The importance of the coalition of skin diseases to dermatologic research

TY - JOUR

T1 - The importance of the coalition of skin diseases to dermatologic research

AU - Bergstresser, Paul R.

N1 - Funding Information: A simple personal experience illustrates the power of the Coalition of Skin Diseases. For many years, members of the coalition, along with representatives from the SID and the AAD, and supported by representatives of the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, have held an annual education event for members of Congress in Washington, DC. The point of this exercise, which continues today, is to keep research opportunities and activities on the agenda for members of Congress, who ultimately are responsible for funding by the NIH. For more than 10 years, I participated in this event. It was organized to enable small groups to visit congressional offices and to promote medical research in general, using evidence about patients with skin diseases. Each group includes at least one individual from a congressional district (or from a state when visiting a Senate office), one individual from an advocacy group, and one scientist. These groups then visit congressional “staffers,” or, if lucky, the member of Congress. The reception is invariably cordial. Funding Information: Perhaps the most telling observation from these visits is that staffers and congressional representatives embrace the coalition members, but are not especially interested in speaking to the scientists, at least initially. I surmise that my presence (as a scientist) might be seen as self-serving because investigator salaries are included in grant requests to the NIH. On the other hand, members of the coalition have no apparent conflict of interest. They are strictly advocates for research funding, seeking benefits only for patients. They know the diseases, and they describe them well. The visual materials they present are outstanding and overwhelming, as images of skin diseases usually are. In these meetings, it is a relief to hear the coalition members state authoritatively their advocacy for funding by federal agencies, including the NIH and the National Science Foundation. We scientists can then affirm our interest in studying the disease for the benefit of others. Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2010/5

Y1 - 2010/5

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77951084381&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77951084381&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/jid.2010.41

DO - 10.1038/jid.2010.41

M3 - Editorial

C2 - 20393468

AN - SCOPUS:77951084381

VL - 130

SP - 1193

EP - 1194

JO - Journal of Investigative Dermatology

JF - Journal of Investigative Dermatology

SN - 0022-202X

IS - 5

ER -