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Reposted at http://tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,
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Sometimes you have throwaway days, then sometimes you have
really high impact ones, right? Well, today was about as high impact as it
gets. I've been nudging NIH to open communications with LGBT researchers for
years and today I had the distinct pleasure of being in the room as they
launched their first ever LGBT research listening session. Considering that
agency has about $40 Billion dollars in research funds, and considering they
are easily the leading health research institution in the world, I'd say
anytime we get to talk LGBTI health with the top mgmt for an hour and a half is
pretty useful. Understand, many LGBTI researchers never even get to speak to
these folk once. We got to sit there and yak and yak about what we think they
should do on LGBTI health. And we heard there were over a hundred more watching
and sending in comments on the videocast.
The day held a couple of surprises too. First, they hired a new
guy who's in charge of getting more LGBTI staff on board, Albert Smith.
Literally his business card reads "LGBTI Program Manager" at NIH.
Pretty sweet eh? Since we know how internal champions really move issues, now's
the time for us to recruit great new folk to NIH. Second, NIH really showed
their true commitment to keeping the information flowing by announcing that
they had just released an RFI, or Request For Information. This literally declares
it open season for all of us to give our input on LGBTI health research from
now til October. See the RFI here.
And of course we all brought up excellent suggestions: invest in
career development, data collection, create an office of LGBTI health, do more
tobacco research, make sure the program managers are as welcoming as the mgmt
wants them to be, do more on Two Spirit, intersex, transgender people. Look at
intersectionality more. Put out anal cancer guidelines. If you weren't one of
the hundred plus watching online... they'll put the webcast up in a few days,
and we'll update with the link.
OK, time for all of us to sharpen our pens, kinda like if you
don't vote in an election, when there's this big and broad a call for us to
tell them what is needed, speak up now or forever hold your peace, right?
Reoposted at
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