April 29, 2011
2011
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| April 29 , 2011 |
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advocacy@thoracic.org
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Stem Cell Research
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a district court judge ruling that blocked federal support for embryonic stem cell research last August. In a 2 – 1 decision, Appeals Court Judges Douglas Ginsburg and Thomas Griffith, ruled against U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth’s preliminary injunction, which had temporarily halted NIH-supported stem cell research last summer. The NIH’s research in this area resumed after the appeals court ruled against the injunction while it considered the case.
Although today’s decision is a victory for stem cell research supporters such as the ATS, the matter is not yet closed. The original lawsuit, filed by two adult stem cell scientists, will continue before Judge Lamberth, who has not yet held a trial on the case. The plaintiffs argue that in expanding the number of stem cell lines eligible for federally supported research, President Obama’s executive order endangered funding for adult stem cell research. Judge Lamberth could issue a final ruling without a court trial based on court filings alone. While the final outcome is pending, the ATS continues to support legislation codifying federal support of stem cell research.
CLEAN AIR
ATS Testifies before the House Interior/Environment Appropriations Subcommittee
Earlier this month, ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee member Anthony Szema, MD, presented ATS testimony before the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. The subcommittee has funding jurisdiction over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In his comments, Dr. Szema called for increased funding for the EPA to implement the Clean Air Act and conduct further research on the health effects of air pollution.
Dr. Szema called attention to the House of Representatives recent efforts in the the House of Representatives to scale back or delay the EPA’s authority to regulate air pollution under the Clean Air Act. Dr. Szema took special effort to respond to subcommittee members who discount or dismiss the health effects of global climate change and noted that the ATS recently hosted a workshop on the respiratory health effects of climate change.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
ATS Submits Comments on MSHA’s Coal Dust Exposure Standard
This week, the American Thoracic Society submitted comments on the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) proposal to issue strict standards for exposure to coal dust for mine works. The MSHA-proposed rules would create stricter exposure standards and would require the use of personal dust monitors and other sophisticated monitoring devices to better protect miners from coal dust exposure.
The ATS comments noted the literature demonstrating adverse health effects for miners exposed to coal dust at current standards, supported MSHA efforts to issue revised standards, and provided technical guidance on how to implement appropriate coal dust exposure monitoring.
RESEARCH
NIH Creates New Working Group on Research Workforce
This week, the NIH Office of the Director announced the creation of a new working group on the future of the biomedical research workforce. The working group will make recommendations to the NIH Director’s Advisory Committee on cultivating a sustainable and diverse biomedical and behavioral research workforce by seeking input from researchers, scientific societies, students and grantee institutions. A key product of the group’s work will be development of a model for a sustainable and diverse workforce which to guide decisions on workforce size and optimal training.
The working group will consider questions, including:
- What is the right size of the workforce?
- What are the appropriate types of positions that should be supported to allow people to have successful careers and to continue to advance biomedical and behavioral sciences?
- What is the best way to support these various positions?
- What types of training should be provided?
The following are the members of the External Working Group on the Future of the Biomedical Workforce:
Shirley Tilghman, PhD, President, Princeton University, Co-Chair
Sally Rockey, PhD, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Co-Chair
Sandra Degen, PhD, Vice President for Research, University of Cincinnati
Laura Forese, MD, Chief Medical Officer, New York Presbyterian Hosp.
Freeman Hrabowski, PhD, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
James Jackson, PhD, Director, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Leemor Joshua-Tor, PhD, Dean, Watson School of Biological Sciences Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Richard Lifton, M.D., PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Yale
Garry Neil, MD, V.P., Corp. Office of Science & Technology, Johnson & Johnson
Naomi Rosenberg, PhD, Dean, Sackler School of Grad. Biomedical Sciences, Tufts.
Bruce A. Weinberg, PhD, John Glenn School of Public Affairs, Ohio State University
Keith Yamamoto, PhD, Vice Dean, UCSF
The Washington Letter is written by the American Thoracic Society government relations office and emailed to all ATS members living in the United States. The letter keeps clinicians, scientists, and patients abreast of legislative, judicial, and regulatory issues in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. Each week's edition is archived on the ATS Web site, www.thoracic.org. If you have any questions or one more information about becoming involved in advocacy, please contact the ATS Washington office at 202-296-9770.
