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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Susan Collins questioned Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), on the Administration's approach to medical research funding, including proposed deep cuts to the NIH budget, and how those proposals may influence early-career scientists' decisions about whether to pursue biomedical research careers in the United States. She also discussed women's health and the importance of continuing rigorous research to better understand and address disparities in health outcomes.

Q&A on Medical Research Funding

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Senator Collins:

The signals that the Administration is sending on medical research, by proposing deep cuts in NIH's budget - which, fortunately, the Appropriations Committees in both the House and the Senate rejected - and the clawing back or termination of hundreds of grants, could jeopardize our country's global leadership in medical research.

There's another part of this that goes beyond the money, and that is the signal that it sends to young scientists and researchers. We know that China and Europe are actively recruiting the very best young minds that we have in this country. It used to be the flow was the opposite direction-we got the best of the best from around the world. But now, we see young scientists and researchers, particularly at smaller institutions, which are already at a disadvantage compared to larger institutions when grant applications are scored under the current peer review system, considering: is there room for me in America to pursue my passion?

Just recently, the research professors at Bowdoin College in Maine mentioned this problem to me, but I've heard it from many other colleges and universities and young researchers themselves. Will the changes in NIH's new unified funding strategy improve the ability of these early-career scientists to be selected for funding?

Dr. Bhattacharya:

Absolutely, yes. Funding early-career scientists is not just a scientific priority - because that's often where new ideas come from - but also, as you say, a national security priority, and it's a priority of mine specifically. This is a problem that goes way back. Once upon a time, you'd get a large grant at the NIH, the first one, in your early 30s. And now, it's in your mid-40s before you do. So, I've been focused on trying to solve this problem.

I should say upfront, though, that the United States is still the single best place in the world to have a career in biomedical research. I think about 85 percent of all public funding for biomedical research, including foundation money, worldwide, comes from the NIH. So, if a researcher goes abroad, they're going to have a tougher time getting their ideas funded than if they stay in the United States. That's the message I want to reach young researchers: the NIH is committed to finding ways to give you the training you need and the support you need to try your ideas out, because that's the only way we're going to make America healthier.

Senator Collins:

That's a message that needs to be repeated time and again. And we don't need any more of these huge budget cuts submitted as part of the President's budget, which should be coming out soon.

Q&A on Health Disparities in Women's Health

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Senator Collins:

I want to talk to you about an issue that we've discussed in our meetings, and that is women's health. I believe that some of the emphasis on doing away with diversity has had the unintended effect of worsening the neglect of research aimed at women's health.

And we also know that there are health disparities. That, for example, pregnant women who are black have a higher maternal morbidity rate than white women. We know that Asian women have a better outcome than white women. So, I'm concerned that we not pull back from looking at these health disparities and figuring out why that is. And you and I have talked before about the flawed study that led to many women not receiving hormone replacement therapy during menopause. So, that points to the need for replication as well.

But talk to me generally about how you are going to proceed to look at these health disparities in women's health if we're removing diversity as a criteria?

Dr. Bhattacharya:

Senator, I'm absolutely committed to putting in research that improves women's health, and we've not stepped back from that at all. And I think, just broadly speaking, that's also true for minority populations. The mission of the NIH is to do research that improves the health and longevity of Americans, all Americans, women, minorities, everybody.

In a way, the diversity frame sort of sets the bar too low. If we can improve the health of every single person in the United States, whether there's differences in outcomes or not, that's much less relevant or important than just the fact of making people healthier. That's what I'm much more interested in. I'm interested in improving women's health. I'm interested in improving the health of minorities. And yes, especially for minority populations, there are worse health outcomes that need to be addressed.

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Last December, Senators Collins and Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced the bipartisan NIH Clinical Trial Integrity Act to increase demographic representation in clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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