22 Aug Research Into Many Skin Diseases Receives Too Little NIH Funding

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Erika Hagstrom, M.D., M.A.
Preliminary Internal Medicine PGY-1
Loyola University Medical Center 

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Hagstrom: Allocation of funding dollars to research is a critical and daunting task. While many factors may impact research-funding decisions, establishing a transparent priority-setting exercise is paramount. This is particularly important for the National Institutes of Health, which invests over $30 billion for medical research each year. Diseases that have the greatest impact on our population warrant increased research dollars to reduce disease burden. The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) is an epidemiological effort to quantify the global burden of disease in a universal metric called disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Focusing on our particular interest of dermatology, we investigated the 2012-2013 NIH funding for 15 skin diseases and matched this to the corresponding DALY metrics.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Hagstrom: Our results demonstrated that melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, and leprosy were over-funded by the NIH according to DALY metrics. In contrast, dermatitis, acne vulgaris, pruritus, urticaria, decubitus ulcer, fungal skin diseases, alopecia areata, cellulitis, and scabies appeared under-funded. Three skin diseases, bacterial skin diseases, viral skin diseases, and psoriasis, were well-matched in terms of NIH funding and disease burden. Disease burden is one of a myriad of factors that impact funding priorities.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Hagstrom: We hope that our investigation demonstrates the usefulness of high-quality disease burden metrics to inform priority-setting decisions for any funding center.

Citation:

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2015 Sep;73(3):383-391.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2015.04.039. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

Comparing cutaneous research funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the US skin disease burden.

Hagstrom EL¹, Patel S², Karimkhani C³, Boyers LN⁴, Williams HC⁵, Hay RJ⁶, Weinstock MA⁷, Armstrong AW⁸, Dunnick CA⁹, Margolis DJ¹⁰, Dellavalle RP¹¹.

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Erika Hagstrom, M.D., M.A. (2015). Research Into Many Skin Diseases Receives Too Little NIH Funding

Last Updated on August 22, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD