[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 168 (Monday, November 16, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1625-E1626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. ROBERT J. BEALL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2015

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the work and 
achievements of Dr. Robert Beall, who recently stepped down as 
president and chief executive officer of the Cystic Fibrosis 
Foundation. In his 35 years with the Foundation, Dr. Beall's efforts to 
advance cystic fibrosis research and treatment have had an 
extraordinary impact. When Dr. Beall began work with the Foundation in 
1980, the median predicted life expectancy of a patient with cystic 
fibrosis was 18 years. Today, it is more than 40 years.
  In 1976, Dr. Beall was first introduced to the disease when he 
attended the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's meeting outside of San Diego. 
There, he was shocked to see how little scientific understanding there 
was about the disease. In the words of Dr. Beall, ``the foundation was 
so small at that point that the parents were bringing all the food and 
operating the projector--and I met the parents . . . Kids were dying 
then at a very young age. After I met the parents, I went back to the 
National Institutes of Health and said: `I want to do this.' '' Dr. 
Beall went on to manage the National Institutes of Health's cystic 
fibrosis program. There, he earned a National Institutes of Health 
Merit Award for his significant contributions to the field.
  In 1980, Dr. Beall joined the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation where he 
served first as their executive vice president for medical affairs and, 
beginning in 1994, as their president and CEO. During Dr. Beall's time 
with the Foundation, medical awards for cystic fibrosis research grew 
from $4 million to over $85 million and supported groundbreaking 
research including the discovery in 1989 of the genetic defect 
responsible for the disease. Further, under Dr. Beall's oversight, the 
Foundation established 114 care centers and cutting-edge research 
facilities. We also have Dr. Beall to thank for developing and 
advancing the innovative concept of venture philanthropy. With this 
practice, Dr. Beall created the Therapeutics Development Program to 
connect researchers with biotech companies. Thanks to Dr. Beall's work, 
many children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis have lived into adulthood 
and it is no longer a pediatric disease. Today, more than 50 percent of 
patients are over 18 years of age.
  As co-chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, I have had the privilege 
of working with Dr. Beall and seeing firsthand his passion and 
commitment to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. His steadfast 
leadership and innovative

[[Page E1626]]

thinking has improved the lives of thousands of people with cystic 
fibrosis and their families.
  Today, I ask all Americans to join me in thanking Dr. Beall for his 
tireless dedication to helping people with cystic fibrosis and in 
wishing him the best in his new endeavors.

                          ____________________