Every year the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) are required to prepare for the President and the Congress its best professional judgment on the optimal funding needed to make the most rapid progress in the fight against cancer. This estimate, often referred to as a “bypass budget” because it is presented without modification through the traditional Federal budget process, also summarizes NIH-funded research and promising research opportunities.
The NCI and the cancer research community are on the verge of pivotal advances in research and patient care. Additional funding is needed to pursue promising research opportunities that will improve our understanding of cancer, including lymphoma, and bring the benefits of cancer research to the public. NCI has identified key areas of focus in its budget that leverage the scale and reach of the Institute. These areas of focus include:
- Develop the workforce of cancer investigators;
- Reaffirm our commitment to basic science to drive novel approaches and technologies;
- Innovate the design, administration, and analyses of clinical trials; and
- Increase data aggregation and interpretation to speed work across the cancer enterprise.
NIH and NCI need an increased and stable federal investment to continue to make progress in the development of new treatments and cures for lymphoma and CLL. The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) is grateful for the increases in funding the NIH has received over the course of the past two years, but that commitment must continue.
LRF will provide updates to registered advocates and the lymphoma community in the months to come, helping them to educate lawmakers on the importance of this funding and impact it can have on lymphoma research. If you would like to learn more and register to receive regular advocacy and public policy updates from LRF, click here.
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