Science in Crisis: A Call to Action

The past two weeks have been a devastating onslaught of blows to science in the United States. When science hurts, we all hurt.  

Dr. Ruvvy here. My research has been supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—our nation’s primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research—since 2019. I even worked at the NIH from 2022 to 2024! Recent executive orders have sought to pause all federal grant programs, including NIH grants that support lifesaving biomedical research, restrict the sharing of federally-funded, public data by the Center for Disease Controls (CDC), and hinder the work of scientists in ensuring that biomedical treatments are affective and accessible for all members of our diverse community.  

These Executive Orders have the potential to halt lifesaving biomedical research on treatments for cancer, behavioral interventions for kids with anxiety disorders, and many other fields.  

In fact, scholars recently were alerted to a ‘banned words list’ restricting the inclusion of words like ‘women’, ‘female’, ‘females’, ‘bias’, ‘systemic’, ‘lgbt’, ‘disability’, and more from grant applications to the National Science Foundation (NSF). Any grant including these terms could be at risk for automatic exclusion from funding opportunities. This means that basic research to help us understand and improve women’s health, for example, could go completely unsupported at the federal level. But, there’s more: terms like ‘bias’ and ‘systemic’ are not just used to talk about racial bias or systemic healthcare inequities (both important topics that DO merit scientific study given the health implications). Researchers use the term ‘bias’ to talk about statistical bias. Some neuroscientists use tasks that measure attention bias. Even scientists who study earthquakes will use terms like ‘systemic’ to talk about errors in their models. These banned words and other related actions are clearly an all-out assault on science in the United States. 

 The consequences of this are dire to our health and our economy. In the state of Michigan alone, $900 million of taxpayer investment through NIH funds yield $2.6 billion in economic benefits from NIH-supported research. NIH-supported research has also led to the development and availability of lifesaving treatments for cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, and mental illness. And that’s just the NIH, not to mention the CDC, NSF, and other federal agencies.  

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO? 

• Contact your senators and representative. Tell them that you want to see legislative action taken to protect scientific research and that you do NOT support Trump’s executive orders that have prompted: 

• The removal of public health data from the CDC’s website 

• Potential freezes to federal grants that not only support research, but also programs like Head Start early childhood education  

• The inability of scientists at NIH agencies to communicate with fellow scientists and the public 

• And several other assaults on the health and rights of the American people 

• You can find contact information for: 

• Your senators here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm  

• Your representative here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative  

• For more information on writing to your representative, please see general information on structuring your letter: https://harkininstitute.drake.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/103/2020/04/Advocacy-Infographics.pdf  

• Also consider calling your lawmaker—it can make twice the impact! 

Together, we can STAY RESILIENT through this crisis and be superheroes for science in our country 

Want to know more about what’s going on?

Check out: “What’s happening in the NIH & NSF?”

A Family Guide to the Super Bowl:

Courtesy of Beverly Weathington (Social Worker at the Merrill Palmer Institute)

• Sporting events (like the Super Bowl) can be a great opportunity to remind children that family is a team!

• Remember, kiddos have different attention spans than adults, so being prepared with some football-themed activities, like the ones in this guide, and some snacks can help make it a fun time for all.

Volunteer Opportunity with World Medical Relief

Sign up to help sort medical supplies to be donated worldwide

Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025

Time: 9am to 11:30am (EST)

Location: World Medical Relief Office, 21725 Melrose Ave. Southfield, MI 48075

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