Trish D'Antonio, Author at Friends of the National Institute on Aging

Dr. Francis Collins testifies before Senate HELP Committee

Dr. Francis Collins testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). The hearing focused on Prioritizing Cures: Science and Stewardship at the National Institutes of Health – you can view the videocast at this link. In addition to Dr. Collins, several NIH Institute Directors also attended to respond to questions, including our own director, Dr. Richard Hodes, and Drs. Ned Sharpless from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Diana Bianchi from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

You can read Dr. Collins’ testimony here: https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/testimony-prioritizing-cures-science-stewardship-national-institutes-health.

If you view the hearing, you will see that Dr. Collins also made a brief statement about foreign influence on biomedical research; an official statement on this topic can be found here: https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-protecting-integrity-us-biomedical-research.

NIH FY2020 Bypass Budget for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research

On Monday, July 30th, Dr. Richard Hodes presented the NIH’s FY2020 Professional Judgment (“Bypass”) Budget Proposal for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research to the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services. As most of you know, this document — often referred to as a “bypass budget” because it is presented without modification through the traditional Federal budget process — estimates the funds needed to fully pursue scientific opportunities leading to a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

This year’s report, titled “Open Science, Big Data, and You: Working Together to Treat and Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias,” details the support needed to reach the ultimate research goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, to effectively treat or prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias by 2025.

The bypass budget can now be viewed on the NIA website at: https://www.nia.nih.gov/bypass-budget.

Statement on Appropriations Bill FY 2019

FoNIA Statement for Appropriations Bill FY 2019

July 2, 2018 – The Friends of the National Institute on Aging (FoNIA) sincerely appreciates the Senate Appropriations Labor, HHS and Education Subcommittee’s sustained and meaningful support for the National Institutes of Health. We thank Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt and Ranking Member Patty Murray for their leadership on the research funding included in the FY 2019 appropriations bill, which includes a $2 billion increase for NIH.

The funding, approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee on June 28, will provide for increased investment in the NIA, the lead federal agency for biomedical research on aging. For FY 2019, the NIA is to receive $3,084,809,000 for NIA, a significant boost from the FY 2018 level of $2,574,091,000. This investment comes at a time when scientific advances are around every corner. We have the ability to make a real difference in people’s lives by coupling our understanding of health through the lifespan and biological aging with opportunities for increased research in new directions. This knowledge will translate into improved care and quality of life for all of us as we age.

The FONIA is also pleased with the committee’s continued support for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research. NIA, in conjunction with several other institutes at NIH, is working toward the ambitious national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, as set out in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. The $425 million increase for Alzheimer’s and related dementias research enables NIA to take advantage of every breakthrough and every new piece of knowledge.

The House Appropriations Committee is expected to take up its version of the Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations bill after the July 4 recess.

NIA 2018 Pay Lines and Newly Approved NACA Concepts Published

2018 NIA Pay lines have been released! On June 6, 2018, the NIA published a blog highlighting its updated funding policy. The post also highlighted newly approved concepts from NIA’s May 2018 National Advisory Council on Aging (NACA) meeting. The Council approved 12 concepts that may be turned into funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) before the end of the year.

NIA seeks public comments on a specific Eureka Challenge prize idea for improving care coordination for AD/ADRD

This week, the NIA released a new IdeaScale platform to collect public comments on a specific Eureka Challenge prize idea that we are considering, that’s relevant to improving care coordination for AD/ADRD. Additional background information is provided on the IdeaScale web site. Please share this announcement with your networks and don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Dawn Beraud with additional questions. Note that all comments must be submitted electronically at http://bit.ly/ADprizeideas, and they must be received by June 30, 2018.