ARLINGTON, Va.– February 6, 2020 — Senator Mike B. Enzi (R-WY) and Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18) will receive the Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy for the pivotal roles they have played in accelerating life-saving medical progress. Research!America will honor these leaders at its Advocacy Awards Dinner on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
“Congresswoman Eshoo and Senator Enzi have each contributed in extraordinary ways to strengthening our nation’s biomedical R&D pipeline and public health capacity,” said Research!America Chair, the Honorable Michael N. Castle. “Under their leadership, public and private sector-fueled research is building knowledge and saving lives at an unprecedented pace to the profound benefit of us all.”
Throughout his 22-year tenure on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Senator Enzi’s leadership and vision has been instrumental in shaping an efficient and effective discovery, development, and delivery ecosystem in the U.S. that drives desperately needed solutions for patients. His stewardship has strengthened key research and public health agencies including NIH, FDA, CDC, and AHRQ, and shepherded mechanisms to ensure basic research translates into a wide diversity of new treatments and technologies. Among his numerous contributions, Senator Enzi helped ensure our nation responded aggressively to the AIDS crisis and has played a lead role in addressing longstanding gaps in autism research and support.
“I am honored to receive the Whitehead Award and I congratulate Congresswoman Eshoo,” Enzi said. “Throughout my career, my goal has been to help Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care. Medical research is a critical part of helping folks. I am hopeful we can build on the progress we’ve made so we can continue to save lives, create jobs, and lower health care costs.”
Congresswoman Eshoo chairs the Health Subcommittee of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee. She is an outspoken advocate for bolstering funding for the National Institutes of Health and has played a central role in advancing numerous policy changes to responsibly speed medical advances to patients. Rep. Eshoo has written landmark bipartisan legislation to promote the development of new lifesaving cures in biologic drugs; protect patients’ genetic information from being used to discriminate against them; modernize how the FDA regulates and approves medical devices; and promote the development of medicines specifically for children.
“It’s a great honor to be chosen to receive the Whitehead Award from Research!America with Senator Mike Enzi,” said Congresswoman Eshoo. “Today’s medical discoveries are made possible by strong federal investments in research which help lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs. Research!America’s advocacy has helped shift U.S. medical research into high gear, and I’m grateful to them for their work and this award.”
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Research!America’s 2020 Advocacy Awards dinner honors exceptional individuals and organizations in advocacy for medical, health, and scientific research. The Whitehead Award, named in honor of Research!America founder Edwin C. “Jack” Whitehead recognizes exemplary leaders, particularly those in public office, who have demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing medical and health research as a national priority and who galvanize others in support of science.
Other 2020 Research!America Advocacy Award honorees are renowned soprano Renee Fleming; former president of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Bruce Alberts; distinguished professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr. Myron “Mike” Levine; chief scientific officer of Sanofi, Dr. Gary Nabel; director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Paul Offit; professor in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health at Emory University, Dr. Michael M.E. Johns; chair of the John E. Fogarty Foundation for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Mary Fogarty McAndrew; and The National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
About Research!America’s Advocacy Awards Dinner
Established in 1996 by the Research!America Board of Directors, the annual Advocacy Awards program honors outstanding advocates for medical, health, and scientific research. The program recognizes individuals and organizations with extraordinary leadership efforts who have been effective in advancing our nation’s commitment to medical, health, and other scientific research. This year the awards event will take place on March 11, 2020 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit //www.
About Research!America
The Research!America alliance advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all. Visit //www.
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