September 12, 2013

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

How sequestration harms biomedical research and the need to revisit the funding structure of the National Institutes of Health (read more). 
 
 

Research funding

  • A September 11, 2013 Huffington Post piece by Dr. Paul E. Klotman and Adam Kuspa focused on the negative impact of sequestration on biomedical research. According to the authors, "That's because the recent budget cuts are threatening the laboratories of the nation's academic health centers, slowing progress towards treatment and cures for devastating disorders such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's. In fact, biomedical research stands to be cut even more severely in the future, just as it has been virtually frozen in recent years…Biomedical researchers stand at the cusp of understanding many fundamental processes of cells and how their dysfunction can lead to disease. Don't shortchange the science that can lengthen lifespans." Paul E. Klotman, M.D. is president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Adam Kuspa, Ph. D. is the senior vice president for research at Baylor College of Medicine.
  • A September 11, 2013 Nature opinion piece by Frederick Grinnell argued that "the effects of federal budget cuts provide an opportunity to revisit the funding structure of the National Institutes of Health." According to Grinnell, "As pressure on public funds intensifies, scientists are increasingly being asked to articulate the economic benefits of their discoveries. Yet the economic impact of biomedical research goes beyond its ability to improve human health. It includes education of the scientific workforce, expansion of institutional and community resources, and development of regional technology centers."