July 19, 2010

NIH Funding is Critical: Help Send the Message to Congress

Dear Colleagues,

Over the course of the next few months, Congress will turn its attention to appropriations legislation for the upcoming fiscal year to fund many programs, including the National Institutes of Health. With mounting deficits and cries for austerity in the run-up to the fall elections, it is more important than ever that policymakers in Washington hear from their constituents that NIH funding for biomedical research is a high priority.

To that end, we have invested in and partnered with the Association of American Medical Colleges and other leading associations and societies to create the Research Means Hope campaign. Now it its second year, the effort is designed to generate grass-roots support for NIH funding as well as encourage the NIH champions of the future.

I ask you once again today to join in the campaign. Please log on to www.ipetitions.com/petition/rmh/ and sign the electronic petition. There is even room to add your personal comment. The campaign will use the petition in its advocacy efforts to show Congress and the Administration that funding the NIH is a priority for the American people. You will be asked to provide your name, e-mail address and ZIP code. Please note that ResearchMeansHope.org will not share your information with any other organizations.

Forward the link to your staff, lab members, friends and family – send it to anyone you believe appreciates the vital research that we do here every day. Ask them to sign the petition as well as join the campaign on Facebook and Twitter. Your personal involvement is critical and only takes a moment.

Sincerely,

Edward D. Miller, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine