LIVE BLOG: Rally focuses on importance of medical research funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Healio.com joins representatives from more than 170 organizations on the steps of Carnegie Library for the Rally for Medical Research. The 1-day event aims to present a united front to underscore the importance of medical research funding and the need for continued support of the National Institutes of Health. Follow our live blog for updates.

12:40 p.m.: The Rally for Medical Research has concluded. Check back shortly for updates and on-site interviews.

12:30 p.m.: Maura Tierney, actress and Stand Up to Cancer celebrity ambassador, is speaking about her experience with cancer, pointing out that years ago, she may not have received the same treatment and would not have survived the disease.

"NIH funding is the engine propelling the future health of all Americans and we simply cannot afford any further cuts," she said.

12:26 p.m.: Gee Gerke, Alzheimer's disease advocate and caregiver, discusses the devastating effects of the disease.

12:19 p.m.: By discussing her own experience with stroke, Amy Edmunds, stroke survivor and patient advocate, emphasized the need for better education and prevention.

12:06 p.m.: Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), member of the US House of Representatives, thanks all those who works at the NIH.

"Now we're here today because we know that every time Dr. Collins and his team that NIH get a promising new research proposal that has great promise and great potential, every time they have to say no to one of those promising proposals, we all lose. It means we all lose on a whole variety of fronts. We lose a little bit of hope because that research proposal may well have led to a new discovery that may have helped us find a treatment or a cure for a new disease," he said.

"We know that if you can't fund that promising proposal, that means less discovery, less new treatments and cures, and ultimately means more lives that are more difficult and involve more suffering," he said.

"It also means fewer jobs in productive areas because every time NIH has to say no to a good idea because they don't have adequate funding, it means you're going to have fewer scientists applying for those grants and ultimately means that fewer young people go into science. We all know if want to be a competitive nation, we have to invest in scientists and our young scientists ... Not only does that mean less jobs for productive scientists, it mans that the US becomes less and less competitive in this global economy."

"We know that if we can find new treatments and cures for diseases like Alzheimer's, by making that upfront investment now, we'll not only save lives but also dollars down the road."

Of the sequester, Van Hollen said: "Sequester is just a big, fancy Washington word for less jobs, less progress and less hope. Let's make sure we have more progress, more hope, more lives. Let's get to work."

11:50 a.m.: Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD, president of The Rockefeller University and former chief scientific officer at Genentech, is speaking on how cutting funding of medical research poses many problems, including discouraging young scientists from entering the field.

"Most worryingly, our young people are being discouraged from a research career," he said, noting that this will lead to a long-term decline in medical advancements.

Tessier-Lavigne underscored the importance of basic science.

"Why not leave basic research to other nations? ... The answer is it won't work that way ... In short, it's not in our interest to be followers, and as Americans, it's not in our nature either. It's in our nature to lead."

This is not a partisan issue, he said.

11:44 a.m.: Gina Gavlak, type 1 diabetes survivor and advocate, is speaking about the significant issues affecting those living with diabetes. Funding allows for developments that prevent and treat this complex disease, she said.

"We need to make sure that we take this incredible energy that we all have here and take it back to our communities. Every single one of us needs to make sure that we're conveying our message and our stories to Congress and our administration ... All of us, survivors, our family friends, health care providers and researchers, are all in this for the long haul," she said. "We have also seen the progress the NIH has made ... We need to continue pushing for increased NIH funding."

"Increased federal funding from NIH, I see a world without diabetes and its complications," Gavlak said.

11:40 a.m.: Brian Boucher, advocate and father of a young leukemia survivor, discusses the difficulty of having a child diagnosed with leukemia.

11:34 a.m.: Regan Hoffman, a person living with HIV and a patient advocate, is now speaking about being diagnosed with HIV. She emphasized the need for more therapies and effective prevention.

11:21 a.m.: Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), member of the US House of Representatives, is discussing the breakthroughs in recent cancer research.

"These breakthroughs do not just happen ... The research also grows our economy ... This means that research supports jobs and has nearly a twofold return on our investment," DeLauro said during her speech. "If we cannot get the naysayers on the humanity of medical research, let's get them on the economics. So we should be spending more on cancer research, and yet the NIH has lost 20% of its purchasing power over the last 9 years."

11:14 a.m.: Cokie Roberts, the Rally Emcee, political analyst for ABC News and NPR senior news analyst, is speaking on her experience as a cancer survivor and her treatment at the NIH. The clinical trials conducted there, she said, are exceptionally important, especially at the present time.

"We are at a point where technology is such that we are right on the cusp of so many breakthroughs and this is exactly the moment to push forward and certainly not pull back or stay even," she said.

11:11 a.m.: Margaret Foti, PhD, MD, CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research is speaking on the importance of medical research for "all of us who are touched by disease."

She reads from a special release from President Barack Obama: "Throughout our nation's history, we have depended on the ingenuity of our nation to solve the problems of our time. We must commit to a serious, sustained effort to advance medical research ..."

10:59 a.m.: Speakers are convening on stage.