HudsonAlpha President Rick Myers, center, on the panel at the Research!America National Health Research Forum.
Huntsville, Ala. — The key to growing and sustaining future medical and health research comes down to expanding and improving education of the public, politicians and future scientists on the tremendous value this research brings to our nation and our economy. That is the message HudsonAlpha President and Science Director Rick Myers brought to the National Health Research Forum – sponsored by Research!America and held today in Washington, D.C.
Myers and other research leaders convened with directors of top federal health research agencies for the forum to discuss the state of medical research today and the need to do more to make progress on a number of key health issues.
Myers spoke about the future of medical and health research over the next decade and what it will take to achieve results as a part of a panel of national health leaders, including National Science Foundation Director France Cordova and American Cancer Society CEO John Seffrin.
“We have to inspire the nation,” Myers said. “Sixty to 70 percent of our economy comes from progress made in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A culture that supports young people in science will help the U.S. remain a leader in innovation.”
In addition to applying cutting-edge genomic technology to a wide spectrum of life sciences field and accelerating the movement of solutions from research labs to the lives of patients, a significant piece of HudsonAlpha’s three-fold mission is to prepare the future biotechnology workforce and cultivate genetic literacy for all citizens. Educational outreach has been an active part of HudsonAlpha since it’s founding, with a reach of more than 400,000 individuals each year.
Research!America is the nation’s largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance committed to making research to improve health a higher national priority. Research!America’s annual national forum brings together top leaders in government, industry, academia, patient advocacy organizations and the media to engage in dialogue concerning key medical, health and scientific research issues.
Media Contact:
Heather Smith
256-327-9508
communications@hudsonalpha.org
About HudsonAlpha: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit institute dedicated to innovating in the field of genomic technology and sciences across a spectrum of biological problems. Its mission is three-fold: sparking scientific discoveries that can impact human health and well-being; fostering biotech entrepreneurship; and encouraging the creation of a genomics-literate workforce and society. The HudsonAlpha biotechnology campus consists of 152 acres nestled within Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second largest research park. Designed to be a hothouse of biotech economic development, HudsonAlpha’s state-of-the-art facilities co-locate scientific researchers with entrepreneurs and educators. The relationships formed on the HudsonAlpha campus allow serendipity to yield results in medicine and agriculture. Since opening in 2008, HudsonAlpha, under the leadership of Dr. Richard M. Myers, a key collaborator on the Human Genome Project, has built a name for itself in genetics and genomics research and biotech education, and boasts 27 biotech companies on campus.
