Medical Research-Where Does the Money Come From
Medical Research Funding Yesterday, I attended the perennial Benaroya Research Institute-Virginia Mason annual luncheon which raises money for medical research. This article reviews who funds scientific research in the United States and beyond and the main recipients of those funds. Virginia Mason Medical Center is a 96-year-old organization, created as a teaching hospital. The Virginia Mason Research Institute was created in 1956 to conduct primary research on diabetes, eventually branching out into the pantheon of autoimmune diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to lupus. In 2002, the research institute was renamed the Benaroya Research Institute, thanks to an endowment from a local family. Research developments have accelerated since then and have created a unique partnership between practicing clinicians and scientists, who share findings in an annual Clinical and Translational Research Symposium. This type of partnership increases the rate of individual participation in clini...