Washington University today joined a consortium of leading scientific and medical institutions around the country to warn Congress that persistent flat-funding of biomedical research could thwart advances in treatments for such diseases as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Following today’s Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS Committee hearing on funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Washington University and the eight other institutions issued a report at a Capitol Hill press conference on funding for U.S. medical research.
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| Dowload Report (PDF) |
The 21-page report warns that multiple years of stagnant budgets for the NIH has hindered scientific progress, resulting in promising research being halted in mid-stream; young investigators leaving careers in science; and an undermining of U.S. global leadership in biomedical research. The group says Congress needs to provide a more consistent and robust funding level for the NIH. Other authors are: the University of California, Columbia University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Texas at Austin, the University of Wisconsin Madison, and Yale University.
According to the report, Within Our Grasp—Or Slipping Away? Assuring a New Era of Scientific and Medical Progress, the doubling of NIH’s budget between 1998 and 2003 transformed science in important fields and fueled advances in basic research. But as a result of subsequent flat funding, the nation is now operating at an 8-percent loss in purchasing power.
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Samuel Stanley discusses the threats posed to biomedical research by flat funding.
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“The stagnating NIH budget threatens to stall the progress made by our researchers – and others throughout the country – investigating the basis of life-threatening medical conditions, from cancer and diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord damage,” said Larry Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Basic research is the foundation for future medical breakthroughs. The net effect of the flattening budget means that medical treatments, which typically take decades to develop, will be delayed, and patients will suffer because some of the most promising research projects will go unfunded.”
The report describes recent revolutionary advances in basic research, fueled by robust federal investments in NIH funding. Washington University and its partners argue that the momentum will be lost and difficult to reverse if the current trend of flat funding for the NIH continues.
The funding slowdown already has put many projects at risk. Eight of 10 research grant applications are going unfunded, according to the report. Certain NIH institutes, such as the National Cancer Institute, report that they can only fund 11 percent of grant applications, rejecting many of exceptional quality.
“The funding crisis has touched not only our junior investigators but some of our more experienced scientists, who have lost funding despite proven track records in their fields,” said Samuel Stanley Jr., M.D., vice chancellor for research. “While some grants are eventually funded, funding gaps have forced researchers to scale back their efforts and have a tremendous impact on productivity. In some cases, scientists may abandon some of their most innovative research in favor of conservative projects that are more likely to be funded. We really run the risk of losing momentum in key research areas.”
This is affecting the country’s stature as a global leader in biomedical research. Frustrated by funding lags, scientists are following research dollars to countries in Europe and Asia that are making investment in biomedical sciences high national priorities, according to the report.
“The United States has led the world in biomedical sciences – primarily due to NIH support,” Stanley added. “We’ve created an infrastructure that draws the best people in the world. We’ve spawned a biotech industry second to none and a pipeline of products. The fuel has been NIH funding. Choking that off is shortsighted and will have economic impacts, both locally and nationally.”
Washington University School of Medicine’s full-time and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.