Weekly Advocacy News Roundup 

Senate Chairman: Cures Bill is Next Priority 

December 21, 2015 | The Hill 

In the new year, the Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health Committee, will be turning attention to a medical innovation bill that is the Senate’s version of the 21st Century Cures Act, which has already passed the House. The idea behind both bills is to speed up the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process for new drugs and boost funding for research at NIH. 

Senator Durbin Announces Progress Towards Restoring U.S. Commitment to Scientific and Biomedical Research 

January 4, 2016 | eNews Park Forest 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) recently highlighted the $2 billion increase he was able to secure in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016 for NIH, which was based on targeted funding levels set by his American Cures Act.  Durbin has championed increased investment in research, authoring bills such as the American Innovation Act and the American Cures Act to set steady growth rates in federal appropriations for biomedical and scientific research.  

What's Behind the Research Momentum?  

January 1, 2016 | U.S. News & World Report 

Lawmakers from both parties have talked publicly about the need to spend more on medical research, and Congress has for the first time in a dozen years significantly increased the budget for NIH.  These developments follow a targeted lobbying campaign by Act for NIH, which in September 2014 joined the scores of patient groups, drug companies, scientific societies and universities that have been asking Congress to increase NIH funding for years.  

Articles of Interest 

Everything We Know — And Don’t Know — About Concussions 

December 17, 2015 | Stat News 

Public awareness of concussions has soared in recent years and will likely jump again with the release of the movie Concussion last month.  Stat News has published a recent series on concussions, featuring interviews, informative animations, and the latest research. 

Biomedical Science Studies Are Shockingly Hard to Reproduce 

January 4, 2016 | Smithsonian Magazine 

This week, the biology arm of the Public Library of Science (PLOS), a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization, launched a new section solely dedicated to meta-research. The section will explore issues such as transparency in research, methodological standards, sources of bias, data sharing, funding and incentive structures.  The move aims to address the recent focus on reproducibility and the difficulty in replicating a large proportion of the results across numerous disciplines. 

Opinion 

SfN President & Committee on Animals in Research Chair Op-Ed: Animal Research is Necessary 

December 22, 2015 | The Hill 

Following the announcement of NIH’s plans to phase-out the use of monkeys at its research facility in Poolesville, Maryland, SfN President Hollis Cline and chair of SfN’s Committee on Animals in Research Mar Sanchez are featured in The Hill highlighting the importance of animals in research.  Drs. Cline and Sanchez also sent a letter to NIH Director Francis Collins requesting a meeting to discuss the Poolesville closing and the response from both the scientific community and animal rights activists. 

Animal-Rights Groups and Dog Cancer Research 

December 27, 2015 | New York Daily News 

Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) President Frankie Trull had an op-ed defending the use of dogs in medical research despite animal-rights activists’ efforts to end canine research in the United States.  The op-ed discusses how certain animal rights groups are putting the lives of dogs in danger by campaigning against animal research that is saving both human and animal lives. 

John Culberson’s Unique Vision for Science 

December 22, 2015 | Science Insider 

Science Insider interviewed Rep. John Culberson (R–TX) on his views on scientific priorities and his polarizing actions as he completes his first year as chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Justice appropriations subcommittee, which sets the budgets for NASA and NSF.