The Growing Importance of the NCMIC Research Foundation
Dear Editor:
Federal funding has changed during the past decade. The environment is much more competitive for investigators from complementary and integrative healthcare (CIH) institutions, making it increasingly challenging to receive grants from NIH / NCCIH. Reviewers of grants expect to see meaningful preliminary data before they will score grant applications favorably.
Having reviewed grants for NCCIH for many years, I find it noteworthy that applicants from traditional research-intensive institutions frequently provide data in their applications collected from preliminary studies that were funded by private foundations in the amount of $25,000-$50,000. Few such opportunities exist for investigators at CIH institutions, with one exception: grants provided by the NCMIC Foundation.
In the words of Dr. Reed Phillips, past director of research at the Foundation of Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER), in a recent email to me: “You have been around long enough to remember the years when FCER was the primary funder of chiropractic research. As FCER faded along with the support from ACA, Dr. [Lou] Sportelli had the vision in 2003 to create the NCMIC Foundation to fill a void left by the legal departure of FCER in 2009.”
Since the NCMIC Foundation began, it has funded over $11 million to support graduate education and research related to chiropractic and CIH practice. Additionally, the NCMIC Group has contributed an additional $15 million toward these objectives, totaling $26 million. These funds have helped countless DC graduates obtain the graduate education necessary to conduct rigorous, meaningful research and to be competitive when applying for federal funding.
NCMIC has also funded many projects in the $25,000-$50,000 range (and higher) to collect the preliminary data needed to submit competitive (and successful) grant applications to NIH.
As dean of research at National University of Health Sciences (NUHS), I have seen the NCMIC Foundation’s education awards benefit several of our graduates who have pursued careers in research. Additionally, as a recipient of NCMIC Foundation project grants, our research group has experienced the powerful impact such awards have on moving research forward.
Yet again in the words of Dr. Phillips from the email mentioned above: “One of my most painful tasks as the Executive Director of the NCMIC Foundation is to write a letter of denial to a good proposal submitted by a very talented team due to insufficient funds.”
The dedication of Drs. Lou Sportelli and Reed Phillips, as well as the unwavering commitment of the NCMIC Board of Trustees, are extraordinary and chiropractic would not have made the gains it has without their aspirational vision for the profession.
The current federal funding environment is becoming increasingly difficult, making the work of the NCMIC Foundation more important than ever. Please consider making a contribution to this worthy organization; every contribution is significant.
Every year NCMIC Group, Inc., sends out dividend checks to its policyholders: an estimated $6 million. Relative to the research conversation is the fact that each check includes an appeal letter from Dr. Sportelli asking that the check be returned to the NCMIC Foundation as a contribution to support chiropractic research.
If you are a policyholder, please take Dr. Sportelli’s request to heart and return your check to the NCMIC Foundation to support chiropractic research and the development of the next generation of chiropractic researchers. Your contribution will be an investment in your future success as a practicing doctor of chiropractic.
Greg Cramer, DC, PhD
Professor / Dean of Research
National University of Health Sciences
Lombard, Ill.
