City of Hope staff recently met with California legislators in Washington, D.C., to
discuss the importance of boosting National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.
 Clockwise, from front: Kristen Pugh, Bill Dalton of H. Lee Moffit Cancer Center & Research Institute, Ellen Siegal of Friends of Cancer Research, Rep. Jerry Lewis, Jean Denton and Robert A. Figlin (Photo by Mike Gatty) |
The NIH budget, including funding for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), has
remained nearly flat for two years, and has grown slowly since 2003, a trend that limits available federal dollars for research into cancer and other diseases. City of Hope’s Robert A. Figlin, M.D., Arthur and Rosalie Kaplan Professor of Medical Oncology and interim director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Kristen Pugh, associate vice president of government and community relations, urged legislators to increase funds for much-needed research and training for the cancer workforce.
Among others, staff members spoke with Rep. Jerry Lewis, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“Without increased NIH and NCI funding, we will not be able to support the next generation of cancer researchers to continue in the fight on cancer,” Figlin said.
City of Hope participated through the Association of American Cancer Institutes,
American Association for Cancer Research and Friends of Cancer Research Capitol Hill Advocacy Day.
