Posted by Al Gordon on October 26, 1998 at 21:21:14:
In Reply to: Re: Special Initiative in Autoimmune Disease Research posted by Sandy Donchess on October 25, 1998 at 22:57:56:
Sandy,
You ask some really good questions about how to influence the NIAID and the NIDDK to concentrate on what we can do NOW for people with diabetes. Here are the contacts I know of at NIAID:
Dr. Elaine Collier is a member of the Type 1 Diabetes Sub-Group of the Diabetes Research Working Group (DRWG). I have met her on several occasions, and she is an active participant in setting priorities for NIH-funded type 1 diabetes research.
Elaine S. Collier, M.D.
Chief, Autoimmunity Section, NIAID, NIH
email: ecollier_AT_mercury.niaid.nih.gov
name: Elaine Collier
alias: ec5x
nickname: ec
phone: 301-496-7104
address: Solar Bldg, Room 4A20
: 6003 EXECUTIVE BLVD MSC 7640
: Bethesda, MD 20892-7640
IC: NIAID
fax: 301-402-2571
title: Chief, Autoimmunity Section
lastname: Collier
verified_by_user: 31 Jan 1996 15:41:57
Dr. Fauci is is Director of NIAID and an official member of the DRWG. Although I cannot recall meeting him at the DRWG sessions, that could be my oversight.
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
email: afauci_AT_flash.niaid.nih.gov
name: Anthony Fauci
alias: af10r
nickname: afauci
title: Director, NIAID
lastname: Fauci
verified_by_user: yes
As you suggest, Sandy, perhaps if these people receive enough clearly argued letters telling why islet transplantation without immunosuppression is the only near term hope for restoring normoglycemia, they may just listen. It is human nature to see any challenge through a lens of one's own speciality and interest, and these researchers are no different in that respect.
Like you, I am open to ideas for exerting some influence on the most influential medical research funding body in the US, if not the world!
Let's just hatch the damned bird, and see if it flies. Afterwards, we'll worry about how it flies.
Al