Petition to Support Public Health Research

Coalition to Protect Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the most prominent and respected biomedical and behavioral research institution in the world. Its mission is to support science to improve the health and well-being of all humanity. Thus, the NIH supports a large and robust portfolio of research on all aspects of human development and disease. Our nation's investment in health research has been guided by far-sighted policymakers who recognized the value of long-term investments in research to improve health. The United States currently has the strongest research enterprise in the world because good science has been allowed to flourish.

Much of the reputation of the NIH is based on the integrity of a rigorous peer-review (also called 'scientific merit review') process that operates without political influence, ensuring that the research conducted and supported by the NIH is based on scientific merit, rather than on political, ideological, or sectarian considerations.

We urge the U.S. Congress to uphold the quality of our nation's health research enterprise by embracing the fundamental values on which it was built. Upholding these principles will allow researchers and clinicians to better prevent, treat and cure deadly diseases and disabilities that affect all of our families. We strongly urge Congress and the Executive Branch to support:

1) Researching all behaviors and conditions that impact public health and all populations who are burdened by that impact. Understanding behavioral and social factors attendant with disease in different population groups and communities is essential to developing effective interventions. There is abundant evidence of the importance of behavior in the prevalence and severity of some of our major, and most costly chronic diseases (including STDs), and understanding better how to influence behavior is urgently needed. Further, protection of the public's health requires that all diseases/conditions and relevant behaviors be investigated without the burden of political or ideological prejudice.

2) Basing health policies on the best available scientific data and knowledge. The integrity of the peer-review process has given rise to a rich research community that involves both public and private entities in partnership with one another. This unique process and collaboration provides an unparalleled foundation of knowledge to guide our public health policies.

3) Including public participation in scientific priority setting. Through established formal mechanisms and public debate, members of Congress and private citizens contribute valuable ideas and knowledge to the development of NIH research priorities.

4) Relying on peer review to judge the quality and relevance of research proposals. Hundreds of scientists and clinicians from universities and research institutions across the country representing a wide range of disciplines, volunteer their time and expertise to make the system work. In the competition for funding, fewer than 30 percent of high-quality scientific proposals receive support. This peer review, combined with a second-level review by members of health advisory councils composed of both scientists and public representatives, ensures that the NIH receives advice from a cross-section of the U.S. population in its decision-making process. It also ensures that scientific merit and public values work together to fund only the best science.

We, the undersigned, affirm the value of these fundamental principles that make the U.S. health research system foremost in the world. We encourage Congress to continue to respect these principles, and to reject any legislative or regulatory efforts to undermine them.

Sincerely,

Total number of people who have signed the petition: 1320