For immediate release: July 18, 2007
Contact: Anne McMillin
Public Relations Specialist
Office-775.682.9254
Mobile-702.292.4247
amcmillin@medicine.nevada.edu
School of Medicine cancer researcher meets with Nevada’s federal delegates to ask for increases in biomedical research funding
William Murphy, Ph.D., advocates for more NIH funding
RENO, Nev.—At the request of several national cancer societies, William Murphy, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, recently met with members of the Nevada congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. to advocate for increases in funding for biomedical research.
Murphy was one of several cancer researchers, and the only one from Nevada, to participate in the advocacy event which was organized by the American Association of Cancer Research and other cancer societies as part of a national effort to promote cancer research funding. Multiple cancer researchers and cancer institute leaders nationwide were asked to meet with their state representatives to promote funding for National Institutes of Health-sponsored research.
“Research represents a vital link in not only the drive for a cure for cancer and other diseases, but also for the community as a whole with regard to education,” said Murphy. “As funding for biomedical research decreases every year, the scientific community at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and everywhere in the nation, has to struggle just to keep their research moving forward.”
“This decrease in NIH funding affects our pipeline to get drugs developed and into the clinic and also affects our research pipeline because it is discouraging young investigators from pursuing research as a career,” Murphy continued.
During his trip, Murphy found Nevada’s delegates were very aware of the serious impact cancer has on Nevadans and the need to fund research.
Murphy, who met with Rep. Dean Heller, a senior policy advisor from Sen. Harry Reid’s office and staff members from the offices of Sen. John Ensign and Representatives Shelley Berkley and Jon Porter, added, “Cancer crosses politics and can be very indiscriminate, all of our state representatives realize this is an important health issue.”
As an example of that dedication, he pointed out that Reid has been instrumental in securing federal appropriations for research on the Fallon leukemia cluster.
According to Murphy, cancer research is involving more and more collaboration among cancer institutes nationwide. The School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology cancer laboratory was recently selected to participate in a multimillion dollar program grant studying bone marrow transplantation in cancer patients with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center based in Houston, Texas.
“NIH funding is so critical to the success of these collaborative research relationships and it is imperative for us to continue our progress in our fight against this deadly disease,” Murphy said.
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as five nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.
The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.
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