Mikulski to Tour NIH in Rockville Today

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is scheduled to tour the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) in Rockville this morning, and call for increased support and investment in the physical and human infrastructure of NIH.

Mikulski will announce that she is requesting a major increase in NIH federal funding for fiscal year (FY) 2016 to combat sequester cuts that would have a devastating impact on community health, innovation and jobs across Maryland and the nation. The Senator will also discuss new legislation she has introduced that would ensure NIH receives stable funding year after year, according to a press release.

Mikulski will be joined by NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins and NCATS Director Dr. Christopher P. Austin in touring the NCATS translational research facility to see first-hand state-of-the-art screening for potential new treatments and cures for diseases that can be delivered to patients faster.

NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins will announce a new discovery in Alzheimer’s disease research resulting from an NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences drug repurposing program, according to the release.

The NIH is the foundation for U.S. medical innovation that saves lives and leads to new products and new jobs. Federal investments in NIH have helped cut the cancer death rate by 19 percent in men and 11 percent in women. With the support of NIH research, HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence and polio and small pox have been essentially eradicated in the United States, according to the news release.

NIH supports more than 300,000 scientists at 3,100 institutions across the nation, including 18,000 direct jobs in Maryland. Every dollar invested in NIH generates $2-3 in economic activity, and every patent NIH generates provides the foundation for eight private sector patents. In 2013, products built on licensed NIH and FDA inventions reported a total of $7 billion in sales, according to the release.

About Krista Brick

Krista Brick is a multi-media journalist with Montgomery Community Media.

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