Stanford Report, December 6, 2006

2006 IN REVIEW: Funding troubles for NIH

BY TRACIE WHITE

Funding for the National Institutes of Health was cut in 2006 for the first time in more than 30 years—and the administration's budget proposal for the next year would freeze the NIH budget at that level.

That would make three years running that NIH funding didn't keep up with inflation, raising concerns among scientists about the future of basic research in the United States and its role as a worldwide leader in biomedical research and innovation.

"Given the current fiscal challenges of the nation, I am not optimistic that we will see significant increases in the NIH budget for the near future," said Phillip Pizzo, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, who has warned that the trend could have disastrous effects on the ability to make basic science discoveries and tranlate them into beneficial therapies for patients.

Stanford isn't alone in its concern about budgetary cutbacks. The NIH is the principal federal source of funding for medical research. It funds nearly 50,000 competitive grants at more than 2,800 U.S. research institutions. "As I talk to scientists and administrators throughout the country, the anxiety is palpable," NIH director Elias A. Zerhouni wrote in November in the journal Science.

The need for consistent NIH funding for research is demonstrated clearly by the two 2006 Nobel Prize winners on the medical school faculty. Both Roger Kornberg, PhD, the laureate in chemistry, and Andrew Fire, PhD, the laureate in physiology or medicine, said their work could not have happened without years of support from the NIH.

Despite their proven track record, a number of leading faculty have not had their NIH grants renewed in the last year. Stanford researchers suffered a $1.1 million decline in NIH grants in fiscal year 2005, the latest available data.

Pizzo has played a leading role in efforts to persuade Congress to sustain funding. "We will certainly do everything we can to advocate improved support for the NIH," he said. "The nation's global leadership in biomedical research and innovation are closely linked to support from the NIH."