Senator Murray Tours Allen Institute, Vows to Continue Championing U.S. and WA Leadership in Biomedical Research

Senator Murray has worked repeatedly to increase NIH funding in a bipartisan way, and established a new agency ARPA-H to fund cutting-edge biomedical research last year

Senator Murray: “When it comes to the human mind—we’re fortunate to have some of the brightest here at the Allen Institute working around the clock to discover new cures, treatments, and more.”

***PHOTOS AND B-ROLL OF THE EVENT HERE***

Seattle, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, toured the Allen Institute—which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Senator Murray visited the brain sciences, neural dynamics, cell sciences, and immunology labs and heard from top scientists about the groundbreaking work the Institute has been doing.

Senator Murray is a longstanding champion of biomedical research in Congress. Throughout her time as the leader of the Appropriations Subcommittee on health issues, Senator Murray worked in a bipartisan way time and again to significantly increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Last Congress she also successfully passed legislation establishing a new agency, ARPA-H, focused on revolutionizing the nation’s approach to cutting-edge biomedical research.

“When it comes to the human mind—we’re fortunate to have some of the brightest here at the Allen Institute working around the clock to discover new cures, treatments, and more. There is so much we are still learning about the brain and neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s so that we can make life better for families across the world, and as I saw today, the leading edge of that discovery is right here in Seattle,” said Senator Murray.

“It’s clear that if we want to continue leading the world—and lead it to more lifechanging discoveries for families who are holding out hope—we have to continue investing in groundbreaking research and researchers like we have here. I’m proud to have secured several significant, bipartisan funding increases for NIH over the past few years, and to have established ARPA-H, a new agency to usher in a new era of cutting-edge biomedical research, and I am going to do everything I can to make sure we don’t take our foot off the gas here.”

Over its 20-year history, the Allen Institute has established itself as a pre-eminent voice in biomedical research and is leading the Seattle Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Atlas project, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“The Allen Institute is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Ever since our founding, Senator Murray has been a strong advocate for the Allen Institute,” said Rui Costa, President and CEO of the Allen Institute. “She understands the importance of supporting foundational research. This support coupled with our core principle of open science—meaning we openly share our research with the world—will lead to scientific advances that benefit all of us.”

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