The Trump admin has cancelled the panels that approve NIH grants, and is also banning scientists from communicating with the public, attending conferences, and hiring.
The NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. This will severely halt the development of many lifesaving treatments. Absolutely devastating.
The Trump administration’s NIH freezes do not only affect federal science agencies. NIH grants fund research at universities and many other institutions. Halting NIH grant reviews sabotages important scientific research everywhere.
NIH-funded research does not only benefit people in the US. Researchers with NIH grants often collaborate closely with scientists around the world. And the vaccines, drugs, and treatments developed from NIH-funded research help save the lives of people everywhere.
While the NIH pause is likely temporary, it’s important to note that the type and scale of the freezes are deliberately more extreme than ever seen before, and will hinder scientists in an unprecedented way.
The Trump administration has also signaled its intention to significantly change the NIH’s research priorities, in particular defunding infectious disease research, which is extremely concerning because it’s one of the most important areas of research that we need right now.
It’s so critical to not downplay Trump’s NIH freezes. They signal an intention to drastically impede important scientific research during the course of his second term. Things can get worse from here if we don’t speak up now.
Some actions to oppose Trump’s NIH freezes:
➡️ Contact your electeds and urge them speak up
➡️ Demand your electeds oppose the nominations of RFK as HHS head & Bhattacharya as NIH head
➡️ Sign a group letter opposing the nominations
➡️ Stage a protest outside your lab/work
Dr. Lucky Tran 
Debbie Belair