Wake Forest projects worth every penny spent

Three projects at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center were among 100 criticized by Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn in their recent report on federal stimulus spending ("WFU work criticized, defended," Aug. 5). The report is framed as a challenge to how economic-stimulus funds had been spent, but would probably have attracted less attention if the senators had not played on topics such as the use of monkeys in cocaine research, which are inherently controversial. Potentially divisive issues are just the kind that deserve well-informed and thoughtful consideration in a public dialogue.

The senators' report questioned whether these stimulus-funded research projects directly assisted efforts at job creation and economic recovery. The answer to that question is straightforward and undeniable: Yes. Money spent on research supports good jobs for many people in our community.

The three Wake Forest Baptist stimulus projects named by McCain and Coburn helped to create or retain 10 local jobs. But the real economic impact of those and other projects is much greater. Research at Wake Forest Baptist depends not only on the efforts of scientists, but also on the staff that perform engineering, data entry, secretarial, custodial, animal care, veterinary and other work. Our researchers have been awarded 112 stimulus grants totaling about $30 million in addition to the more than $150 million in federal research funding that we already receive annually.

People working at Wake Forest Baptist who are supported by research in turn support the local economy and businesses as they pay for housing, goods, services and their state and local taxes. Finally, money spent on research also moves through the community as scientists purchase supplies and services needed to conduct their experiments. In other words, in addition to supporting world class research, funding of Wake Forest Baptist research stimulates the local economy, retains jobs and creates new ones -- exactly the intended function of the stimulus package.

It is unfortunate that Sens. McCain and Coburn's report failed, for the most part, to give the public a better idea of how these projects contributed to the local economy and how research advances scientific and medical progress. Investments in research, including these stimulus-funded applications, pay off in many ways. Primary among them are advances in knowledge and new discoveries that lead to improved public health. Better prevention, intervention and treatment strategies reduce both the human and economic costs of illness, suffering, disease and mortality. This is the primary goal of all biomedical research.

One major public source for research funding is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Wake Forest Baptist receives significant NIH funding for its outstanding research programs aimed at addressing a wide range of public-health questions. NIH distributed $10.4 billion of the stimulus package, roughly 1 percent of the total stimulus funds, via approximately 12,000 grants to institutions across the nation. More information on the worth of this investment -- how NIH has contributed to breakthroughs and medical advances that save lives and improve human health -- is on its website (http://www.nih.gov/about/NIHoverview.html). Information about substance abuse, addiction and alcohol research can be found on the websites for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. What that factual information clearly shows is that addiction not only causes suffering for millions of Americans, but that it also produces a huge economic burden.

Investments in research that can lead to better treatment and prevention of diseases are tremendously important. These are the principal goals of NIH-funded research projects, including those stimulus-funded projects that McCain and Coburn attempted to ridicule. It is also important to know that all of these projects were approved for funding after going through an extraordinarily competitive and rigorous multi-level review process -- so these are truly outstanding research projects.

Wake Forest Baptist engages in a number of outreach and education programs to foster rational dialogue by providing information and engaging the public in conversations about research. I am the director of one of these. (Another of our outreach programs, which has won national recognition, was listed in the report.) I am also a scientist whose research involves nonhuman primates. While Sens. McCain and Coburn did not cite my work, as a result of both my research and outreach, I know firsthand that these topics provoke a range of reactions -- both positive and negative.

The goal of our outreach programs is to raise public awareness of the invaluable benefits of humanely conducted animal-based studies in improving both human and animal health. As a scientist, educator and community member, I firmly believe that the community is interested in hearing more from us about why our work is essential and what we hope to achieve. This, of course, allows the public to have informed and open discussions that ultimately help set national priorities for research funding through the democratic process.

Allyson J. Bennett is the assistant director for Community Outreach and Education at the Wake Forest University Primate Center.

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