National Institutes of Health

On Earth Day, Kansas City's March For Science Aims To Show Science Isn't Conspiracy

By Andrea Tudhope • Apr 22, 2017

A short march from 27th and Grand to Washington Square Park kicked off Kansas City's "March for Science" Saturday morning. One of hundreds around the world, the event was intended "to voice the critical role that science plays in each of our lives."

Yoder, Jenkins Help Craft Act Providing More Research Funding For NIH, Mental Health

By Andy Marso • Dec 2, 2016

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote early next week on a major medical research and mental health bill that two members of the Kansas congressional delegation played a role in.

Kansas Economist’s Research Shows How Race And Gender Matter For Research Grant Awards

By Alex Smith • Sep 1, 2016

University of Kansas economist Donna Ginther made waves in 2011 with her studies showing racial disparities in research grant awards, which led the National Institutes of Health to start an initiative to address the issue. She says the problem isn’t necessarily bias on the part of those who award grants but lack of mentors and training for diverse communities.

Ginther recently sat down with KCUR’s Alex Smith to talk about her latest work on the issue, which factors in gender. She and her colleagues looked at NIH R01 grants awarded between 2000 and 2006.

Kansas Rep. Yoder Recognized For His Support Of Federal Science Funding

By Elle Moxley • Aug 8, 2016

U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder’s efforts to secure increased funding for the National Institutes of Health has earned him recognition from The Science Coalition.

Yoder convinced more than 100 Republican lawmakers to sign a letter calling for the largest increase in NIH funding since 2003.

Sen. Blunt Talks Health Research And Guns During Kansas City Stop

By Elle Moxley • Jan 5, 2016

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt was at Kansas City-based MRIGlobal Tuesday to talk about the importance of increased funding for the National Institutes of Health.

NIH received an additional $2 billion in the omnibus spending bill that passed last month, a funding increase of 6.6 percent.

That’s the biggest increase in a decade, although Blunt pointed out that wasn’t hard to accomplish “because there hadn’t been an increase in NIH funding since 2003,” when Congress made a commitment to double funding for health research.

Yoder Stresses Importance Of Federal Biomedical Research

By Alex Smith • Aug 19, 2014

A forum in Overland Park Tuesday morning drew attention to the importance of National Institutes of Health funding. U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, NIH official Christopher Austin and University of Kansas officials spoke before an audience of about 150 at KU’s Edwards campus. Yoder, a Kansas Republican, said that while he’s concerned with the federal deficit and overspending, he supports NIH funding.

KU Med Gets $3 Million To Study The Effect Of Exercise On Alzheimer’s

By Alex Smith • Sep 27, 2013

With help from a new grant, University of Kansas Medical Center researchers will look at how Alzheimer's might be prevented without drugs. Pharmaceutical companies haven’t had much success fighting the disease, which is the most common form of dementia.

KU Med Dr. Jeff Burns will have older high risk volunteers in the study exercise 150 minutes a week. Burns will scan volunteers’ brains to see how exercise affects amyloid protein, which is linked to the disease.

Burns says even if exercise can only hold off Alzheimer’s, it could make a big difference.

KU Researcher Finds Racial Disparity In NIH Grants

By Susan B. Wilson & Monica Sandreczki • Jan 17, 2013

When researchers submit proposals to the National Institutes of Health to get funding, they don’t indicate their race or ethnicity. But black researchers are a third less likely than other equally-qualified researchers to receive NIH funding.