Shortly before the March 1, sequestration deadline took effect, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins warned that the NIH would lose 6.4 percent of its budget, which he called "profound and a devastating blow." He pointed out that NIH had already absorbed a 1.5 percent cut in 2011 funding and that came after several years of incremental budget increases. Dr. Collins noted that "In the last 10 years we have basically an erosion of our buying power for medical research by about 20 percent, simply because the budget has been flat and inflation has been chewing that away."
Now that sequestration has taken effect, directors of four government agencies that are participating in the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo session, Meet the Directors, on Monday, March 11, at 1:00 pm will talk about budget cuts and the impact that sequestration is going to have on their agency. Those directors who are particpating in this informative discussion include: Linda S. Birnbaum, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Michael E. Rogers, National Institute of General Medical Sciences; James H. Johnson, Jr, US Environmental Protection Agency; and W. Allen Robison, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Speakers also will share their perspectives on funding opportunities that are available to support basic and applied research.