The School of Science at TCNJ is honored to host Dr. Mark Lively for our Fall 2013 Colloquium Series, on Tuesday, November 12, from 4:00-5:00 pm (SCP-101). Dr. Lively is a biomedical research scientist with extensive experience in the research laboratory and knowledge of the economy of the U.S. research enterprise. In a talk entitled “The Biomedical Research Funding Crisis in the United States,” he will discuss the history and current state of the U.S. biomedical research enterprise and the crisis that science faces today.
“The Biomedical Research Funding Crisis in the United States”
- Tuesday, November 12, 2013
- 4:00-5:00 pm
- Science Complex, Physics Wing, Room P-101
Presentation Overview
The basic biomedical research enterprise in the United States is the best in the world, but it has reached a crisis point not experienced since the creation of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1938. The U.S. National Institutes of Health is the crown jewel of our national dedication to the discovery of new knowledge that will improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens. NIH is the largest source of support for basic biomedical research in the world but its budget is currently inadequate to meet its mission. The acknowledged position of the U.S. as the world leader in biomedical research may be lost in the near future. Many now recognize that the current U.S. model for funding biomedical research is unsustainable. Academic medical centers, research-intensive universities, and other research institutions that conduct biomedical research face serious funding shortages that threaten their very existence. Scientists, institutional administrators, the Congress, and policy makers in the federal funding agencies must work together urgently to create more efficient, sustainable mechanisms to fund and conduct critical basic research.
The presentation will cover:
- How is U.S. biomedical science funded?
- History of funding.
- Impact of science funding on economy and healthcare.
- Factors contributing to current crisis.
- Future directions.
About Dr. Mark Lively
Mark O. Lively, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of biochemistry at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is an analytical biochemist with expertise in protein structure and function. Dr. Lively received his PhD in Chemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology and further training a
s an NIH post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Washington before joining the faculty of the biochemistry department at WFUSM in 1983. He established and directed the Biomolecular Resource Laboratory, a shared resource laboratory of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at WFUSM, that served the research programs at Wake Forest University for 30 years. He was a founding member of the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities, an international society dedicated to advancing core and research biotechnology laboratories, and served as its president from 2001-2002. Dr. Lively directed the Wake Forest University graduate program in Molecular Genetics and Genomics and taught biochemistry, bioinformatics, and molecular biology in the Wake Forest University graduate and medical schools.
Dr. Lively is an active advocate for national science policy issues and biomedical research funding. He is currently a member of the Public Affairs Advisory Committee of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He was appointed to the board of directors for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) in 2004. FASEB represents 27 professional scientific societies with more than 110,000 member scientists. Dr. Lively was elected to serve as FASEB Vice President for Science Policy (2006-2007), President (2009-2010), and most recently as Treasurer (2013-2016). As a member of the FASEB Science Policy team, Dr. Lively has been an advocate for science policy and federal funding of scientific research in the U.S. Congress and the White House.
He has advised the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than 25 years, serving on a wide range of research grant review committees. He has been a member of the NIH National Advisory Research Resources Council (2009-2011) and the Council of Councils (2011-2013) that advises the Office of the NIH Director through its Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives. He has a deep understanding of U.S. biomedical research funding and policy issues.
For More Information:
- Dr. Lively’s Profile page
- Dr. Lively’s website
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- NIH Council of Councils
- Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
- FASEB Board of Directors
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
