Among AIMBE’s most important roles is promotion of public policies – particularly at the federal level – that foster continued advancement in medical and biological engineering. AIMBE’s leaders and membership work with representatives of other scientific and medical organizations to educate public officials (in both the legislative and executive branches), regulators, the media, and the general public about developments in the field. They also press for constructive legislative and regulatory measures that will help researchers and industry stay on the cutting edge.

 

AIMBE’s 2011 – 2012 Public Policy Objectives

• Advance the federal basic and applied research and development budget for the federal departments of Energy, Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services.
• Ensure adequate funding for translational research that aims to prevent and treat chronic diseases. Support for the NIH, CDC, NIBIB, and FDA to address the chronic disease epidemic in this country will ameliorate staggering death rates and treatment costs.
• Establish a rigorous and urgent approach for improving the ability of the FDA to practice an efficient and effective approval process, ensuring maximum public benefit in a shorter amount of time. As a result, the FDA and partners would be provided with adequate resources and funding to accelerate the development and adoption of novel technologies that can enhance the efficiency and cost of regulatory science.
• Encourage investment in medical and biological engineering education as a means to ensure a skilled workforce and sustain our preeminence in this field. A sustained entry of well-trained medical and biological engineers is urgently needed in the U.S. to ensure further sector growth and market expansion.
• Allocate federal appropriations to the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Department of Education to strengthen educational opportunities for women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. AIMBE’s Women in Medical and Biological Engineering Committee leads the organization’s advocacy efforts in raising awareness for gender equity issues. Similarly, the Committee on Under Represented Minorities focuses on diversity issues throughout the medical and biological engineering community.
• Encourage federal agencies to use Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funds for awards to University Proof‐of‐Concept Centers to provide product prototyping, translation, entrepreneurial, and business mentoring, and an assessment of commercialization potential prior to submission of SBIR/STTR applications.
• Assist policymakers and health care administrators to adopt a “System of Care” health care concept that integrates health care facilities, clinicians, and the use of drugs and medical technologies in the most efficient, holistic, and cost-effective manner.

 

For more information on AIMBE’s public policy efforts, please e-mail publicpolicy@aimbe.org or call 202-496-9660.