Government Shutdown May Affect Local Medical Research
CHICAGO (CBS) - The partial government shutdown may affect the biomedical research planned at some Chicago hospitals.
Shutdown Impact On Medical Research
Oct. 5 is a date that researchers at Rush University have been preparing for some time.
It's the date that grant applications for new work would be due at the National Institutes of Health.
But the shutdown means the NIH is not accepting any applications.
And Dr. James Mulshine, vice president of research at Rush, says that means no federal money for researchers and their work.
"These people are not working on obscure things," he said. "They're working on hypertension - high blood pressure, diabetes."
Dr. Mulshine says the shutdown could push new investigations back at least six months.
"We have a health care crisis that's overwhelming, and we're sitting with our hands in our pockets, unable to do anything to help individuals at a time of urgent need. It's just incredibly vexing."
