With Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq taking huge bites out of the federal budget, scientists at UNMC and around the country are now faced with shrinking dollars for biomedical research, and the impact could be quite dramatic.
The National Institutes of Health, the primary source of federal funding for medical research, was cut by $367 million in 2006, receiving total funding of $28.5 billion.
President Bush has proposed that the NIH budget be frozen in 2007. In doing so, it will mark the fourth year in a row that funding has fallen below the rate of inflation. Since 2003, the NIH has lost nearly $2 billion in buying power.
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“Cuts to NIH and HRSA in 2006 were a huge blow to academic health centers around the country,” said Renee Fry, director of government relations for UNMC. “Although we had strong champions in both houses of Congress, our efforts to maintain funding at least equal to the FY 2005 level did not prevail.
“Unfortunately, the budget proposed by President Bush for 2007 will continue to weaken the nation’s health with further cuts to biomedical research, health professions training and Medicare, to name a few.”
The NIH cuts will have a major impact, said Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research. “If you cut back and factor in inflation, it means we’re losing ground,” he said. “This means that 90 percent of the research grant proposals submitted to NIH will not be funded. Most of these will be excellent science that needs to be done. Their not being funded means that some key discoveries about cancer, heart disease and other diseases will be delayed or eliminated.”
UNMC and other academic medical centers are faced with an uphill battle to try to stem the tide, Fry said. UNMC hopes to mount a grass roots campaign, she said, designed to educate the public on the importance of these programs and to hopefully prevent additional budget cuts in the future.
Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, said the NIH cutbacks could have huge implications, especially for young scientists. “It sends a devastating message to new scientists,” he said. “Why would you want to go into a field where you have only a 10 percent chance of being funded?
“I think America could potentially lose a huge wave of talent. These people will leave science and go into other fields. Once they leave, it is hard to get them back. We won’t be able to replenish the numbers for a decade. These cuts will greatly reduce the chances of new researchers being funded.”
With the U.S. cutting its science funding, Dr. Cowan said it creates opportunities for foreign countries to surpass the U.S. in research. “Foreign countries, such as China, India, Thailand and Singapore, look at biotechnology as a major economic engine,” he said. “They have made an investment in science. It could create a whole new era with more and more scientific discoveries being made by scientists and pharmaceutical companies in foreign countries.”
The war in Iraq is costing about $1.5 billion a week, Dr. Cowan said. “Our defense spending is skyrocketing,” he said. “We may not be able to stop the war in Iraq, but it’s certainly not out of the question to suspend our spending in other areas of defense. It takes $2.5 billion to build one B-1 bomber. Why not build one less B-1 bomber and pour the money saved back into biomedical research?
“If you asked the public what they would prefer – another B-1 bomber or more biomedical research – I don’t think there’s any doubt that they would opt for research.”
A total of 3,030 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. “This seems like a pretty small number when you consider that 550,000 people die from cancer each year,” Dr. Cowan said. “When it comes to cancer, it’s like 9/11 every day. It’s hard to understand how our federal leaders can’t see this.
“Thanks to the Human Genome Initiative, we are on the threshold of some major advances in cancer care, such as personalized medicine in which cancer treatments are based on the individual’s genetic profile. Now, with these cuts, we will delay these benefits from occurring and fewer people will survive.”
UNMC brought in a record $72.1 million in research funding during the 2004-05 fiscal year. Now, with these budget cuts, Dr. Rosenquist said it could result in UNMC’s research taking a step backward. “The health and well being of the entire U.S. population is impacted by these cuts,” he said.
UNMC hopes to develop a comprehensive strategy to raise public awareness of the value of research, Fry said. “We consider this a huge priority,” she said. “It won’t be easy, but we’re determined to get the job done.”
Fry encouraged UNMC faculty and staff to take an active role in letting others know what is happening with these research cuts. She urged people to continue monitoring UNMC Today for new developments as the grass roots strategy continues to unfold.
Greater detail about the FY 2006 budget. If you have questions, contact UNMC’s Government Relations office at 559-6671.