Researchers Seek Stimulus Funding
Proposals are submitted by Tufts scientists for projects to evaluate treatment options
Tufts medical researchers have submitted 90 grant proposals to the federal government in an effort to obtain some of the $13 billion in stimulus funding earmarked for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
More than 30 of the projects were submitted as NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research, a new initiative that will allocate a minimum of $200 million to 200 or more projects designed to evaluate outcomes of various treatment options for given medical conditions.
Separately, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced during a June 5 visit to Tufts Medical Center that nearly $200 million of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will support loan repayments for primary-care medical, dental and mental health clinicians in exchange for two years of service with the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).
Over the last four decades, NHSC has placed more than 30,000 health-care providers in underserved and economically distressed regions of the country. The new funds are expected to double the number of NHSC clinicians who care for uninsured and underserved people.
After her announcement, Sebelius toured the Tufts Floating Hospital for Children and held a town hall-style discussion with health-care experts and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick on the need for health-care reform.
