month reprieve from sequestration agreed to as part of the “deal” to avert the fiscal cliff is a partial victory for all who worked hard to save research, giving us much-needed additional time to make our case.  We need be smart in using that time well,  because the delay was paid for through a combination of new revenue and spending cuts that could further drain the pool of dollars used to fund research. The fact that many conservative members of Congress expressed outrage that the fiscal cliff deal didn’t include larger spending cuts underscores this point. The debt ceiling will need to be raised within the next two months, adding fuel to the fire. And efforts to pass a budget for fiscal year 2013 rather than rely on a full-year continuing resolution throws another variable into the mix.

The bottom line is that the scenario for the next few months leaves science quite vulnerable, as reported in Scientific American, in which Research!America VP Ellie Dehoney is quoted. The palpable uptick in articles and opinion pieces raising awareness about the ongoing threat to research from a wide variety of stakeholders, including the Huffington Post piece by Research!America Board member Dr. Victor Dzau, president and CEO of the Duke University Health System, must continue; in fact we have to go into overdrive. In my last letter, I shared a CBS Evening News segment we worked to arrange about the impact of sequestration – I’m told it has gone viral! Please keep the momentum going by sharing it with your networks.

As you may know, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) has been named chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets funding for NIH, CDC and AHRQ. Rep. Kingston previously chaired the subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration. He was supportive of increases for FDA despite the budget-cutting pressure that faced the 112th Congress. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) has been named chairman of the agriculture subcommittee. Rep. Aderholt has demonstrated an interest in combating disease and disability. We look forward to working with these leaders and their Democratic counterparts to secure the resources that research-related agencies need to fulfill their multi-faceted missions.

In the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, the White House is looking for feedback on anti-violence strategies from organizations in the mental health community. The email address is policyideas@ovp.eop.gov. Note that the deadline is January 5. The Cure Alliance for Mental Illness has launched a petition calling on Congress and the president to increase funding for mental illness research. Our community will have an important role to play in ensuring that time does not dilute the urgency behind efforts to reduce violent acts like that in Newtown. Research is undoubtedly part of the answer.

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Basic Research/Basic Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Food & Drug Administration, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, Mental Health Research, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: Cliff diving and appropriations, too

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Dear Research Advocate,

Congress is back and there is talk of more stalemate, with support wavering for a deal to avert the fiscal cliff before the end of the year. Speaker John Boehner said early today that “no substantive progress has been made” on negotiations. Amazingly, inaction (going over the cliff) remains a possibility. The more likely scenario is a short-term fix that leaves the major decisions in the hands of the next Congress. In the midst of behind-the-scenes negotiations between congressional leadership and the White House, appropriators are talking about finalizing their bills before the end of the lame-duck session rather than waiting to revisit the current continuing resolution in the new Congress. They would likely use an omnibus appropriations bill, creating a vehicle for funding the damage from Superstorm Sandy. If this scenario plays out — and it’s a long-shot — it is possible that more cuts to research and other discretionary spending will be embedded in the omnibus.

This is yet another compelling reason to get involved now in research advocacy. At every turn in the current policymaking process, biomedical and health research is at risk. If you have not called your senators and congressional representative, now truly is the time. In addition, you can take advantage of the sample materials in our Save Research online toolkit to personalize op-eds, letters to the editor, social media messages and more.

If you do decide to speak up, you will be joining a movement that is gaining traction. For the first time ever, our community has been included in a list in an Associated Press article that features defense and oil and gas interests as those being heard in Washington. Indeed, a broad array of media has been picking up our story.

An op-ed in Politico co-authored by six former CDC directors urges Congress to maintain CDC funding amidst the deficit reduction negotiations. The piece highlights the critical role that CDC plays in protecting public health, citing the recent fungal meningitis outbreak. The directors register concern about a system so tightly constrained that it can’t respond to a crisis without compromising health in other areas. Further cuts would be catastrophic. A similar point about the dangers of compromising key public health capacity was made by Dr. Herb Pardes in an opinion piece in the New York Daily News. This is the time to state your case; tell the media, your elected representatives and anyone who will listen just what is at stake.

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food & Drug Administration, Global and Public Health R&D, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Prevention & Public Health, Public Opinion, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: Week of Advocacy Underway

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Dear Research Advocate,

With a stellar team of advocates from across the research community, we have been blitzing Capitol Hill this week with our message that we need cures, not cuts. Research!America and our partners have participated in more than 60 meetings with Members of Congress, including key leadership and their staff. My thanks to the 140+ groups that signed on to our community letter to congressional leadership. Many partners have activated their grassroots to join the call Congress day, and there is still time to join the In-District Drop-In day (today) and a social media push on Friday. We also encourage you to keep up the drumbeat with emails and phone calls to Hill offices. Beltway media have taken notice of our ads and the coordinated activity, with articles appearing in The Hill and National Journal.  

Based on our meetings this week, the message is definitely getting through that across-the-board cuts or more stringent caps on discretionary spending would hurt our nation far more than help it. But it was also clear that continued, outspoken advocacy is crucial. No option is off the table, and that means we must keep making the case. Staffers told us that providing concrete examples to illustrate what’s at stake is crucial, and no community is better equipped to drive the point home than ours. We saw that yesterday, when, for example, leaders of the Society for Neuroscience gave concrete examples of research at risk, and when advocates from the Parkinson’s Action Network who are living with this incredibly challenging illness described what stalled progress means for them. I am certain – 100% certain – that their advocacy influenced influential people.

The need for many more of us to engage was the message in the lead editorial in Science I co-authored with Research!America Board member and CEO of AAAS, Dr. Alan Leshner. In the editorial, we urge scientists not to stand back, but to speak up for research and make it clear to Congress that “No Science = No Growth,” quoting the words of former NSF Director Neal Lane. Research!America Chair The Hon. John Porter penned a letter to the editor expanding on Lane’s recent op-ed in The New York Times, reminding readers that research dollars are distributed based on peer review to every state and nearly every congressional district in the country. He calls on the lame-duck Congress to overcome partisan divides and step up now to prioritize research.

This afternoon, we are holding our post-election forum and award ceremony for the 2012 Garfield Economic Impact Award at AAAS. We’ll hear from Research!America Chair John Porter, Congressman Mfume, Dr. Mark McClellan and Matthew Cooper of the National Journal Daily. We will be reviewing what we learned about areas of common ground in the Congress from responses to our voter education initiative, Your Candidates-Your Health, and discussing advocacy strategies going forward. View full event details here and join us if you are in DC.

I was saddened to learn of the death of former Congressman Joe Early (D-MA). Rep. Early served for nearly 20 years, championing funding for NIH on the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations subcommittee, and at every other conceivable opportunity. He was an ardent supporter of Research!America in its start-up phase. We extend our sympathies to his family on their, and the nation’s, great loss.

Monday next week is Public Health Thank You Day, our annual salute to the unsung heroes of public health who keep us safe in so many ways. Please take a minute on Monday of Thanksgiving Week to do a shout-out to people you know who are making a big difference for health. Check out this link for details. And do enjoy Thanksgiving.  My letters will resume on Thursday, November 29.

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Basic Research/Basic Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Food & Drug Administration, Global and Public Health R&D, Health Services Research, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Prevention & Public Health, Public Opinion, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, The Honorable John Edward Porter, Your Candidates-Your Health | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: The $6 billion dollar election

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Dear Research Advocate,

By far the most expensive, and arguably one of the most divisive, election seasons in history is behind us. A lot of money was spent to find out that Americans continue to hold divergent views on many issues. We heard very little about research during the election because, in most ways, it is not a divisive issue; support is both bipartisan and grounded in common sense. The problem is that it can be taken too much for granted. At a time when Americans are looking for an end to standoff politics and want action on things we can feel good about as a nation, prioritizing research for health can be the perfect healing issue — something we can all be proud of. But let’s be clear: Action to prioritize research will only happen if we speak out to put it in the spotlight as policy makers regroup to address the fiscal cliff. We need to convince policy makers that prioritizing research is the smart thing to do as well — smart for job creation and to drive the economy, smart for assuring our global competitiveness, smart for patients, and smart for maximizing innovations that will save lives and drive down the cost of health care.

We must unite and speak with one voice that we need cures, not cuts! If you are not already on board our week of advocacy November 12-16, I encourage you to add your organization to our list of partners and engage your networks to participate in the various strategies that are planned, including a call-in day, a day for visits to district offices, an email-in day, and a Hill day entailing visits to a number of DC offices. All these strategies are supported by an inside-the-Beltway advertising campaign designed to get maximum attention. Click here to see the latest schedule of events for the week ahead. If you would like to sign up for the Hill day, have other events that you would like to include in the calendar, or would like more information, contact Ellie Dehoney at edehoney@researchamerica.org. As an important part of this effort, we are circulating a sign-on letter urging Congress to prioritize research in a deal averting sequestration or any other plan for addressing the deficit. Read the full letter here, and contact Jordan Gates at jgates@researchamerica.org for an updated list of cosigners and/or to sign on. The deadline is fast approaching — be sure to sign today!

Post-election, it is instructive to take a look at the responses of various candidates who responded to Your Candidates–Your Health, our voter education initiative. I recommend taking a quick look at President Obama’s responses here, noting his commitment to doubling funding for federal research agencies. As a sampling of other responses take a look at those of Rep. Dr. Dan Benishek (R-MI), who held his seat, here. In Massachusetts, Joe Kennedy won a seat in the 4th District – judging from his responses here, he will be one of our new champions. Medical research champion Brian Bilbray (R-CA) is locked in a not-yet-called election in San Diego. For more on what this election means, be sure to attend our post-election event on November 15th.

I have had the chance to talk about the post-election prospects for research as they impact all the elements of the research enterprise on BioCentury This Week. This program can be viewed here. Maybe you will watch it with a copy of the latest (tomorrow’s) issue of Science magazine in hand. In the lead editorial, AAAS CEO Dr. Alan Leshner and I urge the science community — as individuals as well as through their institutions and associations — to speak out now to Congress or face the decline of research in this nation. This is not a time to hold back! As you reach out, make use of resources on the website for the Week of Advocacy, www.saveresearch.org, including op-ed and letter-to-the editor templates, sample tweets and a new fact sheet on the economic impact of NIH. There are also links to many extraordinary resources produced by FASEB, UMR, AAAS, Ad Hoc and many other organizations. We thank you all for uniting in saying to Congress and the administration: WE NEED CURES, NOT CUTS!

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, Basic Research/Basic Science, Bridging the Sciences, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Food & Drug Administration, Global and Public Health R&D, Health Services Research, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Prevention & Public Health, Public Opinion, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America, Your Candidates-Your Health | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Public Health Heroes Save Lives in the Meningitis Outbreak

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On October 31st, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported new cases of fungal meningitis in Indiana, Maryland, Michigan and Virginia, bringing the total to 368 cases in the recent outbreak. This form of meningitis, which has been linked to contaminated steroid injections, is a serious disease that infects the brain and spinal cord. In the face of this tragedy, public health agencies and professionals have coordinated an excellent emergency response to the outbreak.

The CDC responded quickly, identifying possible sources of contamination, tracking cases and communicating updates to the nation. CDC experts and local public health workers have been working day and night to alert clinics and patients that may have received the contaminated medication. Through this diligence, over 97% of patients have already been contacted and experts are now working to identify individuals at greatest risk for infection. Because meningitis can be fatal, local public health workers are saving lives through early recognition of symptoms and appropriate treatment.

Despite the critical role played by CDC and the increasing demands it faces due to congressional mandates, funding for this agency has declined in recent years.  And unless policymakers change course, CDC will be swept up in dramatic, across the board budget cuts known as “sequestration.”  If these cuts go into effect, they will severely compromise CDC’s capacity to protect the public health. As it stands, limited funds make it far more difficult to respond to public health emergencies like the meningitis outbreak and mean that a majority of the work falls to smaller and smaller groups of dedicated individuals. These public health heroes must be recognized for their unflagging commitment to protecting the health of Americans. The Monday of Thanksgiving, Public Health Thank You Day, is the perfect opportunity to give thanks to these individuals and others around the nation. To learn more about PHTD, please visit http://www.researchamerica.org/ph_thank_you or like our PHTD Facebook page.  And to join other advocates fighting against sequestration, visit http://www.saveresearch.org.

 

Posted in: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global and Public Health R&D, Prevention & Public Health | Tagged: , , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: “No science; no growth”

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Dear Research Advocate,

Sandy was a terrifying October surprise. The devastation in New York and New Jersey is extensive, and it will take a long time to rebuild and to heal. It’s a reminder that not everything is about the election. That said, it is impossible not to think about a major election theme — the role of government — and also to think about climate change, one of many science topics not being discussed in this election season. Yet decisions involving the future of science will be made by those elected. That’s why we need to turn up the advocacy volume as loud as possible after the election, when the lame-duck Congress and the administration, closely watched and influenced by those who are elected November 6, will work on a “grand deal” to avert the fiscal cliff. Even if nothing substantive is decided until the first quarter of 2013, the groundwork will be laid when the lame-duck Congress returns on November 13. Will you be heard then?

We are saving a virtual seat for you during the November 13-16 joint Week of Advocacy. Please join the growing list of partners working to make the biomedical and health research community’s Week of Advocacy a success — learn more on our conference call on Friday (details below) and/or contact edehoney@researchamerica.org to become a partner. As you will see at www.saveresearch.org, we have produced an Advocacy Toolkit with a variety of resources including op-ed and LTE templates, editable scripts for phone calls to congressional offices, messaging points, social media messages, and a grassroots alert.

***A conference call about the Week of Advocacy will be held on Friday, November 2 at 3 p.m. EDT. Please dial in at 877-355-0068, using the code 64054826. We need your ideas and your participation — please join the call. RSVP to alefever@researchamerica.org. ***

“No science; no growth.” This was the message of an important op-ed in The New York Times by Dr. Neal Lane, professor at Rice University, former NSF director and science advisor to President Clinton. Follow Dr. Lane’s lead and write an op-ed or letter to the editor for publication during our Week of Advocacy!

Science has not, in fact, been growing, explaining in part why the economy is so sluggish. Last week, we released our annual U.S. Investment in Health Research report. It has garnered widespread and continuing news coverage inside and outside the Beltway. For a glimpse of how this report helps make the local case, see a story from Examiner.com that explores how dwindling NIH funding could impede plans for economic growth in Alabama. The Burrill Report is also covering the report in a podcast that will be available Friday at this link. Clearly, cutting funding for research is not in the best interest of the nation overall, or of states looking to power local economies with biotech research and innovation. No one wins if science is cut!

Be sure to vote!

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Food & Drug Administration, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Research!America and Many Other Health Research Advocates Campaign For Cures, Not Cuts

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Research, Industry, Academic and Patient Groups Join Forces for Week of Advocacy to Save Research, November 12-16, 2012

WASHINGTON – November 1, 2012 – Research!America, along with several dozen patient, industry, academic and health organizations, has coordinated a Week of Advocacy to Save Research for the week of November 12-16, 2012. The unified campaign is intended to convince policy makers to champion medical innovation, rather than undercut it, as decisions are made to address the “fiscal cliff.”

The campaign — We Need Cures, Not Cuts —is designed to raise awareness about the importance of making biomedical and health research a higher national priority. The campaign will urge Congress to support funding levels and incentives that advance scientific discovery and expand private sector innovation.

“With so much at stake, research advocates must join forces to fight for lifesaving research, which is also a fight for American innovation and American jobs,” said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America. “Together, we will work to persuade lawmakers to take a stand against arbitrary budget cuts in order to protect the nation’s health and maintain our global competitiveness.”

The organizations are combining forces to call attention to research as the underpinning of economic growth and medical progress as Congress takes action to address sequestration and other statutory challenges known as the “fiscal cliff.” The Week of Advocacy will include Capitol Hill meetings, print advertisements in Capitol Hill publications and Metro stations, policy forums, social media campaigns, call-in days, video campaigns, and other communications and grassroots activities. More information can be found at www.saveresearch.org.

Research!America is the nation’s largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by member organizations that represent the voices of 125 million Americans. Visit www.researchamerica.org.

 # # #

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Bridging the Sciences, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Economic Impact, Food & Drug Administration, Global and Public Health R&D, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Prevention & Public Health, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

A Weekly Advocacy Message from Mary Woolley: From rhetoric to decision-making

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Dear Research Advocate,

Nine times. That’s how often the word “research” was used in Monday’s third and final presidential debate. Clearly, both candidates recognize the importance of research and the role it plays in keeping our nation competitive. The election and decision-making around deficit reduction will put this rhetoric to the test. I was thankful for the opportunity to contribute to an article in Nature on the outlook for research and the candidates’ sometimes competing, sometimes intersecting visions for our nation. Many indicators point to the need for a “grand bargain”  to avoid the fiscal cliff we have talked so much about. Rumors have it that informal talks are taking place now and will go into high gear during the lame-duck session of Congress beginning November 13. This is a critical time, and I urge you to participate in the biomedical and health research community’s Week of Advocacy, taking place November 13-16. Check out our new webpage (www.saveresearch.org) and join us on a conference call this Monday, October 29 (for details, click here), to hear our plans and to brainstorm ideas on how to maximize our collective impact.

Money matters! Every year, we release our U.S. Investment Report, which tracks domestic spending – public, academic, industry, voluntary health organizations and philanthropic – on biomedical and health research. This year we not only look at the most recent investment numbers, but review the stakes going forward. On both fronts, the news is not good: 2011 saw a drop in overall investment – the first in a decade. And as you well know, the policy landscape is treacherous. Click here to view the report.

Every week, we are learning more about the local impact that sequestration could have on a sluggish economy. The state of Maryland, home to the NIH and Johns Hopkins University, is a powerhouse of research. It stands to lose a staggering $5.4 billion in federal funding under sequestration. That alarming statistic, which comes from a report produced by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was highlighted in a story by the Baltimore Sun. Another article, in The Scientist, cites a United for Medical Research (UMR) report to highlight the impact on California, which stands to lose 33,000 jobs and $4.5 billion in economic activity if sequestration goes forward.

If we are to help steer our nation in the right direction, researchers must commit to political advocacy. That was the top-line message from a piece published by Dr. Thomas Pollard, professor of cell biology at Yale University, in the journal Cell. The article provides an excellent introduction to the advocacy landscape and ideas for getting more involved – I hope you will circulate this piece to as many researchers as you can!

Sincerely,

Mary Woolley

Posted in: Advocacy Messages, Basic Research/Basic Science, Economic Impact, Health Services Research, Innovation/Competitiveness, Mary Woolley, National Institutes of Health, Research Advocacy, Research Investment/Funding, Research!America | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,