More than 160 House members signed the bipartisan letter urging congressional leaders to prioritize biomedical research by increasing funding for NIH.  Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) led more than 160 House members in urging the House Appropriations Committee to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at no less than $34 billion in any forthcoming appropriations legislation. The bipart…

In a November 2 letter, ASPET joined the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research in a letter urging House and Senate leaders, by the end of the calendar year, to include at least $34.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a final FY 2017 spending package and to pass medical innovation legislation that includes a supplemental multi-year Innovation Fund to  provide targeted investm…

ASPET President David Sibley sent a letter this week on behalf of ASPET membership  thanking Congress for their efforts in championing sustained, real growth in medical research funding, and to urge passage of appropriations legislation following the November 8 election.  The letter asserts that current short-term Continuing Resolution providing temporary funding for government programs is o…

  Today NIH issued a notice regarding the adjustment to stipend levels for postdoctoral trainees and fellows supported by Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSAs). This notice reiterates the stipend increases to ensure compliance with the updated minimum salary per the Fair Labor Standards Act. More importantly, the notice indicates the process by which institutions and ind…

  On October 13, President Obama hosted the White House Frontiers Conference, which featured several speakers and exhibits highlighting the future of innovation in science and technology. The President also wrote an accompanying piece for Wired magazine describing his optimism for the future of technology and innovation. Moreover, the White House released a fact sheet highlighting $300 million in …

  Vice President Joe Biden released a report from the Cancer Moonshot Task Force this week. As CQ reports, "the report highlights goals to accelerate the development of cures, including more widespread sharing of data and faster research and approval timelines for new treatments." The report outlines the administration's accomplishments during the last year and the initiative's goals for 2017 and …

  Last week, NIH released an announcement regarding its operations under the Continuing Resolution. As in prior years, this announcement indicates that grants will be funded up to 90 percent of the committed level indicated in the notice of award. Additional details are available on the NIH's site. Last updated: October 11, 2016 

  With a House vote of 342-85 , Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund federal agencies until December 9, avoiding a government shutdown. The Senate had earlier voted 72-26 in favor of a 10 week CR. The CR (HR 5325), is a “clean” funding bill that funds the government at the FY 2017 top-line level of $1.067 trillion minus a 0.5 percent across-the-board that is necessary t…

  With only days left in the fiscal year, ASPET has urged Congress to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open.  Also asserted in the letter is language praising legislators for their investment in biomedical research, which was evident in the appropriations process, where the Senate Committee-approved $34.1 billion for NIH. A short term CR would provide an imm…

A new metric, known as the Relative Citation Ratio (RCR), will allow researchers to measure the influence of a scientific article, regardless of publication and scientific field. While RCR cannot replace expert review, it does overcome many of the issues faced by previous metrics. RCR was developed by scientists with the Office of Portfolio Analysis (OPA), Division of Program Coordination, Pl…