Thursday, March 02, 2023

 Dr. Bianca Islam is one of 20 in the country chosen to advocate for federal cancer funding in Washington, D.C.

CLEVELAND– The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will host the eighth annual AACR Early-career Hill Day on March 2, 2023.
 
Twenty students, trainees, and early-career scientists and physicians who conduct cancer research in institutions across the country will travel to Washington, D.C., for the event.Bianca Islam, MD, PhD is a research fellow in the University Hospitals (UH) Department of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and is mentored by Gregory Cooper, MD, and Fabio Cominelli, MD, PhD.
 
Her research focuses on inflammatory bowel disease and also inflammation driven colon cancer. She has represented UH Seidman Cancer Center (SCC) for the AACR Capitol Hill early research days since 2020.  In addition to Dr. Islam, this year’s participants represent 11 states and will meet with more than 40 members of Congress and their staffs.
 
The AACR Early-career Hill Day is an opportunity for graduate and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and other early-career cancer researchers to meet with members of Congress and/or their staffs to convey the importance of robust, sustained, and predictable federal funding for medical research. The participants will call on Congress to provide at least $50.924 billion for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) foundational work, a $3.465 billion increase over the fiscal year (FY) 2023 program level. They will also encourage members of Congress to provide $9.988 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), an increase of $2.6 billion, as recommended in the NCI Director’s Professional Judgment Budget.
 
In conjunction with the Hill Day on March 2, the AACR is inviting early-career researchers around the country to participate in a National Day of Action by contacting their members of Congress via email or social media. The AACR has launched a campaign through its Legislative Action Center for sending emails to Congress. Individuals are also encouraged to tweet messages in support of NIH funding using the hashtags #AACRontheHill and #FundNIH.
 
Beyond the AACR Early-career Hill Day, the AACR supports and engages early-career scientists through the Associate Member Council, Science Education and Career Advancement Committee, and other Association groups, as well as through various professional advancement programs, career initiatives, grants, travel awards, and membership and mentoring opportunities available throughout the year.