Federal funding for research enables technological breakthroughs, the advancement of human welfare, the expansion of human knowledge, and plays a critical role in our country's international competitiveness. But while federal funding for Johns Hopkins University is at a record high, federal funding for all U.S. universities has continued to decline in recent years. In 2017, the overall share of federally funded higher education R&D was the lowest since the national survey began in 1953.

This decline is a threat to national innovation and our international competitive edge.

Ronald J. Daniels President, Johns Hopkins University "[The work of early career researchers] is not only advancing scientific understanding, but also creating products and therapies that improve the quality of life in America."

To underscore the role and subsequent results of federally-funded research, Johns Hopkins will host a showcase of 21 project teams from all corners of the institution at a special event in the House of Representatives. The showcase, called Hopkins on the Hill, takes place Wednesday, June 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Rayburn Cafeteria of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public, and will include elected officials and their staff members, as well as Johns Hopkins leadership, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP online in advance.

"We are thrilled to highlight these early career researchers whose scientific investigations and innovations represent a fraction of the remarkable, publicly funded research underway at Johns Hopkins," says JHU President Ronald J. Daniels. "Their work is not only advancing scientific understanding, but also creating products and therapies that improve the quality of life in America."

Daniels has long been an advocate for the importance of federal support for research, especially for young researchers. Johns Hopkins has led U.S. universities in research and development spending for 39 consecutive years, putting a record $2.562 billion in FY2017 into projects to cure disease, promote human health, advance technology, and expand knowledge of the universe and ourselves.

"The wide breadth of research at Johns Hopkins, from engineering to the life sciences, from the social sciences to the humanities, continues to be funded at record levels," says Denis Wirtz, the university's vice provost for research. "This support allows the institution to uphold its critical mission of fostering independent and original research, and bringing the benefits of discovery to the world."

Nearly 20 federal agencies—including the Army Research Laboratory, National Endowment for the Arts, National Institutes of Health, NASA, and USAID—have provided support for the early stage researchers and their teams who will present at the showcase. These researchers and teams represent all divisions and affiliates of Johns Hopkins University. They are: