Cindy Hyde-Smith Questions Expert About How NIH Programs Foster Otherwise ‘Untapped’ Innovation

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During Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) Dr. Hermann Haller, President of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, about the National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award program.

Transcript

00:00Thank you. Senator Hyde-Smith.

00:03Thank you so much, and thank you all for being here today.

00:06It's tremendously important, and it's very insightful,

00:09and I certainly have faith that we're going to get in a better position soon.

00:15The University of Mississippi's medical center is in my office right now.

00:20I just met with them and had to run out to come back so I could get these questions in,

00:24but they're our only academic medical center,

00:27and they're currently working toward achieving the National Cancer Institute designation,

00:34working on that really hard.

00:35But to date, there's been no NCI-designated centers in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Arkansas.

00:43So this situation requires Mississippians to travel distances for advanced cancer care.

00:50Earning NCI status requires significant research, and we know that's important,

00:55and there's a reason for that, in critical areas such as cancer biology, immunology, and genetics.

01:03So I'm going to ask Dr. Schlechtman, as a researcher at an NCI-designated center,

01:10how could cancer research funding cuts affect institutions like UMMC

01:16in their efforts to achieve this status, and how can we improve this?

01:20Thank you for that question, Senator.

01:24And as your neighbor, I understand the cancer burdens that your state experiences very, very well.

01:35I suspect that as they start to make cuts like this, they will look at programs,

01:41these larger programs, to absorb some of those cuts.

01:46And so, although I don't have a crystal ball, I would imagine that the rate of new cancer center designations,

01:54which over the last five years has been about one or so per year, will lessen.

02:02And there are many cancer centers, including the one in your own state,

02:07that are kind of in a holding pattern, you know, waiting for the control tower

02:12to let them know that it's time to land, and those will have to stay holding for a longer period of time.

02:19And also, at UMMC, you know, we do the longstanding research studies.

02:25The one, the Jackson Heart Study, you're familiar with that,

02:30which studies the cardiovascular health and other things that address risk factors for preventions of dementia,

02:37which has been discussed earlier.

02:40Both of these studies have been funded by NIH for over 25 years.

02:45And understanding these complex conditions and how to address this best,

02:51it's not a fast process and requires years of study and investment.

02:56And Dr. Parikh, can you speak to that, please?

02:59I can.

02:59I had the real privilege of visiting Jackson when the study was starting.

03:03And I've seen it grow, and I've seen it actually produce results.

03:09To follow those populations for 25 years and to follow them for the next 25 years

03:14is how we're going to ensure that the access and the treatments and the cures that are available in Jackson

03:21are also available in the Delta.

03:22And that's the only way that's going to happen.

03:25And so if the Jackson Heart Study and others feel at risk, which surprisingly they do,

03:30I'm always surprised by that, but they feel at risk right now.

03:33As do many other studies across the country, we've got to be able to put forth a vision that says,

03:38this is actually what we're going to do.

03:39This is a priority.

03:40And thank you for showing it as a priority for the committee.

03:43Well, thank you for what you've done in Mississippi.

03:46And Dr. Haller, in your testimony, you highlighted the NIH Institutional Development Award,

03:54or the IDEA program, and recommended NIH expand the program.

03:59The IDEA program has had a profound impact in my home state of Mississippi,

04:04and it has helped correct the historic imbalance in federal research funding,

04:09which has been concentrated at a small number of legacy institutions.

04:15IDEA has helped unlock innovations in schools across my state where the cutting-edge research is being conducted,

04:22and I'm currently working on protecting and continuing this program with my IDEA Reauthorization Act.

04:28But how has IDEA research funding fostered innovation that might have otherwise gone untapped?

04:36Thank you very much, Senator, for this question.

04:41As I mentioned in my testimonial, the program has changed Maine considerably.

04:48We were one of the first states where the IDEA program was started in 2003,

04:54and over the years, I've mentioned this, we have trained 3,000 students.

04:59So we have retained and first hired faculty.

05:05Now, we have to do more.

05:07We are training, but now we are training the workforce.

05:11We have talked a lot about clinical studies,

05:14so the next step is now also translational research.

05:18I think what's very important is an initiative we are thinking about,

05:23and we want to start, about clinical study centers throughout the state.

05:29At the moment, we have only a few clinical centers,

05:32but there is an untapped possibility of Mainers participating in these studies,

05:39which helps the overall health, public health, which helps making diagnosis.

05:45So the IDEA program should grow,

05:49and the IDEA program, besides what we are already doing,

05:54educating the younger generation,

05:57and hopefully not losing a whole generation of talented young people,

06:03we should work on translational research,

06:07and we should associate our efforts with what's happening

06:11in the biomedical and biotech industry in the state.

06:14Great. Thank you for your answer.

06:16I'm out of time.

06:17Again, thank you all for participating.

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