Tag Archives: politics

Staying the Course to Where?

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, made a request of the ME/CFS community. During the March 8, 2016 NIH telebriefing, Dr. Collins said: So please take our commitment with great seriousness. Please also stay the course … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 4/18/16

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

It was a light week for RFAs in general, but NIH still committed almost $7 million to areas that are not ME/CFS. Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 188 (October 2015 to date) Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,914,725,000 (October 2015 … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 4/4/16

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Last week was a big one for RFA news. NIH issued revised responses to the August 2015 CFS Advisory Committee recommendations. Regarding RFAs, NIH said: “The Trans-NIH ME/CFS Working Group is in the final stages of putting together a comprehensive … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 3/28/16

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

As I mentioned last week, these numbers apply to NIH issued RFAs only, not FDA or other agency-funded RFAs. Also, I think it might help to review some terminology. “RFA” stands for a Request for Applications. This mechanism sets money … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 3/21/16

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

I’ve reexamined the RFA data, and found a total of 12 out of 174 RFAs that are actually being funded by FDA. I’ve removed the dollar figures being set aside by FDA from the weekly and overall totals. I also … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 3/14/16

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

During the March 8, 2016 NIH conference call with ME/CFS advocates, I asked Dr. Walter Koroshetz of NINDS if he could commit to the community that an RFA would be forthcoming. He said no, and then qualified the answer by … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 3/7/16

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Just one RFA last week, and it wasn’t for ME/CFS. The wait continues. Total RFAs Issued by NIH: 150 (October 2015 to date) Total Dollars Committed to RFAs: $1,612,990,000 (October 2015 to date) Total RFAs for ME/CFS: ZERO (October 2015 … Continue reading →

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We Are All Noncompliant

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

I learned something about ME/CFS advocacy from a comic book. Now wait, stay with me. I realize this sounds bizarre, especially coming from me. I haven’t read a comic book since I was eight years old. Enter Bitch Planet, a … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 2/29/16

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

Hefty numbers are piling up: we’ve cracked $1.6 billion in RFAs since October 2015, with $30 million being obligated just in the last week. Still nothing for ME/CFS. But hey, NIH is “looking for funding” for ME/CFS initiatives. Imagine a … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 2/22/16

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Jennie Spotila

The RFA Ticker continues to show a big fat ZERO for ME/CFS research, but there is one interesting bit of research-related bit news. NIH has issued an updated notice about the Lipkin samples. These samples were collected as part of … Continue reading →

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