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Autism Speaks: Ten most significant autism research achievements in 2009

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization has released its annual list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year. Every year, Autism Speaks documents the progress made toward its mission to discover the causes and treatment for autism spectrum disorders, and compiles a list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year.

10 Feb 2010

Sebelius to GOP: 'Don't get wrong impression' about Obama health summit

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "A day after President Barack Obama invited Republicans in Congress to a bipartisan health care summit, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said no one should get the wrong impression.

10 Feb 2010

Elan announces fourth-quarter and full-year financial results ended December 31, 2009

Elan Corporation, plc today reported its fourth quarter and full-year 2009 financial results and provides financial guidance for 2010.

10 Feb 2010

Kansas to downsize hospitals for disabled; Nevada may cut enrollment in programs for mentally ill and seniors

Kansas Health Institute reports on downsizing at hospitals for the developmentally disabled: "Admissions to Kansas Neurological Institute will be halted this summer and restricted at Parsons State Hospital, the state's top welfare agency official said today.

10 Feb 2010

GOP wary of talks while both sides express low expectations for health care summit

News outlets are focusing on political reaction to President Obama's Feb. 25 bipartisan summit on health care reform.

9 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 9, 2010

Today's headlines reveal more reactions to President Obama's bi-partisan health care summit. Chief among them are low expectations.

9 Feb 2010

Anthem Blue Cross raises premium by 39%: HHS Secretary calls for detailed public justification

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today sent a letter to Anthem Blue Cross and called on the company to publicly justify its decision to raise premiums for its California customers by as much as 39 percent. In her letter, Sebelius notes that the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, WellPoint Incorporated earned $2.7 billion in the last quarter of 2009.

9 Feb 2010

States deal with small budgets, Medicaid cuts

Virginian-Pilot: Area hospitals are preparing "for a round of Medicaid spending cuts that executives say could be the worst in decades and lead to more cutbacks in their organizations. Rising health care costs and a surge in the number of Medicaid patients have increased the state's obligation to the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled by $777.7 million over two years.

9 Feb 2010

Sebelius urges Anthem Blue Cross to justify rate hike

Los Angeles Times: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "called on Anthem Blue Cross on Monday to justify its controversial new rate hikes of as much as 39% for individual policyholders." Sebelius "voiced concerns" in a letter to Anthem's president. The new rates "go into effect March 1 for many of the insurer's estimated 800,000 individual policyholders" (Helfand, 2/8).

9 Feb 2010

Novavax to discontinue collaboration agreement with ROVI Pharmaceuticals

Novavax, Inc. announced today that the company has decided to discontinue negotiations in its pursuit of the previously announced collaboration with ROVI Pharmaceuticals to develop Novavax's virus-like-particle (VLP)-based vaccines against influenza in the country of Spain.

8 Feb 2010

HHS Secretary releases statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

On Sunday, February 7, the country will commemorate the tenth annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. It’s a day that reminds us that HIV/AIDS is still a public health crisis in the US. And it’s a day when communities and organizations across the country come together to recognize the impact this disease has had on the African American community.

8 Feb 2010

Valentine's Day designated as National Organ Donor Day, drive for registration

While many commemorate Valentine's Day with cards, candy and flowers, Pennsylvanians are encouraged to give the ultimate gift of love by signing up to become organ and tissue donors. With the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Valentine's Day has been designated as National Organ Donor Day to raise awareness of the lives that can be touched -- potentially more than 50 at a time --through one person becoming an organ and tissue donor.

6 Feb 2010

About 8% of Americans report difficulty in accessing specialty care

Among the 36 percent of U.S. adults age 18 and older who needed to see a specialist in 2007, about 8 percent reported that getting to see one was a big problem, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

6 Feb 2010

BIO urges HHS to preserve incentives for investment and innovation; improve patient access to genetic tests

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released today a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the potentially harmful recommendations of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) in its Report on Gene Patents and Licensing Practices and Their Impact on Patient Access to Genetic Tests.

6 Feb 2010

HHS donates more than $119 million to support health promotion initiatives

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded more than $119 million to states and U.S. territories to support public health efforts to reduce obesity, increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and decrease smoking-the four most important actions for combating chronic diseases and promoting health

6 Feb 2010

Jerry Hill and Nathan Fletcher receive CHI Advancing California Biomedical Research and Innovation Award

CHI-California Healthcare Institute, a non-profit public policy research organization, honored Assembly Members Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) and Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) with the CHI Advancing California Biomedical Research and Innovation Award at a biomedical industry dinner on Feb. 2 in Sacramento.

5 Feb 2010

Safety checklist reduces bloodstream infections in ICUs

The state of Michigan, which used a five-step checklist developed at Johns Hopkins to virtually eliminate bloodstream infections in its hospitals' intensive care units , has been able to keep the number of these common, costly and potentially lethal infections near zero - even three years after first adopting the standardized procedures.

5 Feb 2010

NIH panel convened to increase the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening in the U.S.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Despite evidence and guidelines supporting the value of screening for this disease, rates of screening for colorectal cancer are consistently lower than those for other types of cancer, particularly breast and cervical.

5 Feb 2010

U.N. taps Bill Clinton to lead Haiti rebuilding; 200,000 people died in quake, Haitian PM says

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday asked former President Bill Clinton, currently the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, to oversee aid and rebuilding efforts in Haiti, CNN reports (2/3).

5 Feb 2010

Report shows more Americans are buying prescription drugs to treat digestive conditions

The number of Americans buying prescription drugs to treat digestive conditions climbed over 50 percent, rising from 18.1 million to 29 million people between 1997 and 2007, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

5 Feb 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

Autism Speaks: Ten most significant autism research achievements in 2009

Sebelius to GOP: 'Don't get wrong impression' about Obama health summit

Elan announces fourth-quarter and full-year financial results ended December 31, 2009

Kansas to downsize hospitals for disabled; Nevada may cut enrollment in programs for mentally ill and seniors

GOP wary of talks while both sides express low expectations for health care summit

First Edition: February 9, 2010

Anthem Blue Cross raises premium by 39%: HHS Secretary calls for detailed public justification

States deal with small budgets, Medicaid cuts

Sebelius urges Anthem Blue Cross to justify rate hike

Novavax to discontinue collaboration agreement with ROVI Pharmaceuticals

HHS Secretary releases statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Valentine's Day designated as National Organ Donor Day, drive for registration

About 8% of Americans report difficulty in accessing specialty care

BIO urges HHS to preserve incentives for investment and innovation; improve patient access to genetic tests

HHS donates more than $119 million to support health promotion initiatives

Jerry Hill and Nathan Fletcher receive CHI Advancing California Biomedical Research and Innovation Award

Safety checklist reduces bloodstream infections in ICUs

NIH panel convened to increase the use and quality of colorectal cancer screening in the U.S.

U.N. taps Bill Clinton to lead Haiti rebuilding; 200,000 people died in quake, Haitian PM says

Report shows more Americans are buying prescription drugs to treat digestive conditions

Event guide: 6th Operationalize Expanded Access Programs Summit East eBook

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How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

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