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Maine Girl, 9, Urges Congress To Continue Funding For Diabetes Research

screen shot from Sen. Susan Collins Facebook page
Ruby Anderson spoke to the Aging Committee about the Special Diabetes Program, funding for which is due to expire at the end of September.

A 9-year-old girl from Yarmouth testified before a congressional committee Wednesday morning on the impact of type-1 diabetes on her life and the importance of continuing a program that funds research into its cause.

Ruby Anderson spoke to the Aging Committee about the Special Diabetes Program, funding for which is due to expire at the end of September.

Anderson said she is happy that the devices she uses to manage her insulin levels have improved, but said that's not enough.

"I wish my diabetes would just disappear," she said, "and senators, I don't want my brothers and sisters to get type-1 diabetes. We need more research to find a cure. We need to figure out what causes type-1 diabetes so we can stop it."

Anderson said she plans to do some research of her own when she's an adult. "When I grow up I want to be a scientist, partly because type-1 diabetes research is so important. And if they haven't found a cure for diabetes by then, I will."

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the aging committee and is a co-chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, invited Anderson to testify. The Special Diabetes Program last year funded $150 million for National Institutes of Health research on type-1 diabetes.

Nora is originally from the Boston area but has lived in Chicago, Michigan, New York City and at the northern tip of New York state. Nora began working in public radio at Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor and has been an on-air host, a reporter, a digital editor, a producer, and, when they let her, played records.