Hey everyone, Ujala here! I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., with nine colleagues from Science Policy Network–Detroit to advocate for sustained federal investment in scientific research, public health, and the next generation of researchers.

During our two days on Capitol Hill, we met with staff from six Michigan House offices and both of Michigan’s U.S. Senate offices. We brought the experiences of Michigan’s researchers, trainees, patients, and institutions directly to lawmakers and congressional staff, highlighting how federal funding and policy decisions affect communities across our state and beyond.

Learning How Advocacy Works

Before heading to Capitol Hill, we met with Lewis-Burke Associates, a government relations firm that helps universities and research organizations communicate their priorities to federal policymakers.

Their team helped arrange our meetings with House and Senate offices and taught us how the federal appropriations process determines annual funding for agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

They also helped us turn our experiences, concerns, and recommendations into clear messages that lawmakers and congressional staff could understand and act on.

I learned that effective advocacy requires more than understanding the science. We must also explain why an issue matters, who will be affected, and what specific action we are asking policymakers to take.

Why Science Needs Our Support

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

• Science affects nearly every part of our lives, including patient treatments, the economy, and the education of our future workforce.

• Cuts or delays in federal research funding can:

  • Interrupt promising studies

  • Reduce training and employment opportunities

  • Slow progress toward treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety disorders, and other serious conditions

  • Weaken local economies

  • Put the United States at risk of falling behind other nations in scientific and medical innovation

• Sharing the experiences and needs of laboratories, universities, patients, and communities helps lawmakers understand how policy decisions affect the people they represent.

• Over the past year, changes to the structure and operations of the NIH and NSF have created growing concern within the scientific community and beyond.

• These federal agencies use public funding to support lifesaving biomedical research, scientific discovery, and innovation across the United States.

We Asked Our Lawmakers To:

• Provide at least $51.303 billion for the NIH in FY27. NIH received $46.8 billion in FY25 and $47.2 billion in FY26. This increase would advance medical research, improve public health, support the development of new treatments, and train future biomedical researchers and healthcare innovators.

• Provide $9.9 billion for the NSF in FY27 to strengthen scientific discovery, innovation, economic growth, and workforce development across many disciplines.

• Support the NIH IMPROVE Act, S.3254/H.R.6238, and efforts to protect and strengthen biomedical research for pregnant people and their babies.

• Address concerns surrounding OMB-2026-0034, a proposed rule that could give political and administrative priorities greater influence over how federal grants are reviewed, awarded, and managed rather than the scientific review process.

  • Because federal grants support much more than science, these changes could also affect public health, education, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, and other community programs.

  • We must protect independent, merit-based grant review so federal funding decisions remain guided by expertise, evidence, and the quality of the proposed work.

• Support H.R. 9370, the Protect Local Funding Act, which seeks to prevent the proposed OMB rule from being finalized or implemented and preserve a fair federal grant-making process.

• Pass full-year appropriations on time rather than relying on long-term continuing resolutions, which can delay grants, restrict new research, disrupt hiring and training, and make long-term planning difficult for agencies such as the NIH and NSF.

What We Say Matters

One of the most important lessons I took from this trip was that advocacy can make a real difference.

During one of our meetings, congressional staff shared that their office was already aware of concerns surrounding the proposed OMB rule because advocates from universities and colleges across the country, including members of our own community, had continued bringing attention to it.

That moment showed me that what we say matters. One conversation may not immediately change a policy, but informed and consistent advocacy can help lawmakers understand an issue, recognize how it affects their constituents, and take meaningful action.

What I Am Most Proud Of

Our group advocated for more than our own projects or careers. We uplifted the voices and experiences of patients waiting for better treatments, students hoping to build careers in science, communities that benefit from federal investment, and discoveries that have not yet been made.

This experience reminded me that scientists have a responsibility not only to conduct research, but also to communicate its value. By bringing our knowledge and experiences beyond the laboratory, we can help shape decisions that affect the future of science and the people it serves.

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 Ben L. Silberstein Institute for Brain Health, the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences, the Alumni Association, the Department of Biological Sciences, the Department of Psychology, and Government Relations and Community Engagement 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!

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