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Document, TestimonyAlliance Calls for Increased NIH Appropriations in FY 2014
On March 15, 2013, the Alliance for Aging Research submitted testimony to the House Appropriations, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, calling for $32 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in FY 2014. To justify this increase, the Alliance highlighted important NIH-supported work administered through the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and other of the NIH's 27 Institutes and Centers. Particular attention was paid to advances in understanding the basic biology of aging and its link to chronic disease and the formation of a Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) comprised of 20 Institutes and Centers to coordinate discussion and action across the NIH on research into the processes of aging that underpin most major age-related disease.
To read the Alliance's testimony, click here.
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Get Mad ColumnTaxes or Medical Research? Tensions Rise in the Battle to Reduce the Deficit
Winter 2013 | Alliance for Aging Research
Related topics: Access to Breakthroughs Aging Research Federal Funding Health PolicyThe country did not go over the "fiscal cliff" thanks to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), which was passed by Congress on New Year’s Day. While fears loomed that lawmakers would fail to act in time, ATRA addressed the expiration of numerous tax credits, raised some revenue, and temporarily delayed automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2012. When ATRA became law America earned a temporary reprieve from imminent economic catastrophe. However, our health and personal economic security may still suffer from the fallout resulting from actions taken by policymakers struggling to find a more permanent solution to the nation’s fiscal woes. -
Feature Article, NewslettersDo We Have to Age the Way We Age? Dan Perry Takes This Question to the TEDMED Stage
Fall 2012
Related topics: Aging Research Federal Funding Longevity Medical Innovation Policy Prevention ResearchTEDMED is most known for its annual conference--a medical spin-off from the TED conference where people come to share big ideas and foster new ones. But TEDMED is also a community of people who are all passionate about the future of health and medicine, but in amazingly different ways. -
Get Mad ColumnAn Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: Are We Sacrificing Health for a Balanced Budget?
Spring 2012 | Alliance for Aging Research
Related topics: Federal Funding Health Medical Innovation Policy Quality of CareLast summer, lawmakers were not just feeling the heat of the August sun in Washington when Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011(BCA). Under pressure to raise the country’s debt ceiling, the BCA allowed the president to do so by up to $2.8 trillion, but only by requiring the deficit to be slashed by $2.3 trillion over the next decade. Not a bad trade, right? Think again. The methods used to make these cuts could take a fat slice out of the federal budget that pays for research to prevent diseases we all fear as we grow older like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and heart disease. -
Alliance in the News, Alliance Views, VideoDan Perry on BioCentury This Week: Alzheimer's Research
In a March 18th interview with BioCentury This Week, Alliance for Aging Research President & CEO Daniel Perry shares his thoughts on U.S. funding of Alzheimer’s research. Perry also calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to adopt biomarkers and other tools to detect and treat Alzheimer's disease earlier. -
Document, TestimonyAlliance President Makes Remarks at a Hearing on Prescription Drug User Fee Act Reauthorization
On October 24th, Alliance President & CEO Daniel Perry presented remarks at a public meeting on the fifth reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). PDUFA IV, currently set to expire in September of 2012, authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect user fees from companies wishing to submit their products for agency review. The intention is that the fees would be used to provide an additional revenue stream for FDA to hire more staff, improve systems, and establish a better managed drug review process to speed up the delivery of needed therapies to the public. The PDUFA reauthorization process has historically been conducted through negotiations between the Agency and regulated industries, however the current round of negotiations allowed for patient groups to engage in monthly consultations with FDA representatives to enable all stakeholders to have an early voice in shaping the PDUFA V agreement.
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Get Mad ColumnCan We Work the Bugs Out? In Search of the Next-Generation IPAB
Summer 2011 | Alliance for Aging Research
Related topics: Federal Funding Health Policy Quality of CareAn IPAB is not the latest device created by Apple to play music or store your online files. IPAB is the Independent Payment Advisory Board and its purpose is to oversee costs in Medicare. The only similarity between IPAB and an iPAD is that both are small and complex units with tremendous power to change lives. But for those receiving their health care under the Medicare program, IPAB’s changes may not be for the better. -
Get Mad ColumnBracing for the Silver Tsunami: Aging Research May Save Lives and Money
Investigators supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) are on the cusp of research breakthroughs that could enhance their abilities to predict and intervene earlier in the processes of many age-related chronic diseases. In particular, rapid progress in recent years in advancing understanding of the aging process has led to considerable knowledge of how scientists might increase human health in later life by opposing the primary risk factor for most disease of aging—aging itself. -
Get Mad ColumnCAN You Help Find a Cure?: Funding May Mean the Difference Between Life and Death
Spring 2010 | Alliance for Aging Research
Related topics: Access to Breakthroughs Drug Development Federal Funding Medical Innovation PolicyAfter a long fought battle over how best to structure meaningful health reform legislation, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law in March. Many media sources are reporting on the negative financial impact some health reform provisions might have on the country, but little attention has been focused on positive aspects of the bill that could make a real difference in the lives of many people suffering from, or who will face, serious and life-threatening illnesses. -
Get Mad ColumnRestoring a Commitment to Medical Research
Summer 2009
Related topics: Access to Breakthroughs Aging Research Alzheimer's Disease Cardiovascular Disease Diabetes Federal Funding Policy Vision LossInvestigators supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are on the cusp of research breakthroughs that may enhance their ability to predict and intervene earlier in the processes of many age-related chronic diseases. -
Report2009 Task Force on Aging Research Funding
May 2009
Related topics: Aging Research Alzheimer's Disease Arthritis Brain Health Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Caregiving Diabetes Federal Funding Geriatric Training Health Incontinence Medical Innovation Men's Health Mental Health Osteoporosis Other Diseases of Aging Parkinson's Disease Persistent Pain Policy Research Stroke Vision Loss Women's HealthThe 2009 Task Force on Aging Research Funding--more than 65 non-partisan disease groups, patient advocates, and foundations--urges Congress and the President to restore a national commitment to medical research on behalf of America's aging population. This year's report of the Task Force calls for a at least a 7% increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health in FY 2010. It also presents data on the burden of diseases and conditions that predominately affect older Americans, highlights the emerging research the NIH is doing to decrease these burdens, and serves as a resource for policymakers working to establish the funding levels necessary to advance healthy aging. -
Get Mad ColumnElection 2008: Candidates Paying Too Little Attention to the Approaching Silver Tsunami
The 2008 presidential election is upon us and health care reform is at the top of both candidates’ agendas. Democratic Nominee Senator Barack Obama and Republican Nominee Senator John McCain have both offered detailed plans to fix our ailing health care system. -
Alliance ViewsInvesting in the Longevity Dividend
Life expectancy has reached an all-time high, and with that comes an increased risk of chronic diseases and other health conditions. Chronic diseases account for nearly three-fourths of the more than $2 trillion the U.S. annually spends on health care. If those numbers sound daunting, consider that costs will skyrocket in January 2011 when 78 million Americans begin to enroll in Medicare. The new president may choose to revamp health care when he takes office, but without breakthroughs in research, costs will continue to rise as our nation ages. -
Report2007 Task Force Report on Aging Research Funding
April 2007 | Alliance for Aging Research
Related topics: Aging Research Alzheimer's Disease Arthritis Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Caregiving Diabetes Federal Funding Geriatric Training Health Incontinence Medical Innovation Men's Health Mental Health Osteoporosis Other Diseases of Aging Parkinson's Disease Persistent Pain Prevention Stroke Vision Loss Women's HealthThe 2007 Task Force on Aging Research Funding--more than 85 non-partisan disease groups, patient advocates, and foundations--urges Congress and the President to chart a better course for medical research on behalf of America's aging population. This year's report of the Task Force calls for a 6.7% increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health in FY 2008. It also presents data on the burden of 27 diseases and conditions that predominately affect older Americans, highlights some of the exciting work the NIH is doing to decrease these burdens, and serves as a resource for policymakers working to establish the funding levels necessary to advance healthy aging. -
TestimonyFiscal Year 2008 Appropriations for the National Institute on Aging:
U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Daniel Perry of the Alliance for Aging Research, and Carol Schutz of the Gerontological Society of America, submitted this testimony on behalf of the Friends of the National Institute on Aging. The testimony called for a 6.7% overall increase for the National Institutes of Health for FY 2008 and additional resources for NIA in order to avoid continued cuts in existing grants and to sustain training and research opportunities for new investigators. -
TestimonyFiscal Year 2007 Appropriations for the National Institute on Aging:
U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Daniel Perry of the Alliance for Aging Research, and Carol Schutz of the Gerontological Society of America, submitted this testimony on behalf of the Friends of the National Institute on Aging. The testimony called for a 5% overall increase for the National Institutes of Health for FY 2007 and additional resources for NIA in order to avoid an 18% cut in existing grants and to sustain training and research opportunities for new investigators. -
Get Mad ColumnInvesting in NIH
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) predict that in the near future, doctors will have the ability to identify life-threatening diseases years before they strike and that new treatments for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are just years away from discovery. -
ReportThe Silver Book:
Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation
March 2006 | Alliance for Aging Research
Related topics: Alzheimer's Disease Cancer Cardiovascular Disease Diabetes Federal Funding Health Medical Innovation Parkinson's Disease Research StrokeThe Silver Book is a unique almanac of references that the Alliance has compiled to spotlight the impact of chronic disease on our aging population and health care system, and the significant impact medical breakthroughs will have on future health care use and expenditures. Much of the information on this topic is buried in dense and detailed reports and peer-reviewed papers and is spread out amongst many important publications. The Silver Book brings together statistics and data culled from over 130 of these reports and articles, from more than 85 agencies, organizations, and experts. The information is presented in an easy-to-use format that we hope brings it to the fingertips of those shaping policy.
The Silver Book is also available on-line in a searchable database that is regularly updated. Visit The Silver Book On-line to find the latest data, download presentation slides, submit data, and find-out about Silver Book events. -
Get Mad ColumnNational Institutes of Health Funding
It’s that time again, the annual struggle over funding for the National Institutes of Health. -
Alliance ViewsStem Cell Update
Patient advocates for a variety of debilitating and deadly diseases are banding together to step up research into stem cell science, which may hold very real hope for treatments or cures. -
Alliance ViewsBoosting the NIH Budget Will Better Our Lives
It doesn't happen often, but when it comes to boosting funding for medical research, Republicans and Democrats have found a subject on which they all can agree. -
Get Mad ColumnUnderfunding of Medical Research Threatens Your Future Health
Although medical research is a major avenue to healthy aging, it is seriously under-funded.