A delegation from Yale Cancer Center (YCC) went to Capitol Hill on May 16 to stress the life-saving urgency of continuing to fund National Institutes of Health cancer and other biomedical research during these difficult budget times.

Dr. Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology for YCC, and Chad Ellis, deputy director for research, met with leading lawmakers of both parties. The list included Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), a cancer survivor, funding advocate, and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services; House Minority Leader Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.); and the staffs of Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa,) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). The theme of the day was “Cancer Research is Saving Lives.”

The evening before, Herbst and Ellis helped honor DeLauro and Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) at a reception sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, and Friends of Cancer Research.