Investments in NIH support the work of researchers whose discoveries and innovations save lives and improve the health and well-being of Americans, while investments in NSF support basic research discoveries that serve as the foundation for our nation’s innovation ecosystem. Share these important messages with your Members of Congress about how NIH and NSF are engines for both medical and economic progress. Download, print, and distribute these 1-pagers to Congressional staff during your Capitol Hill visits.

AIMBE Flash is the fastest way to catch up with today’s news at the intersection of public policy and biomedical innovation. Each issue tells you what you need to know this week, which issues are emerging, and an interesting development. Additionally, AIMBE Flash has a curated selection of AIMBE Fellowbook News, the best place to see what the leaders of medical and biological engineering are accomplishing today. AIMBE Flash ends with the “Big Number”–a surprising statistic that is indicative of our changing world.

When you join AIMBE in Standing Up for Science, we’ll keep you informed about the public policies shaping the medical and biological engineering community. We monitor and analyze policy developments and participate in coalitions to add our voice to public policy decisions.

• Sign-up to receive our bi-weekly public policy newsletter, FLASH. AIMBE reports on the public policies and federal budget issues that affect medical and biological engineering.
• Join the AIMBE LinkedIn group to stay connected and follow @AIMBE on Twitter.
• Attend the AIMBE Annual Event and hear from public policy experts at the intersection of science and policy.
• Join and participate in the AIMBE Academic Council. The Council serves as a venue to come together and discuss current issues and acts as a forum to raise the national visibility and advocate for the fields of medical and biological engineering.

Among AIMBE’s most important roles is the promotion of public policies that foster continued advancement in medical and biological engineering (MBE). We educate public officials, regulators, the media and general public about the positive impact MBE has on virtually every sector of society. AIMBE advocates for public policy solutions that assistant our community at each stage of the innovation ecosystem–from the research lab to the bedside of a patient.

Bringing Engineers to Washington

• Showcasing Biotech Innovations on Capitol Hill. AIMBE highlights the importance of federal science funding by providing Congressional staff with live bioengineering demos through an interactive exhibition.
• AIMBE Advocates for NSF. AIMBE is a member of the Coalition for National Science Funding–an alliance of over 140 professional organizations and universities–and advocates for increasing federal investments in NSF.
• AIMBE Congressional Lunch Briefings. AIMBE hosts a series of Congressional Lunch Briefings for Members of Congress and their staff highlighting ground-breaking medical and biological engineering research.
• AIMBE Storms the Hill to Advocate for MBE. Each year during AIMBE’s Annual Event, Fellows from across the country travel to Washington, DC to meet with their lawmakers and advocate for medical and biological engineering.
• AIMBE Advocates for DOD Science. AIMBE highlights the importance of federal science funding for the Department of Defense by participating in a Veterans Technology Showcase hosted by the Congressional R&D Caucus.

Making the Case for Federal Investments in Engineering and Medicine

• AIMBE Joins Congressional Research and Development Caucus Advisory Committee. In this role, AIMBE helps to bring important issues to the attention of Congress by shaping briefings and hearings for Members and their staff.
• AIMBE Congressional Staff Tours of NIH. AIMBE provides Congressional staff with their first look inside the NIH, witnessing cutting-edge bioengineering technologies first-hand at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)–the largest Congressional event the NIH has seen to date!
• Making the Case for Public Investments in Medical Technology. An AIMBE Voice opinion paper published by Science Translational Medicine argues Americans have always embraced innovation but today there is a failure in making the case for public investments in medical-technology.
• AIMBE Congressional Staff Tours of FDA. This tour, and AIMBE’s congressional tours of NIH, are part of AIMBE’s expanded advocacy efforts to inform key House and Senate staffers about the role of federal funding for medical device innovation, from the early stages of discovery funded by NIH, to regulatory approval by FDA.

Educating the Next Generation on Public Policy

• Educating Graduate Students about Public Policy. AIMBE hosts a 2-day workshop for graduate students to learn from Washington insiders about how public policies impact biomedical engineering innovation.
• University Public Policy Lecture Series. AIMBE has launched a new lecture series on the campuses of colleges and universities across the country to discuss Congress and medical and biological engineering.