NIH director: Medical breakthroughs depend on Congress

And this is precisely why we need a great stroke association that sponsors its own research. Depending on Congress to get anything done is total insanity. From a Faster Cures email.

NIH investments in research have led to advances in understanding and treating myriad diseases, and those advances have increased average human longevity, but political dysfunction puts future breakthroughs at risk, says NIH Director Francis Collins. Budget cuts mean the NIH now rejects the majority of applications to fund worthy research projects, and the sequester only made matters worse. "My greatest concern -- this is the thing that wakes me up at night -- is that a whole generation of scientists are looking at this situation and getting increasingly discouraged and disheartened," Collins said.  The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (11/8)