Commentary: the role of epidemiologists in funding biomedical education and research

Melissa Perry served as the president of the American College of Epidemiology from September 2014 to September 2015. This is a written version of her Presidential Address at the 2015 Annual Meeting. Her speech was inspired by a 2014 Wall Street Journal commentary by Dr. Ferric Fang of the Washington University School of Medicine and Dr. Arturo Casadevall of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. They likened the process of submitting a research proposal to the National Institutes of Health to playing the Powerball lottery. In her speech, Dr. Perry argued for the urgent need for epidemiology researchers to reach out to policymakers and the public in support of our field to ensure the continuation of research projects that can help improve the health of citizens everywhere.