Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding the NIH Institutional Development Award or “IDeA” Program.
I am Dr. Frank Waxman and I am the Oklahoma State EPSCoR Director. EPSCoR is the “Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.” I am also a former Vice President for Research and a current Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. I submit this testimony on behalf of the Coalition of EPSCoR States.
I would like first to express my gratitude to Representative Istook for his strong support of the IDeA Program. We deeply appreciate the keen interest Representative Istook has taken in improving the research capability of both our state and the nation.
IDeA enhances the capacity of states that have not yet fully participated in NIH research. Twenty-three states and Puerto Rico are eligible.
While IDeA was authorized twelve years ago, the Program was funded at very low levels during its early years. However, between FY 2000 and FY 2003, IDeA grew rapidly, due in large part to the thoughtful actions of this Subcommittee. This funding permitted the initiation of two new program elements:
The first was COBRE or “Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence;” which are research clusters targeting specific biomedical research problems.
The second was BRIN or “Biomedical Research Infrastructure Networks;” which targeted key areas such as bioinformatics and genomics and facilitated the development of cooperative networks between research-intensive and primarily undergraduate colleges.
The BRIN grants underwent competitive renewals in 2004 under the new name of IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE).
Although IDeA is relatively new, there is already objective evidence of its success. In FY 1999, the year before COBRE grants were initiated, IDeA states received a total of $595 million from NIH. In FY 2003, NIH funding for the IDeA states had increased to $1.458 billion, representing an increase of 145% in four years. As a percentage of the overall NIH budget, IDeA state funding increased from 3.8% to 5.4% during this four-year period. Thus, funding for the IDeA states has increased not only in terms of dollars but also as a percentage of the overall NIH budget.
Oklahoma currently receives funding for an INBRE grant, which I direct, and six COBRE grants. Our INBRE includes 14 institutions and supports scientists at both research-intensive and primarily undergraduate colleges. We have included students from underrepresented groups, especially those from our American Indian and African American communities. This gives students a chance to experience first hand the exciting world of biomedical research and is critical in recruiting the next generation of biomedical scientists and health care professionals.
Our COBRE grants target critical biomedical research problems ranging from basic immunology to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, microbial diseases, and blindness. COBRE grants have permitted many of our young scientists to develop nationally competitive research programs.
Two departments at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Microbiology & Immunology and Ophthalmology, now rank in the top ten in the nation in NIH funding. But beyond the increased funding and the improved facilities, the IDeA grants have provided a vehicle for biomedical scientists to coalesce around a theme, a center, a research idea, and a mentoring process that will last long after these grants are over.
Our task is far from complete. Funding disparities between the states remain and may have a detrimental impact on our national self-interest. Individual creativity is the cornerstone of our research enterprise and concentrating NIH funding in a relatively few states inhibits the diversity of new ideas.
And that is why the IDeA program is so important. It is helping to ensure that all regions of the country participate in biomedical research. Citizens from all states should have the opportunity to benefit from the latest innovations in health care, which are most readily available in centers of biomedical research excellence.
Mr. Chairman, the IDeA states sincerely appreciate this Subcommittee’s past support. We believe IDeA should be funded at $250 million or more in FY 2006. This level of funding would permit an increase in the number of COBRE grants, additional funding for existing grants, and expansion of network connectivity.
By any reasonable standard, an already proven “IDeA” for increasing biomedical research capacity in a cohort of states which comprise one-sixth of our population and yet still receive barely one-twentieth of the NIH budget, deserves increased support. On behalf of the Coalition of EPSCoR States, I thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to submit this testimony.