The Fight of Scientific Research

With less than two months into President Trump’s second term, he has already begun implementing significant changes. With the new Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, many official
government corporations have faced layoffs and major budget cuts. On Wednesday, March 5,
federal judges barred an executive order issued on February 15 that would cut funding from the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) to universities across the United States stating that it is
unlawful. Since the end of January, grants have been threatened and thousands of employees
have been fired. Among the cuts, the NIH would be stripped of millions of funding for areas including
Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease research.

The National Institutes of Health, or the NIH, conducts and supports biomedical and
behavioral research that aims to understand the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of
diseases. According to the NIH budget, almost 83% of funding is awarded to extramural
research, largely through 50,000 competitive grants to over 300,000 people at more than 2,500
universities, hospitals, and other private research institutions. They are the primary federal
agency for medical research in the United States. The NIH funds research focusing on cancer,
infectious diseases, mental health, genetics, and more. Recent funding has gone to COVID-19
vaccinations, human brain mapping, and genetic disorder treatments. This being said, NIH
funding supports a large number of graduate school research. These students often get funded
through grants awarded to faculty or through fellowships, which are then used to support their
research, stipends, and tuition. Facing these extreme budget cuts, it won’t just be science that is
affected.

Statistics show that around 74% of graduate students have received some sort of financial
aid. 43% of this aid comes from grants given by private institutions. Without the backing of
scholarships, a vast amount of students will reconsider going to graduate school due to the
finances. This leaves thousands of Americans unable to get the higher education they want or
need for their profession. Additionally, without competition to receive scholarships, there will be stifled innovation, delayed medical progress, and a loss of scientific talent. This in turn could lead to people leaving the country to further their education along with the possibility of finding better careers.

Human capital flight, or its slang term ‘brain drain’, refers to the loss of skilled or educated workers from one area to another. This often results from turmoil, the existence of more favorable professional opportunities in other countries, or a desire to seek a higher standard of living. This is often seen in smaller, developing countries in regions such as parts of Africa, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. These developing countries often do not have the infrastructure needed to support skilled professionals. This is often due to political instability under repressive regimes and economic turmoil. If funding is limited in the United States, progress will be limited shortly after.

Some might argue that if the research has not led to finding a cure, then it is a waste of money.
Yet, others argue that most scientific research has continual studies conducted in order to confirm the existence of an event, concept, or experience with then the research for treatments, managements, and possible cures subsequently following. As such, the battle of scientific research continues to forge ahead as calls for standing up for science remain relevant amid governmental funding changes.

(Featured image source: katemangostar / Freepik)