FYI Number 26: February 13, 2006

Administration Requests Reduced FY 2007 Funding for NIBIB

The Bush Administration has requested slightly reduced funding for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering in FY 2007. Under its request, funding would decline by 0.7% or $2.0 million from $296.8 million to $294.9 million. Note that both current year funding and that proposed for next year are less than FY 2005 funding of $298.2 million.

The NIBIB was established in late 2000. As explained in its budget justification sent to Congress:

"The mission of the NIBIB is to improve human health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. The Institute is committed to integrating the engineering and physical sciences with the life sciences to advance basic research and medical care. Research in biomedical imaging and bioengineering is progressing rapidly and is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary. Recent technological advances have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of disease and provide unprecedented opportunities for furthering understanding of biological processes and for conducting powerful biological investigations. To capitalize on these opportunities, NIBIB is supporting a robust research program in biomedical imaging and bioengineering that focuses on developing fundamental new knowledge, fostering potent new technologies, supporting promising researchers, and facilitating cross-cutting capabilities. Ultimately, NIBIB seeks to translate research findings from the laboratory into solutions that advance human health by improving quality of life and reducing disease burden."

The budget justification document briefly reviews the proposed expansion of research in three areas in FY 2007:

Integrated Sensors and Lab-On-A-Chip for Point-Of-Care Laboratory Tests,
Enabling Technologies for Regenerative Medicine, and
Image-Guided Surgery for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Disease and Injury

Note that the National Institutes of Health requested $28,587 million for FY 2007, which is level with current funding.

Readers who wish additional information on the FY 2007 NIBIB budget request should see http://www.nibib.nih.gov/publicPage.cfm?pageID=263#FY2007

Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
American Institute of Physics
fyi@aip.org
301-209-3095

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