Millions of Dollars of Additional Funding Go to National Institutes of Health and Imaging Research

Today President Obama and Congress have signed an Omnibus Appropriations Bill into law, which contains additional funding for the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).

The funding will include an additional $1 billion for the NIH and $10 million for the NIBIB. This will provide aid to two institutions that greatly contribute to the medical world. The NIH is the world's premiere medical research institution and the NIBIB provides insight into new advancements for the early detection and treatment of disease.

In terms of duality, the NIBIB is a catalyst for GDP because imaging technology is one of the largest exports of the United States. Thus, the American economy is aided through the research and development of such technology.

However, the funding was not simply given because of the merits of these institutions. The grassroots efforts throughout the year by the National Institutes of Health played a crucial role in helping obtain the funding. Most notably following a Radiological Society of North America meeting in December, researchers went to the Academy of Radiology's website and sent over 7,000 emails to Congress in hopes of convincing the Budget Conference Committee to support the NIH.

These institutions aren't only granted funding; the legislation suggests that the NIH establish (1) policies for competing and non-competing grants that are consistent with the funding increase (2) additional research programs on Alzheimer's Disease (3) an Administrative Burden Reduction Workgroup (4) Workshops on patient enrollment in clinical trials (5) a strategic plan for the Clinical and Translational Science awards, and (6) a plan to place additional scrutiny on both intramural and extramural researchers who receive grants of $1.5 million or more.

This information can be found in this article on the EurekAlert website. In addition to the generous funding for these institutions, groundwork has been laid out in order to help improve various peripheral matters in the future.