TDAI Faculty Affiliate Contributes to National Academies Report on Aligning Therapeutic Development Investments with Public Health Needs

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has released a landmark report, Strategies to Better Align Investments in Innovations for Therapeutic Development with Disease Burden and Unmet Needs, with significant contributions from Macarius Donneyong, TDAI Faculty Affiliate Member and associate professor at The Ohio State University.

Over the past year, Donneyong served as one of 16 experts selected nationally to serve on the NASEM committee charged with examining how the United States can better direct investments in therapeutic research and development toward the diseases and conditions that have the greatest impact on public health. The committee’s work involved extensive evidence gathering, including closed-door deliberations and public testimonies from leaders across academia, industry, government, and patient advocacy organizations. 

Report Goals and Recommendations

The report outlines strategies to:

• Identify gaps where disease burden and therapeutic development investment are misaligned.
• Encourage funding models and incentives that prioritize high-burden and underserved disease areas.
• Improve data transparency and access for decision-makers in research funding.
• Foster collaboration between public and private sectors to address unmet therapeutic needs.

“These recommendations could reshape how the U.S. prioritizes and funds therapeutic innovation,” said Donneyong. “It’s been a rare and rewarding experience to contribute to a policy-changing report while working alongside some of the most brilliant minds in this field.”

Donneyong encourages faculty, researchers, and students across Ohio State to review the report and attend the webinar to learn more about its findings and implications for the future of therapeutic development.

📄 Read the full report and learn more: National Academies Project Page