Ohio ASCB Members Meet with Congress

On May 23, 2024, ASCB members from Ohio met with members of the Ohio Congressional delegation to tell them about the important U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research being done in Ohio and the economic impact of that research.

The ASCB members, Song-Tao Liu, Wanda Strychalski, Matthew Summers, Monica Venere, Scott Crawley, and Rafael Garcia-Mata, met virtually with staff from Representatives Troy Balderson (R-OH), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Dave Joyce (R-OH), Robert Latta (R-OH), Max Miller (R-OH) and Senator JD Vance (R-OH).

Congressional staff was impressed with the type of research being done in Ohio with federal funding. Support for federally funded research was not universal. One staffer characterized the representative he worked for as being “generally favorable” of the NIH and NSF. Another asked the scientists how rich they get from their discoveries, a question that produced laughter from the investigators. After expressing frustration that the federal government was broke, he also asked what private organizations could replace the research support currently provided by the federal government. These questions allowed the ASCB members to explain the roll fundamental research plays in the research pipeline. They were also able to point out the significant return on the federal government’s investment in research. An annual report by United for Medical Research estimates that in Fiscal Year 2023 in Ohio, $1 billion in NIH funding produced $2.58 billion in economic activity and supported just over 13,000 jobs in the state.

If you would like to work with the ASCB to hold a Virtual Hill Day in your state, contact Kevin Wilson, ASCB’s VP for Policy, Governance, and Partnerships at kwilson@ascb.org.