Senator Markey is a leader in the fight to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health, the world’s preeminent medical research institution and our nation’s best hope for finding cures, improving treatments, and gaining a better understanding of the complex causes of diseases that affect millions of Americans. Last year, he was joined by 117 of his Democratic colleagues in requesting that Congressional appropriators provide the NIH with $32 billion for FY 2012. He believes this level of funding is necessary in order for NIH to sustain its mission of improving health through medical science breakthroughs and maintaining international leadership in science and biomedical research.