FASEB Presents Dr. Raynard Kington With the 2010 FASEB Public Service Award

BETHESDA, Md., June 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) honored NIH Principal Deputy Director, Raynard Kington, M.D., Ph.D., with its annual Public Service Award, in recognition of his distinguished career and many contributions to the overall policy direction of the agency. In presenting the award, FASEB President, Mark Lively, Ph.D., noted that Kington earned the profound gratitude of the research community for the leadership he provided during the development, initiation, and implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) programs. "ARRA presented challenges of scale, speed, and scope, unlike anything that NIH had done before. Raynard Kington explained the new and unprecedented program to the extramural community and mobilized the entire NIH staff, who worked heroically to respond to the new mandates, develop new programs, review tens of thousands of new applications, make thousands of awards, and surmount new regulatory hurdles," said Lively.  

Thanking the FASEB leadership for the recognition, Dr. Kington added that "I accept this award on behalf of all of the National Institutes of Health staff." Commenting on the ARRA program, he said that he was "incredibly confident that there will be advances in knowledge directly related to the new investment in research." Kington encouraged scientists and institutions who received ARRA funds to educate the public about the projects that were funded and explain why they are important to improving the health of the American people.

In addition to commenting on the impact of ARRA, Dr. Kington urged greater efforts to promote diversity of the scientific workforce and encouraged FASEB societies to begin a conversation about changing the fundamental business model of the biomedical research enterprise.

The FASEB Public Service Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to biological and medical research through their work in government, public affairs, journalism, science policy, or related fields. Dr. Kington joins a notable list of previous recipients including former NIH Director, Dr. James A. Shannon; former Deputy Director, Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein; Senators Arlen Specter and Tom Harkin and Representatives John Porter and Michael Castle.

FASEB is composed of 23 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. FASEB enhances the ability of scientists and engineers to improve—through their research—the health, well-being, and productivity of all people. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

SOURCE Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology