Standing Up for Science

Dr. Ruvvy recaps her recent visit to Capitol Hill

Dr. Ruvvy accompanied 13 scholars from Wayne State to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. last week. Here’s a recap of their science advocacy trip!

We’ve said it before: science is in crisis.

The past 8 months have brought a number of changes to the structure and function of the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, two federal agencies (among many others) that fund lifesaving biomedical research through taxpayer dollars in the United States.

The Trump Administration has:

  • Stripped away funding for scientific research, meaning that people across the United States are losing access to breakthrough treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety disorders, and other life-threatening conditions

  • Cut the workforce of expert scientists who make innovative discoveries to improve healthcare at the NIH and NSF

  • Disrupted the process for reviewing and distributing federal research funds, meaning that scientific progress is being halted in the U.S. and local economies are hurting

In this critical time, we cannot remain silent. Our country risks losing economic and medical competitiveness to other nations. We are on the brink of widespread job loss, medical care shortages, and stalling on progress towards lifesaving treatments for common chronic illnesses.

Dr. Ruvvy accompanied these thirteen outstanding scholars from Wayne State to Washington, D.C. last week

Standing Up for Science with SciPol Detroit💡

Last week, Dr. Ruvvy traveled to Washington, D.C. with 13 undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral research fellows, and alumni from Wayne State University. The group met with 13 lawmakers from across the state of Michigan. They shared their personal stories of how deficits in funding for scientific research and disruptions to the research enterprise have affected their studies, professional goals, and daily lives. It is important that we use our voices to tell our lawmakers what their constituents (the people they represent/who live and work in their districts) are experiencing. That way, we can advocate for our lawmakers to draft and support legislation and policies that actually benefit our local communities and serve our needs.

We asked our lawmakers to:

  • Oppose massive cuts to indirect costs (aka ‘facilities and administrative costs’)

    • Indirect costs are essential to keep the lights on and maintain the safety of laboratories. The proposed cuts to the federal indirect cost rate could result in thousands of jobs lost and closures of research labs and medical facilities

  • Oppose cuts to the NIH and NSF budgets in fiscal year 2026, as well as recissions to the 2025 budgets

    • Congress is currently trying to take back money it had already approved to support lifesaving biomedical research in this fiscal year, as well as decrease the budgets to continue the support of medical breakthroughs

SciPol Detroit team members meeting with the office of Representative Shri Thanedar, who represents Michigan’s 13th District (where Dr. Ruvvy lives and works, and where Wayne State is located!)

Want to get involved?

For tips and tricks on how you can affectively advocate for your concerns and your community with lawmakers, check out our past newsletter here

Ready to get started?

  • Federal advocacy: 

    Find your federal representatives here 

    Find your federal senators here 

  • If you’re in Michigan . . .  

    Find your state representative and senator here 

If you are interested in joining Science Policy Network Detroit (SciPol Detroit), you can learn more here: https://scipoldetroit.wixsite.com/detroit-1/copy-of-about-us  

 Not in/around Detroit? Find your local chapter of the National Science Policy Network here: https://www.scipolnetwork.org/chapters

THANK YOU to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, the Alumni Association, the Department of Sociology, the Department of Biological Sciences, and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University for supporting the costs of this trip.

CLICK HERE to donate to SciPol Detroit to support future advocacy efforts and the training of the next generation of scientists and policy makers!

The Greenhouse of the Mind:

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Calling young artists in grades 5-12! Auditions for Mosaic Youth Theatre Detroit’s 33rd season are NEXT WEEK!

Auditions for Mosaic Youth Theatre are next week, July 29th and 31st, from 6PM to 8PM. Youth in grades 5 through 12 are welcomed to audition. Registration is required; for more information and to register please visit www.mosaicdetroit.org/auditions 

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