Introduction
The enormous power of the United States stems from its remarkable record of innovation.
NIH-supported research has driven concrete and dramatic improvements in health in the U.S. and globally. Some treatment breakthroughs, such as curing sickle cell anemia through targeted genome editing and cell therapy were made possible by revolutionary NIH-funded ad- vances, while others such as the steady decline in deaths from heart disease (60% over the past 40 years) and cancer (33% over 30 years) reflect the cumulative impact of a multitude of NIH-backed discoveries. NIH-funded research investi- gating the human papilloma virus, and the development of a vaccine targeting this insidious pathogen have virtually eliminated cervical cancer in women vaccinated during adolescence. NIH supported the develop- ment of remarkable new technology that enables special immune cells to find, bind, and specifically kill brain tumor cells. Indeed, there are hundreds of examples of how NIH-funded research is dramatically changing the U.S. health landscape. Many groundbreaking medical advances have emerged from fundamental discov- ery (“basic”) research, including studies of non-human “model” organisms. The study of seemingly obscure organisms has in fact been the backbone of 20th-and 21st- century biomedical advances. For example, the genetic effects of radiation were
Scientific innovation has been and continues to be the engine driving
economic development and competitive- ness, improving the health of the American people and enhancing national security. Our scientific competitiveness is the envy of the world. Other countries have attempted to duplicate the U.S. scientific enterprise, but none has created a system that rivals our robust research and innovation environ- ment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s premier agency for supporting biomedical research, is key to our prominence in science and technology. NIH-funded research has transformed our understanding of health and disease, created and now fuels the biotechnology industry, and
trained a formidable biomedical workforce poised for new discoveries.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker