Cardiothoracic surgery and the National Institutes of Health and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

摘要

Over the past several years, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Council and its Scientific and Government Relations Committee have wrestled with the significant reduction in funding support for cardiotho-racic (CT) surgeons from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Translational research is the lifeblood of our specialty, and the Council is committed to expanding the specialty's involvement at the national level.In early August 2010, the NHLBI's Division of Cardiovascular Sciences invited current AATS leadership to present at the Visiting Scholar Lectureship program. This forum afforded an excellent opportunity to share with Dr Susan Shurin, the Acting Director of the NHLBI, and approximately 30 of her professional staff the importance of a special relationship between the field of CT surgery and the NIH and NHLBI.