On March 26, University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor and Associate Director of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Sterling Johnson provided testimony on the importance and urgency of National Institutes for Health (NIH) investments in research at a forum on Capitol Hill hosted by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
The forum highlighted how deep cuts, staffing layoffs and delayed funding at NIH will impact life-saving research and outcomes for patients battling cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and other serious illnesses. Along with Johnson, panelists included the former Director of NIH Monica Bertagnolli, Emory University Associate Professor and Alzheimer’s disease researcher Whitney Wharton, and two patients who have benefitted from NIH clinical trials — Jessy Ybarra, a veteran living with ALS who serves on the ALS Association Board of Directors, and Larry Saltzman, a retired physician living with leukemia and former executive research director for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Johnson, who previously spoke at a news conference at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health to reinforce the importance of NIH funding in maintaining a strong biohealth ecosystem in the state, provided testimony on the role of NIH funding in the Alzheimer’s disease field and the urgency of continued investment.
“I’m here to emphasize the critical importance of NIH funding in the fight against Alzheimer’s — a disease that is one of our greatest public health and economic challenges,” said Johnson. He emphasized the growing prevalence of the disease in the United States, which impacts more than 6.9 million Americans and is projected to double by 2050 without effective solutions.
“Every setback costs lives and quality of life and increases the already staggering $345 billion annual cost of Alzheimer’s care,” noted Johnson.