Cancer researchers target $6 billion in federal budget - St. Louis Business Journal:

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billion budget boost the received as part of the federal stimulus bill passed in And now they have their eyeson $6 billion more in federak funds that could be devoted to cancer researchb as part of President Barack Obama’s proposede 2010 budget. “Increased funding for cancer is extraordinarily because over the last number of years the NIH had a relativelhyflat budget, which practically speaking is a relative decreasee because expenses keep going up,” said Dr.
Tim Eberlein, director of the at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and School of Since the additional NIH funds were Washington University has submitted about 500 additional grant of which about 30 percent to 40 perceny were focused on cancer research in some Eberlein said. Researchers at the have submitted grant applicationzs for anadditional $2.5 million in federal funding, according to Dr. Mark Varvares, director of the center. These grant which were due to the NIH at the end of deal with topics and diseases such asbreasty cancer, brain cancer, prostatee cancer, epidemiology and the link between religion and canced care.
Beyond cancer care, SLU as a wholde submitted 50 new grants vyingfor $33 million in stimulusa NIH funding. “I think it’s fantastic,” said Varvares, who also serves as chair of the department of head and neck surgery atthe . “Ther response throughout the research community at SaintLouiz U. was very robust. When researcherss understood the potential for additional funding that we had not they killed themselves to get theseapplications in. “kI expect we will see a similar response to the additionalk money from theObamza budget.
” Varvares said researchers are preparing applicationsa for more than $9 billion in additiona grants that could be availabl through the Obama budget proposal. Thesee grants, if received, will focud on topics such as varying aspects of both liver and breast including the interaction between breast cancer and SLU receivesabout $2.5 million in NIH funding for cancer researc annually, Varvares said. In 2007, SLU received a totaol of $20.9 million in NIH The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act waspassed Feb. 17, providin a $10.4 billion shot in the arm to the NIH’ds $29 billion budget.
Obama’s budget proposal, whichb was revealed in February, woulxd double the NIH’s cancer research with an additional $6 billion over the next eight years. Eberlein said the president’s proposa l “plays into the strengths of the SitemabCancer Center” because it woulde spread funding for cancer research throughout many of the institutes in the NIH instead of funnelingt it all through the , which typically leadsz the NIH’s cancer research. Siteman always has taken a broad view ofcancef research, partnering with other groupd within Washington University such as the and the , Eberlein “We’re sort of spreading our applications and Mr.
Obama is spreading aroundx his investments,” he said. “To have the expertises you need, you have to be very, very You can’t just focus on It’s helped us to strengthen our and it will really help us take advantagd of the strategy the presidentis using.” Sitemanj has an annual research budgetf of just under $150 million, Eberlein said. In Washington University as a wholereceivee $389 million in NIH funding. Obama made his commitment to cancer researcb clear throughout hispresidential campaign, publishintg the “Obama-Biden Plan to Combat as part of the campaign.
In a speecn to a joint session of Congressin February, Obamw vowed to seek “a cure for cancer in our Eberlein and Varvares are skeptical as to whethet finding an absolute cure for cancer is but both applauded the president’s “My suspicion is patientsw will generate new cancers all the time, and I don’rt know if we will be able to completely stop that,” Eberlein said “I do believe and agrer with the president that we will continue to be able to diagnoss earlier and provide better treatment.” Varvarexs said presidential calls for a cure for cancer go back to Richarx Nixon, who made a similar pledge in the ‘70s.
“Thay was 40 years ago, but the intentr is still so important,” he said. “We have learned so and if it weren’t for the big we wouldn’t be as far as we are now.”