[DIV28SUPER] APA's Science Policy Insider News; April 2010

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	APA's Science Policy Insider News April, 2010

in this issue...

 

 APA Responds to Call for Information on Research Training

 

 APA's NSF-Supported Researcher Gets Rave Review on the Hill

 

 APA Submits Testimony to Senate Appropriations Committee on Fiscal Year 2011 Programs

 

 APA Calls for Psychological Expertise in Oversight of Comparative Effectiveness Research

 

 Science GRO Staff Invited to Participate in CDC Meeting on Teen Dating Violence Research and Policy

                                                                                                                                                                                         

 APA Weighs in on NSF Reauthorization Bill in the House

 

 Science GRO Visits the Hill on Behalf of Veterans

 

 Upcoming Briefing on Developing Medications to Treat Addiction

 

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APA Responds to Call for Information on Research Training

 

The American Psychological Association recently submitted comments to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to help inform the development of a strategic plan on research training.  NIGMS is widely considered to be the "training institute" at NIH, by virtue of the number and breadth of its programs, which include Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Awards.

 

APA's comments were informed by thoughtful contributions from the Board of Scientific Affairs (particularly Ken Sher and Vickie Mayes) and Bertha Holliday of APA's Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs.

 

The comments were submitted to NIGMS at its website in response to specific questions, in a feedback process that is increasingly common at NIH.  Strict character and word limits require commenters to prioritize and carefully edit their responses.  This process makes it easier for NIH staff to gather and make sense of hundreds of comments.

 

Along with receiving advice via its website, NIGMS will hold a webinar on June 11 and four meetings across the country: in Philadelphia, PA (April 29), San Francisco, CA (May 12),  Chicago, IL (May 25), and Atlanta, GA (June 4).  The strategic plan will be drafted in late summer, 2010, and finalized before the end of 2010.

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APA's NSF-Supported Researcher Gets Rave Review on the Hill

 

Dan Anderson, APA member and NSF-supported researcher from the University of Massachusetts, found a receptive congressional audience for his studies of digital media and their effects on very young children.  Science GRO invited Anderson to serve as APA's presenter at the annual Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Capitol Hill Exhibit and Reception in Washington, DC on April 14th.  Nine members of Congress and hundreds of congressional and federal agency staff stopped by to talk with Anderson about his research, which analyzes the ways in which digital media (including television shows and videos), either aimed at children younger than two years old or playing in the background in their homes, affects their cognitive development, forms of play, learning behaviors, and engagement with parents.  House Science and Technology Subcommittee Chairmen Brian Baird (psychologist and D-WA) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) were particularly interested in the ramifications of Anderson's research.  APA is an active member of CNSF and will advocate strongly for increased NSF funding in the Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations bills.

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APA Submits Testimony to Senate Appropriations Committee on Fiscal Year 2011 Programs

 

In mid-April, APA submitted statements to both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees outlining funding requests for Fiscal Year 2011 for the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

 

In these statements APA echoed the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Funding that $35 billion be appropriated for the National Institutes of Health, and of the Coalition for Health Funding that an increase of $9.3 billion be appropriated for all the agencies of the U.S. Public Health Service.  These large coalitions strive to speak with one voice before Congress in support of adequate funding for health research and public health infrastructure and programs. 

 

APA requested $7 million for the Graduate Psychology Education program, which is funded in the Health Resources Services Administration.  Authorized in 2002, the GPE program has provided 70 grants to date, training over 2,500 psychologists and other mental health professionals who in turn agree to work in underserved areas. 

 

Advocating for continuing support for training minority health providers, APA urged the Appropriations Committee to fund the Minority Fellowship Program in the Center for Mental Health Services at $7.5 million for FY 2011. APA also recommended the allocation of an additional $2 million in funding for the National Health Interview Survey in the National Center for Health Statistics budget to cover the cost of adding a sexual orientation/gender identity question to the survey.  To read the Senate testimony click here.

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APA Calls for Psychological Expertise in Oversight of Comparative Effectiveness Research

 

On April 21, APA sent a letter to Acting Comptroller General, Gene Dodaro, asserting the need for inclusion of psychological expertise in the governance of a new independent institute that will oversee comparative effectiveness research authorized by the health care reform bill (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).  The new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) will be overseen by a Board of Governors comprised of individuals representing several designated categories of expertise but without any explicit representation of expertise on mental health or substance use disorders. The Coalition for Health Services Research, the advocacy arm of AcademyHealth, has provided an excellent summary of the structure and function, as well as provisions for the implementation, of the PCORI here.  Science GRO staff will be closely monitoring the implementation process and will continue advocating for the inclusion of psychological science as opportunities arise.

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Science GRO Staff Invited to Participate in CDC Meeting on Teen Dating Violence Research and Policy

 

Science GRO's Heather Kelly, whose research background is in the area of adolescent sexual behavior and relationships, was invited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to participate in a small stakeholder summit on "Linking Evidence-Based Science to Policy Approaches for Teen Dating Violence Prevention" this week in Atlanta.  Kelly represented APA Science and joined a dozen researchers, service providers, policy experts and foundation funders for a three-day meeting to identify ways to better link research to policy approaches, development and evaluation processes.  Science GRO staff will continue to collaborate with government relations staff in APA's Public Interest and Education Directorates to ensure that upcoming legislation provides adequate funding for research, prevention and interventions related to teen dating violence as well as support in the areas of healthy relationship promotion and violence prevention more broadly defined.

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APA Weighs in on NSF Reauthorization Bill in the House

 

This week, the House Committee on Science and Technology "marked up" and approved  H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010.  The bill authorizes funding levels and programmatic guidelines for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and science offices within the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with an overall goal of increasing the nation's capacity for innovation and global competitiveness.  APA government relations staff, along with colleagues in larger scientific coalitions, have been actively involved in recommending language to committee staff as they drafted the bill and its accompanying report language, particularly relating to inclusion of the behavioral and social sciences at NSF and so-called "public access" requirements for scientific publishing.  The bill moves on for a full House vote while the Senate works on a companion bill for eventual conference negotiations with the House.

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Science GRO Visits the Hill on Behalf of Veterans

 

Science GRO's Heather Kelly and colleagues from the Friends of VA Medical Care and Health Research Coalition (FOVA) made a series of visits this week to members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.  These are the groups on the House side charged with congressional oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and funding of the VA, and the FOVA executive committee advocated for increased Fiscal Year 2011 funding for the intramural VA research account as well as support for VA lab space renovations.  Hill visits to members of these committees and their Senate counterparts follow closely on the heels of the annual VA Research Week sponsored by VA Headquarters here in Washington, designed to heighten visibility of VA research successes.  To kick off the weeklong activities and emphasize the need for continued federal investment in VA research, FOVA co-hosted a reception on the Senate side of Capitol Hill with Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR), a physician and U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

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Upcoming Briefing on Developing Medications to Treat Addiction

 

On May 11, the Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) coalition is hosting its fourteenth briefing as part of an ongoing series organized by APA's Science GRO staff, to educate members of Congress about emerging research on drug abuse and addiction.  "Developing Medications to Treat Addiction: Implications for Policy and Practice" will discuss the opportunity for the development of new, effective pharmacotherapies in the context of breakthrough discoveries over the last decade and the anticipated changes in the healthcare system over the next several years.  

 

Nora D. Volkow, MD, Director of NIDA, will provide an overview of NIDA's research, detailing opportunities for future advances.  A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, will discuss policy and practice implications. 

 

The last decade has seen a profound transformation in understanding the mechanisms and consequences of drug abuse and addiction.  Click here to view a summary of NIDA's research on medications development.

For more information on the briefing or to RSVP, please email Christine Jamieson.

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About SPIN
APA's Science Government Relations Office (GRO) wants you to know about the important policy issues that involve psychological science at the national level. The Science GRO staff advocate for psychological science not only with Members of Congress, but also with the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Education, Justice, and with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Science Foundation. To keep you up-to-date regarding science policy within these agencies and on Capitol Hill, Science GRO staff write various articles and publish them monthly in an electronic newsletter called Science Policy Insider News (SPIN).

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For additional news from the Science Directorate, please see Psychological Science Agenda.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding SPIN or specific science policy issues, please feel free to contact any of APA's Science GRO staff.

Geoff Mumford, PhD
Associate Executive Director for Government Relations
gmumford@apa.org

Pat Kobor
Senior Science Policy Analyst
pkobor@apa.org

Heather O'Beirne Kelly, PhD
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
hkelly@apa.org

Karen Studwell, JD
Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer
kstudwell@apa.org

Christine Jamieson
Science Policy Associate
cjamieson@apa.org

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