This is an interesting and fact-filled web site from Public Agenda and
the Lasker Foundation that presents objective reports and differing
viewpoints on medical research and other bioethical issues, poll results,
background info. and analysis.
Linda
FROM: U.S. Newswire
August 14, 2001 Tuesday 6:00 AM
SECTION: National Desk, Health and Medical reporters
HEADLINE: Public Agenda, Lasker Foundation Launch Fact-Filled Online
Guide to
Medical Research Debate
DATELINE: NEW YORK, Aug. 14
Developments in medical research are page-one news: President Bush has
decided to allow limited federal funding of embryonic stem cell research;
a
group of scientists say they will attempt to clone a human being while
Congress
is considering limits on human cloning; and an artificial, self-contained
heart
has been successfully implanted in a human for the first time.
To provide context to these developments, the nonpartisan, nonprofit
Public
Agenda and the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation -- best known for its
prestigious medical research awards -- have launched a comprehensive
online
guide to issues in medical research, accessible at www.publicagenda.org
and also
www.laskerfoundation.org
Unbiased Information
"The decisions being made about how much to invest in medical
research, where
the dollars should go, and what kinds of research will be pursued will
quite
literally affect the lives of millions of Americans," says Jean Johnson,
director of programs, Public Agenda. Designed for elected officials,
journalists, students, analysts and the general public, the guide
provides
balanced data, survey results, extensive resource lists, and news at the
heart
of debate over funding, genetic testing and engineering, bioethics,
informed
consent and related topics. It is a unique one-stop array of up-to-date,
reliable and unbiased information on critical policy choices.
"This exciting collaboration with Public Agenda addresses the Lasker
Foundation's goal of stimulating public interest and knowledge of the
enormous
benefits of basic and clinical medical research, including the issues
raised by
fast-evolving discoveries and developments," says Neen Hunt, president,
the
Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. "Facts, opinions, context -- all are
key
elements for heightening public understanding and informing debate about
these
essential matters."
Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research
organization,
located in New York City, is well respected for its trustworthy public
opinion
polls and its balanced citizen education materials. Founded in 1975 by
Cyrus R.
Vance, the former U.S. secretary of state, and Daniel Yankelovich, the
social
scientist and author, its mission is to inform leaders about the public's
views
and to inform citizens about government policy.
The Mary Woodard Lasker Charitable Trust supports the Albert and Mary
Lasker
Foundation, which annually presents one of the world's most prestigious
honors
in science -- the Albert Lasker Awards for Basic and Clinical Medical
Research,
and the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service in Support of
Medical
Research and the Health Sciences.
The Lasker Trust also initiated and supports Funding First, a project
to
broaden public understanding of the enormous social and economic value of
medical research, and to build a strong commitment from both the public
and
private sectors to sustaining and expanding investment in it.
For more information about Public Agenda Online, please call Public
Agenda at
212-686-6610 or e-mail info(At)publicagenda.org.
CONTACT: Leslie Gottlieb or Michael Darden, 212-686-6610, both of Public
Agenda;
or Kendall Christiansen, 212-686-4551, or Kalyani Narasimhan,
212-286-0222, both
of the Lasker Foundation
LOAD-DATE: August 14, 2001
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