Q&A: Ellie Dehoney, Research!America

Ellie Dehoney

Ellie Dehoney is the senior vice president of policy and advocacy at the nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy alliance, Research!America, of which SfN is a member. Previously, she served as legislative director for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and as health legislative assistant and legislative director for Brown in the House of Representatives. Ellie’s background also includes serving as a health legislative assistant for former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), as a special assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation within the Department of Health and Human Services, and in nonprofit and private sector roles focused on health care financing and delivery. Ellie received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and English from the College of William & Mary and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Neuroscience Quarterly (NQ): How would you describe the mission and organizational structure of Research!America?

Ellie Dehoney (ED): Research!America is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy alliance comprised of patient advocacy organizations, scientific and clinical societies, academic and independent research institutions, industry, and philanthropies. Our mission is to advocate for science, discovery, and innovation to improve health outcomes for all. 

For more than 35 years, Research!America has worked to secure robust federal support for research by making the case for increased funding for NIH, NSF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). We also advocate for a legislative and regulatory climate in which U.S.-driven, public and private sector-fueled research and development continues to set the global pace for defeating deadly and debilitating health threats.

We have a number of teams within our organization that include Policy and Advocacy, Development and Membership, Advocacy Programs and Initiatives, and Communications and Civic Science. While each of these teams has its own focus, we work together to achieve our shared mission: advocating for scientific research, innovation, and better health for all.

Most importantly, take every opportunity to make science relatable to people you encounter in your day-to-day lives.

NQ: SfN is a member of Research!America. How does Research!America leverage its member organizations to accomplish the research community’s goals?

ED: We collaborate with our member organizations in a variety of ways, including gathering their feedback to inform our policy and advocacy work, collaborating with our member organizations on grassroots efforts to strengthen shared objectives, and consulting with members to develop effective strategies. Research!America certainly doesn’t own all the answers when it comes to achieving shared goals; we work with our member organizations to formulate and execute both short- and long-term advocacy objectives.

NQ: Research!America is rather unique in the research advocacy community in that you field public opinion polls. Can you share some results from your recent polls and how Research!America uses that data?

ED: Of course! Research!America has been commissioning public opinion surveys since 1992 to gauge American’s views on research, science, and innovation. These surveys consistently demonstrate strong public support for medical and health research. For example, 91% of Americans believe that it is important for the U.S. to be a global leader in research to improve health.

That support also translates into a willingness to invest in research; 65% of Americans are willing to spending $1 more per week in taxes if they are certain that all of the money would be spent on additional medical and health research. When 92% of Americans say it is important for the president and Congress to assign a higher priority to medical progress, we see that as a powerful call to action.

At the same time, our data shows there’s room for growth in science communication and public engagement. Only a third of Americans can name a living scientist and less than half (47%) are aware that science and technology research is conducted in all 50 states. We need to increase the visibility of scientists and the impact of their work in communities across the country.

NQ: The president’s proposed FY 2026 budget for research agencies has been described as catastrophic. Research!America is responding with a “Cures Not Cuts” campaign. What is involved in this campaign?

ED: The overarching goals of the campaign are 1) to test and develop messaging that can be used to engage more Americans on the significance of federally funded medical and public health research and the consequences of federal research funding cuts; and 2) leverage the passion and reach of the science community to bring this messaging to life, equipping and motivating as many advocates as possible to help address the threats to scientific and medical progress.

Through public opinion research and message testing, the campaign will explore how to spur greater public interest in the importance of medical research and greater awareness of threats to this research. Our state-level work will focus on raising research awareness among two key demographic groups, seniors and women with children, who live in four states with a significant or growing federal research presence (North Carolina, western Pennsylvania, Utah, and Kansas.) In these states, we will be gathering stories from scientists, clinicians, and patients to illustrate the vital role of federal research dollars.

Drawing from the new messaging, we will work with our partners in the campaign to leverage “earned media” (e.g., news stories, op-eds, letters to the editor, radio interviews, social media) in these states, raising the profile of research as an at-risk asset benefiting Americans day-in and day-out. More broadly, we will provide resources our partners can use inside and outside the Beltway to elevate the importance of research and the negative consequences of research funding cuts. As part of this effort, we will provide communications and advocacy training opportunities for scientists and other research advocates.

To round out the campaign, we will develop issue-based advertising for deployment inside the Beltway (and in the targeted states, resources permitting). Our goal throughout this six-month effort is to increase the volume of support for federally funded research and sound the alarm more loudly on the threats to research funding.

NQ: How can SfN members get involved in advocating for stability in research funding and policy?

ED: Be part of the campaign described above! There will be opportunities for all SfN members to engage in the campaign. But before that campaign gets off the ground, SfN members can call their representatives in Congress and ask them to support robust federal funding for the NIH, NSF, etc. This call can be a quick three-minute task that you do regularly and you can find an example template on our website. Other ways to get involved include writing letters to the editor and using Research!America’s editable “action alert” system to send an email making the case for research directly to your members of Congress. Most importantly, take every opportunity to make science relatable to people you encounter in your day-to-day lives. The more Americans who understand the “why” of science (the ways in which it benefits people in their daily lives), the less likely it will be that efforts to dramatically cut science funding will succeed.