Events

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Informs Congressional Appropriator David Joyce about Research Benefits

Left to right:  Suber Huang, M.D., M.B.A., Cong. David Joyce, Jonathan Lass, M.D. and Krzysztof Palczewski, Ph.D.
Left to right: Suber Huang, M.D., M.B.A., Cong. David Joyce, Jonathan Lass, M.D. and Krzysztof Palczewski, Ph.D.

On May 28, the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine hosted Congressman David Joyce (R-OH), a freshman member of the House of Representatives whose district includes Cleveland’s eastern suburbs. Elected in 2012 to fill the seat of the recently-retired Congressman Steve LaTourette, Joyce is a member of House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee, with funding jurisdiction over the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Eye Institute (NEI), and currently serves as co-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus. CWRU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Chair and Director of the University Hospitals Eye Institute, Jonathan Lass, M.D., organized the visit after an introduction by NAEVR, which worked closely with Dr. Lass and provided key talking points.

CWRU Medical School Dean Pamela Davis, M.D., Ph.D.; Ophthalmology Department Vice Chairman Suber Huang, M.D., M.B.A.; Pharmacology Chair Krzysztof Palczewski, Ph.D.; and Dr. Lass discussed with Joyce the tremendous potential presented by federally-funded basic and applied science, highlighting the regional, state, and national benefits of translating cutting edge research from bench to bedside. Joyce further spoke at length with CWRU’s researchers and leadership on the benefits of attracting corporate support for research and creating start-up companies to commercialize new medical products and devices. Representative Joyce also toured the Department of Pharmacology laboratories with Dr. Palczewski, who will be presented with the Friedenwald Award at the 2014 ARVO Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.