Research worth the cost

"You have cancer." With terrifying weight, the words penetrate slowly into your consciousness.

Although almost certainly a death sentence thirty years ago, a cancer diagnosis today means an uphill battle of hope. Thinking of numerous champions of survival (like the ever-popular Lance "Livestrong" Armstrong) strengthens our collective resolve to beat this horrible disease.

The cause for the new wave of hope, abounding resolve and increasing number of survivors comes down to one word: research.

Seeking how to elongate life and eradicate death for cancer patients is the quest conducted daily at Ohio State's James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. The testing conducted here is literally the difference between life and death for many.

However, there are those who would like to cut funding for these and other all-important programs. These dissenters cite the $367 million budgeted for 2004-05 research as evidence of the university's obsession with chasing money and prestige.

Perhaps those who question the university's expenditures have forgotten that OSU's outside research funding topped a half-billion dollars this year. Ohio State now ranks 6th among all universities for industry-sponsored research.

This translates into amazing opportunities for students to be involved in first-hand experimental designs. Even undergraduates are afforded the chance to participate in projects on the forefront of technology through the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.

Though the advances in medicine regularly receive the most publicity, OSU Colleges of Engineering, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and Biological Sciences have received major increases in funding due to the high quality of their research.

Research and education are complimentary, not competitive, entities. Everything students learn in the classroom today is the product of someone yesterday studying, working and reworking theories into experiments and evidence.

So just how much of the university's resources should be spent improving knowledge in multiple academic fields? As much as possible! OSU's reputation as one of America's foremost research institutions improves the quality of students and faculty drawn here. In turn, the resources funneled to research benefit the caliber of education and proactively change the world - one discovery at a time.

The academic innovations and scientific breakthroughs that alter lives happen incrementally, so possibly those who would like to cut research funding fail to recognize their combined benefit. However, should you ever find yourself listening to the formerly taken-for-granted rhythmic beat of your heart while asking your doctor, "How long?" every dollar spent in every university's research pales in comparison with adding one more day to your life.

Rebecca Miller is a senior in psychology. She can be reached for comment at miller.2791@osu.edu.