AACI Commentary

Exploring Topics of Interest to AACI Cancer Centers

To promote the work of its member centers, AACI publishes Commentary, an editorial series focusing on major issues of common interest to North American cancer centers. 

Each AACI Commentary is written by a cancer center leader or subject matter expert and distributed by email to over 3,500 subscribers of the AACI Update newsletter. 

The publication is designed to cover a specific topic in 750-1,000 words. Recommendations for topics and authors are encouraged. 

Please submit suggestions to: 

Chris Zurawsky
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
412-802-6775

Emily Stimmel
Communications and External Relations Manager
412-647-0504

2022 AACI/AACR Hill Day Highlights Importance of Strong Funding, Continued Advocacy

By Jaren Love

On June 15, AACI jointly hosted the 2022 virtual Hill Day with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). During 87 meetings with legislators, cancer center directors, researchers, physician-scientists, cancer survivors, and other advocates made the case for robust, sustained federal investments in biomedical research—and cancer research in particular—through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). 

For Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, AACI is advocating for an increase of $4.1 billion for the NIH. We are also asking Congress to provide at least $7.766 billion—a roughly $850 million increase—for the NCI in FY 2023, in line with the NCI director’s professional judgment budget.

These increases are especially important now, in light of President Joe Biden’s focus on the ARPA-H and Cancer Moonshot 2.0 initiatives and ongoing concerns regarding the discrepancy between the percentage of research grants funded by the NCI and that of other NIH institutes. 

Read the June 2022 Commentary.