THE FOUNDATION FOR THE NIH LAUNCHES FIRST U.S.–RUSSIA SCIENTIFIC FORUM PLANNING MEETING TO ADVANCE RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS

Moscow, Russia (April 20 2011) — The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) of the Russian Federation, is facilitating the first planning meeting for the U.S.-Russia Scientific Forum in Moscow, Russia later this month.

The U.S.-Russia Scientific Forum was created as a result of the 2009 U.S.-Russia Bi-Lateral Presidential Commission, which highlighted greater cooperation in the health sciences as a key theme. The Forum will promote and facilitate broader research collaboration in the biomedical and behavioral sciences between the U.S. and Russian scientific communities, with the goal of improving public health. Specifically, the Forum will strengthen joint research activities related to disease control, treatment and prevention, clinical and translational research, and regulatory science, and the development of new health technologies.

“We are excited to develop a joint research agenda based on common interests that will stimulate US-Russian scientific collaborations and generate discoveries to improve the health of people everywhere,‖ said Dr. Roger I. Glass, Director of Fogarty International Center at NIH. ―By encouraging the free flow of information we hope to share best practices in biomedical research and speed the progress of discovery.”

The U.S.-Russia Forum was established through the FNIH, with a $1.27 million gift from Eli Lilly and Company as the founding private partner, and Fogarty International Center (FIC) and the NIH Clinical Center (CC) as the lead NIH participants. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. will also be an active participant of the program. The Forum planning meeting facilitated by the FNIH and hosted at the RAS will be held in Moscow on April 25-26, 2011.

“Through public-private, collaborative partnerships, FNIH supports a wide range of initiatives that advance scientific research, train scientists and clinical researchers, educate the public and generate support for medical discovery‖, said Dr. Scott Campbell, Executive Director and CEO of the Foundation for the NIH. ―The U.S.-Russia Scientific Forum is an example of how FNIH is working to engage global stakeholders to participate in transformative public-private research partnerships to improve human health.”

Active participation of the private sector will be critical in facilitating collaborations and engaging the best and brightest scientists in the U.S. and Russia. FNIH has engaged with a wide range of U.S. and Russian-based companies interested in broader U.S. – Russian collaboration in behavioral and biomedical research. Those participating in the first organizational meeting include Abbott, Amgen, American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, Amway, Bach Pharma, Becton Dickinson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boston Scientific, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly and Company, GalenBio, Genzyme, Johnson & Johnson, MedBioPharm, PepsiCo, Pfizer and Worldwide Clinical Trials.

“We are looking forward to start new cooperation with NIH. Together with our American partners we initiated six general directions, that is, brain research, cardiovascular diseases, oncology, child care, infectious diseases and translational research,‖ said Professor Anatoly Ivanovich Grigoriev, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ―These areas embrace the key problems of human health worldwide; however, the Forum is open for a variety of ideas. Science and business people should combine their efforts. Our endeavor will be appreciated in our two countries and by the international community as well. We anticipate that the Forum will emerge as a medium that links together the best intellectual powers strongly committed to make life better.”

Dr. Scott Campbell, CEO of FNIH, Dr. Roger I. Glass, Director of the Fogarty International Center and NIH, and Professor Anatoly Grigoriev, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences will lead the two-day meeting that will include distinguished researchers from the United States and Russian Federation.

For more information about the U.S. – Russia Scientific Forum please visit www.fnih.org

About The Russia/US Cooperative Medical Sciences Program
The U.S.-Russia Forum in Health Sciences was formed under the framework of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission (http://www.state.gov/p/eur/ci/rs/usrussiabilat/index.htm), and guided by several agreements between U.S. and Russian scientific and health agencies to collaborate on topics involving disease control and prevention, development of new therapies, and other emerging technologies in the field of health care (http://www.globalhealth.gov/news/news/070609.html; http://www.fic.nih.gov/programs/regional/russia_eurasia/russia.htm). The Forum’s activities will address those goals. About the Foundation for the NIH Established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the NIH—improving health through scientific discovery in the search for cures—the Foundation for the NIH is a leader in identifying and addressing complex scientific and health issues. The Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization that raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance NIH priorities and activities. For additional information about the Foundation for the NIH, please visit www.fnih.org

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., USA, Lilly provides answers – through medicines and information – for some of the world’s most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

Press Contact:
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