Lawmakers Criticize Proposed NIH Cuts
BU IN DC
Kevin Outterson of the School of Law headlined the launch of the Powered by CARB-X portfolio of antibacterials and diagnostics on March 30. Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters, Diane Baldwin of Sponsored Programs, and Gretchen Hartigan of Post Award Financial Operations attended.
Nancy Ammerman of the College of Arts & Sciences was on Capitol Hill as part of the Consortium of Social Science Associations annual meeting and advocacy day on March 29 and 30.
Anthony Janetos of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future participated in a meeting of the National Science Foundation Environmental Research and Education Advisory Committee, of which he is a member, on March 29 and 30.
Ed Downes of the College of Communication gave a talk on the public relations strategies of the new Trump Administration for the BU Washington, DC Programs and area alumni on March 29.
Senior Vice President for External Affairs Stephen Burgay and Vice President for Marketing & Creative Services Amy Hook attended the Association of American Universities Public Affairs Network meeting between March 26 and 28.
LAWMAKERS CRITICIZE PROPOSED NIH CUTS
Several Members of Congress touted the value of research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) when U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price testified before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations on Wednesday. The bipartisan support for NIH is a strong indication that Congress will not implement the severe budget cuts proposed by the Trump Administration. In response, Price said he was concerned that “about 30 percent of the grant money that goes out is used for indirect expenses…” Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) pushed back against his criticism, stating that the Committee should “have a long discussion about how we fund our universities and… what the indirect costs really go to.” The Subcommittee plans to hold a hearing specifically about NIH later this spring.
BUZZ BITS…
- Dr. Dawn Tilbury will be the next leader of the National Science Foundation Engineering Directorate. Tilbury, a mechanical engineering scholar at the University of Michigan, will start in June.
- Lawmakers on the education committees in both chambers of Congress called on the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to help students impacted by the shutdown of the Internal Revenue Service online income tax retrieval tool designed to make applying for federal financial aid easier. The IRS and ED announced Thursday the tool would be unavailable until the fall.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
BU Research will host its next Research on Tap installment with a focus on “Targets, Tools, and Drugs: Advances in Molecular Discovery at BU.” Hosted by John Porco of the College of Arts & Sciences, BU faculty will give microtalks on groundbreaking work in the synthesis and study of molecules to address a number of diseases and therapeutic applications. The event, which provides a forum to network with potential research collaborators on campus, will take place on April 4 at 4:00 p.m. at the School of Law.