President Obama honored the memory of Nancy Reagan in his Saturday radio address.
Obama highlighted Reagan’s contributions to medical science as a spokesperson for Alzheimer research.
“Nobody understood better than Nancy Reagan the importance of pursuing treatments that hold the potential and the promise to improve and save lives,” Obama said.
Nancy Reagan, the widow of former President Ronald Reagan, died last week at the age of 94. She was laid to rest at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Friday. First lady Michelle Obama attended the funeral.
The former first lady began as an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research after her husband’s diagnosis with the disease. She urged unrestricted federal funding for stem cell research to help treat Alzheimer’s and other medical issues, famously breaking with President George W. Bush over the Bush’s restriction of stem cell research.
“Nancy became a voice on behalf of millions of families experiencing the depleting, aching reality of Alzheimer’s disease” Obama said in his address. “She brought her characteristic intelligence and focus to the twin causes of stem cell research and Alzheimer’s research.”
“When I signed an order to resume federal stem cell research, I was proud that she was one of the first phone calls I made,” Obama said.
In addition, he announced the Precision Medicine Initiative last year “to advance our ability to tailor health care and treat diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s by accounting for individual differences in people’s genes, environments, and lifestyles.”
Obama credited his actions to foster more collaboration between researchers, doctors and patients to accelerate precision medicine in part to Reagan.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Nancy Reagan, I’ve never been more optimistic that we are getting closer to the day when every single patient can get the care they need and deserve,” the president said.
“I’ve never been more optimistic that we will one day find a cure for devastating diseases like Alzheimer’s,” he said. “And I can think of no better way to honor our former first lady’s legacy than by working together, as one nation, toward that goal.”
