Faust Fights for More NIH Funding

University President Drew G. Faust spoke in favor of increased funding for the biomedical sciences before a U.S. Senate committee this morning.

Faust's testimony is part of a Harvard-led effort by a consortium of research universities to reverse a recent real-dollar decline in research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Harvard spearheaded the lobbying push beginning with a report and congressional appearances last spring. Today's testimony, as well as a second report released at a 9 a.m. press conference, focused on the impact of the funding decline on junior researchers.

According to information from the NIH Web site, the average age of a researcher receiving his first R01 grant—NIH's funding mechanism for single projects that accounts for the majority of its grants to Harvard—has risen by nearly 25 percent since 1970.

"There may be a pending crisis here in terms of our future researchers," said Kevin Casey, Harvard's associate vice president for government, community, and public affairs. "The fact that this early in President Faust's tenure that she would agree to testify before Congress right away demonstrates its high priority. We plan to continue to put this on the front burner."

Harvard received $329 million in grants from the NIH last year, making it far and away the University's largest source of federal research dollars.

Congress is currently considering President George W. Bush's budget proposal, which recommended the same level of NIH funding as the year before, a real-dollar decline once inflation is taken into account.

Casey said he expected a group of senators, including Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56, who chairs the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions that Faust is addressing, to propose an amendment this week to increase NIH funding by $1.8 to $2 billion, or more than six percent increase over the current year's budget.

Similar amendments have proved unsuccessful in recent years, and Casey said that despite the "strong support" of the Senate, White House opposition could stymie Harvard's efforts, at least in the short term.

"Ultimately, we're hoping the next president—whoever that might be—will adopt restoring funding for NIH to a reasonable predictable growth path as a priority," Casey said. "We look for progress to be made, but we don't look for it to be accomplished overnight."

—Check TheCrimson.com for updates throughout the day.