Cuts and disruptions in federal research funding are causing many young neuroscientists to reconsider their career choices.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
A decade-long boom in brain science in the United States may be heading towards a bust. Continued disruptions in federal funding are causing many young neuroscientists to reconsider their careers. NPR's John Hamilton reports that the loss of these scientists could slow down research into everything from autism to Alzheimer's disease.
JOHN HAMILTON, BYLINE: About 20,000 neuroscience scientists are expected to gather in San Diego this weekend for the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. But Clara Zundel, a postdoctoral fellow at Wayne State University, won't be there.
CLARA ZUNDEL: You know, due to changes in funding, I had to factor in travel expenses this year.
HAMILTON: Zundel is studying how pollution affects the developing brain. Her work is funded by the National Institutes of Health. But since President Trump took office, the NIH has been hit by cuts, grant terminations and dramatic policy changes. So Zundel is unsure whether support for her research will continue and whether she will be able to find a permanent job.
ZUNDEL: Many universities are still partially or even completely freezing admissions. And so I became very, very scared to think about how I was going to take the next step.
HAMILTON: Even so, Zundel isn't ready to give up on her career plans just yet.
ZUNDEL: Talk to me in three months, I mean, I might change my mind, but I really like what I do. I want to keep doing what I do, and I want to keep doing it here in the United States.
HAMILTON: Other young researchers are less sure, says John Morrison, a professor at the University of California, Davis and president of the Society for Neuroscience.
JOHN MORRISON: You hear things like, “I've been preparing for this my whole life.” Is he gone now? Is it no longer possible to be the scientist I always wanted to be? Many will simply choose something else.
HAMILTON: …Or move the research to another country. Morrison says what's at stake is the next generation of scientists who will study the mechanisms underlying disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.
MORRISON: The United States has been a world leader in research for decades, and now that leadership is under threat.
HAMILTON: The NIH often awards five-year grants, and scientists tend to structure their research around that term. But Morrison says many of the awarded grants have been suspended or terminated entirely by the Trump administration.
MORRISON: If you abort a grant in the middle, you'll disrupt all that progress and get to the point where the work you've already done is useless.
HAMILTON: Federal health officials say the cuts reflect efforts to cut waste, end support for modern science and align research with the administration's priorities. Morrison says the cuts may result in short-term savings, but in the long term he says the human and financial costs will be huge.
MORRISON: We often quote Mary Lasker, who was a famous advocate for biomedical research and founded the Lasker Prize. And she said: if you think research is expensive, try the disease.
HAMILTON: Brain science has long enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. Diane Lipscomb, a professor at Brown University, is the director of government and public affairs for the Society for Neuroscience. One of the reasons lawmakers support basic research is because it has been a huge boost to the U.S. economy since World War II, she said.
DIANE LIPSCOMBE: I don't think we've ever spoken to anyone in Congress who disagreed with this.
HAMILTON: But the cuts and disruptions come from the executive branch, not Congress. That's why neuroscientists are taking their case directly to the public. For example, the society's website now features videos of scientists explaining what they do and why it's important. Lipscomb thinks that message will be heard, and when she talks to young scientists who ask for career advice, she tries to send an optimistic message.
LIPSCOMBE: You just have to stay with what you love because everything will get better.
HAMILTON: At least there's hope.
John Hamilton, NPR News.
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