Biden Calls for Realigning Research Incentives

In New Orleans, LA, the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2016 closed on a high note on April 20 with a speech delivered by Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who introduced him. Since being tasked with leading the National Cancer Moonshot in January, Joe Biden has been on “a listening tour” at cancer centers around the country, soliciting ideas on what's needed to move ahead with his initiative “to eliminate cancer as we know it.”

“We had access to the best doctors in the world when our Beau was diagnosed, and the more we talked to them, the more we understood that we're on the cusp of a real inflection point in the fight against cancer,” Biden said, reflecting on his son's treatment for stage IV glioblastoma. He added that “silencing this disease may be the one subject where there is absolute, unlimited bipartisan support.” Global leaders are equally keen to participate, he added, noting that Israel has offered demographic data from its National Cancer Registry, which dates back to 1961.

During his address to nearly 4,000 attendees, Biden focused on the need to realign incentives in cancer research. “I've come to understand just how difficult it is to qualify for a grant,” he said. “The more outside the box [your idea]—which may be the answer to some cancers—the less likely you are to get funded. Why not just let scientists do science? We're slowing down our best young minds, making them spend a third of their time writing grants that can take multiple submissions to be awarded. It's like asking Derek Jeter to take several years off to sell bonds to build Yankee Stadium.”

Biden encouraged incentivizing researchers to share both data and results, and called for publishing more findings in open-access journals. “NASA's code to unblur images from the Hubble telescope was available to everyone immediately,” he pointed out. “Guess what happened? It was repurposed for breast cancer screening. Imagine if that code had been behind a paywall for a year or more?”

Replicating published findings is also key, Biden said. He observed that the current system doesn't consider this a priority; therefore, “this is not a very rewarding career move.” He opined that more grants are needed for “the work of verification, which is the core of science.”

So that “a quantum leap—a decade's worth of progress in 5 years” can be made against cancer, Biden emphasized the importance of breaking down silos and eliminating barriers to research and development. He appealed for “honest evaluations of the kinds of changes” necessary to make the National Cancer Moonshot succeed.

“You're the very best we have, and we need you badly,” Biden told the audience. “I promise that I will—and I have the authority—do everything in my power to put the federal government in a position where it's total value added and doesn't get in your way. We need guidance on how we can enable you to serve the very purpose you engaged with in the first place: The millions of patients who are looking for another day, another month, another year of life.” –Alissa Poh

For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/early/by/section.