Faculty Speaks Out Against Funding Cuts for Cancer Research

 

Researcher Scott Kachlany

Dr. Scott Kachlany's decade-long research into a promising therapy for leukemia and lymphoma would not have been possible without federal funding from the National Institute of Health  and the National Cancer Institute.

He knows what's at stake if the government slashes budgets for the NIH and NCI, which are already suffering from scaled back funding and slated to lose a total of $8.4 billion under the White House budget plan.

"There are more than 1. 5 million cancer survivors in America today,'' Kachlany wrote in an op-ed published in Sunday's Star-Ledger.  "Each have benefitted from groundbreaking scientific discoveries in the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer.''

In the Star-Ledger, Kachlany, a guest columnist, described his own research, funded by more than more than $1 million in NIH grants and money from the NIC. "The funding has resulted in the fascinating discovery that a bacterium living in our mouths produces a molecule that can eliminate cancerous white blood cells from the body,'' he explained.

In August, Kachlany also received a $4.4 million commitment in venture capital to develop the potential therapy, called Leukothera, via his pharmaceutical company, Actionbac Biomed Inc. Within the next two years, he hopes to start human clinical trials.

Kachlany called upon government leaders, including House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of the  R-11th Congressional District, to reject the cuts in favor of a $2 billion increase in NIH funds.

"Congress has a rare chance to make a serious impact against cancer,'' Kachlany wrote. "At a time when this nation is divided on so many issues, here is a moment for lawmakers to stand together and make a difference in something that affects almost every person in this country.''