Public Policy

Among AIMBE's most important roles is promotion of public policies - particularly at the federal level - that foster continued advancement in medical and biological engineering. AIMBE's leaders and membership work with representatives of other scientific and medical organizations to educate public officials (in both the legislative and executive branches), regulators, the media and the general public about developments in the field. They also press for constructive legislative and regulatory measures that will help researchers and industry stay on the cutting edge.

For the period 2006-2008, AIMBE's foremost public policy objectives are to:

• Strongly support federal legislation aimed at accelerating the pace of innovation in medical and biological engineering - including measures to remove procedural and funding barriers such as those cited in the National Academies' landmark report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. Among the initiatives backed by AIMBE are:

  • Doubling National Science Foundation (NSF) Funding between FY 2006 and FY 2011 (a long-standing goal of the scientific community)
  • Modernizing and permanently extending the federal R&D tax credit
  • Providing more money to for science and math education, so that we can properly prepare the next generation of American scientists and engineers
  • Enactment of the Protecting America's Competitive Edge Acts (PACE), intended to help the U.S. maintain its technological leadership through greater investments in basic research and in the education of future scientists and engineers.
  • Assuring smaller biotech companies of a share of federal R&D funding via the Save Biotechnology Innovative Research Act (SABIR).
    
  
  

• Increase funding for research in medical and biological engineering throughout the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with the specific goals of growing the budget of National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to $1 billion in five years and providing added funding to support young innovators. Through coalitions such as The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, Research!America and the Coalition for Health Funding, AIMBE works hard to achieve appropriate funding levels for NIH, CDC and other vital components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Within NIH, AIMBE is working to increase funding for NIBIB, which has been under-funded from its beginning.

• Continue and expand AIMBE's strategic communications program to educate public policy makers, the media and the general public about the valuable role that medical and biological engineering plays. The AIMBE Hall of Fame is a key communications and educational tool.

• Identify and promote best practices for cooperation between academia, government and industry regarding the transfer of engineering innovations and biomedical education.

• Activate or create partnerships with leaders in business, consumer organizations, education and the health professions, thereby increasing support for the contributions made by medical and biological engineering to society and helping break down barriers to further innovation.

• Aggressively promote greater participation by women and minorities in bioengineering, and encourage the growth and enhancement of science and mathematics education in America's high schools and colleges so that more young people, overall, can be brought into science and engineering careers. AIMBE's Women in Bioengineering Committee leads the organization's advocacy efforts.

• Collaborate with the FDA in support of its regulatory mission. An AIMBE/FDA Working Group has been formed to address barriers to innovation found in the existing FDA process. AIMBE Fellows are recognized as potentially valuable ad hoc experts for the FDA's work, and both sides are working to develop appropriate roles for the Fellows in helping FDA carry out its mission.

• Cooperate with like-minded and related coalitions to further advance the federal basic and applied research and development (R&D) budget for the federal departments of Energy, Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services. Together with its coalition partners, AIMBE is advocating for an immediate investment in federal basic and applied research, contrary to the proposed White House FY2007 budget which illustrates a 3.3% reduction in the research outlay. AIMBE's Council of Societies is active on this front, providing a mechanism to coordinate and enhance interaction on public policy and other matters among 14 scientific organizations in medical and biological engineering.