Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2.27 Million In Medical Research Grants For Illinois

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2.27 Million In Medical Research Grants For Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $2,276,880 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to Illinois institutions. A large portion of the funding will be put towards research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from cancer research to research related to deafness.

"Serious federal investment in medical research pushes our society forward, bringing us new treatments for the conditions that impact so many American families," said Durbin. "Illinois' world-class research institutions will make good use of this federal funding to make devastating diseases like cancer more treatable and support prevention programs."

"Investing in our world-renowned medical research facilities and institutions plays a critical part in ensuring high quality health care for all Illinoisans," Duckworth said. "I will keep working with Senator Durbin to make sure our health organizations have the federal support they need to continue improving cancer research, expanding access to prevention programs and providing reliable care to families across Illinois."

Recipients of HHS grants related to medical research include:

1. Northwestern University at Chicago (Cancer Biology Research): $502,563
2. Northwestern University (Biological Research Related to Deafness and Communicative Disorders): $200,000
3. University of Illinois at Chicago (Cancer Biology Research Related to T-Cell Lymphomas): $485,707
4. University of Illinois at Chicago (Cancer Biology Research Related to Ovarian Cancer): $621,782
5. University of Chicago (Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry Research): $466,828

Durbin has long been a strong advocate for robust medical research. His legislation, the American Cures Act, would provide annual budget increases of five percent plus inflation at America's top four biomedical research agencies: the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense Health Program, and the Veterans Medical and Prosthetics Research Program. Thanks to Durbin's efforts to increase medical research funding, Congress has provided NIH with a 60 percent funding increase over the past nine years.

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