Representatives from hundreds of organizations nationwide, including Yale, attended the annual Rally for Medical Research Capitol Hill Day in Washington, D.C., on September 17 to lobby for more research funding for the National Institutes of Health.
John Krystal, MD, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, represented Yale at the event. Krystal was accompanied by Connecticut delegation members, including, Mary Jo Hoeksema, representing Population Association of America; Lewis Panzo, representing the American Heart Association; Pat Todd, representing Action to Cure Kidney Cancer; and Roger Levesque, representing the LiveStrong Foundation.
They met with U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, to discuss the need for more funding for NIH. They also had discussions with representatives for U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-CT, and Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, and Christopher Murphy, D-CT.
Nearly 300 organizations nationwide were represented at the event, and meetings were held all day at House and Senate offices on Capitol Hill.
Some members of Connecticut's delegation spoke about losing family members due to the lack of research or lack of access to ongoing research because of limits in the NIH budget.
Krystal spoke about the need for more research support for mental illness and addictions, and the impact of the current inadequate funding on medical schools and hospitals.