Funding for an emergency response program at Monmouth University and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) passed the U.S. House of Representatives today as part of the compromise version of the bill that funds the Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said.

    The “Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill” (H.R. 3222) included $1 million for the Rapid Response Database Systems Initiative at Monmouth University that Smith helped secure. These funds will allow state, local and federal agencies to better coordinate response efforts in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.

    “The Rapid Response Database Systems Initiative at Monmouth University is a vital program that will help mitigate the damage of disasters such as a flood or act of terrorism,” Smith said. 

    “Given that New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, it is imperative that our emergency responders to quickly and effectively prepare for and respond to a terror attack or natural disaster,” Smith said. “Monmouth University has developed the technology to implement an exercise system that will achieve that goal.” 

    The program will enable military personnel and emergency response teams to create and maintain their own exercises and plans of action custom tailored to their current location and potential threats. By developing and simulating localized preparedness exercises and drills in advance, our State’s emergency response personnel will have the advantage of familiar terrain and increased situational awareness. 

    Monmouth University has partnered with a variety of organizations that would be data sources in identifying all hazard threats to the military, among them the Joint Base New Jersey (Fort Dix, Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station and McGuire AFB), Fort Monmouth and Picatinny Arsenal.

    Smith also helped secure $2.4 million included in the bill for the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), the State’s first and only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

    “In addition to being one of the fastest growing cancer centers in the country, CINJ has one of the largest cancer networks. This lifesaving network—which consists of hospitals and community physicians—is used to disseminate validated research discoveries and developments more rapidly to people in need,” Smith said.

    The funding will be targeted to the following four initiatives:

• The Dean and Betty Gallo Prostate Cancer Center, which was established with the goal of eradicating prostate cancer and improving the lives of men at risk for the disease through research, treatment, education and prevention. The Center brings together members from ten academic departments whose research is providing new insights into normal prostate biology, unraveling the molecular pathophysiology of prostate cancer, and developing new therapeutic protocols that are moving into clinical trials.
• Center for Imaging, Structures and Function, which will provide state of the art image analysis crucial to the overall applications of cancer research.
• Center for Cancer Bioinformatics, a joint initiative between CINJ and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton that combines the power of theoretical biology, computer science, mathematics, and physics with cancer research expertise.
• Life Center, which coordinates efforts for the eradication of breast cancer.

    “The CINJ’s initiatives literally are life-saving. For instance, over the past year alone, the activities of the Dean and Betty Gallo Prostate Cancer Center have helped lead to the development of over half-a-dozen new clinical trials for prostate cancer treatment and prevention,” Smith said.

    Both projects—the Rapid Response Database Systems Initiative at Monmouth University and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey—were earmarked in H.R. 3222 by Smith. Other members of the New Jersey delegation also earmarked each project.

    The Conference Report for H.R. 3222 passed the House by a vote of 400-15. It must next pass the Senate one final time and then will be sent to the president for his signature into law.