Take action for federal funding of research
Dear members of the ASCI community,
The ASCI has produced a campaign to highlight the critical importance of federal funding of scientific and medical research. “Fund Research / Save Our Cures” is available here:
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The key campaign goals are to reach beyond our community to make the case for government investment in research and to prompt citizens to contact their Congressional representatives to support this investment.
- A brief video describes the impact of federally funded research:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6JZ_EabCeg - Other brief videos feature patients describing the importance of this research:
https://www.youtube.com/@SaveOurCures/shorts
(thank you to members and others who helped us reach these patients) - The campaign features an easy way to contact Congressional representatives:
https://www.fundresearch.org/take-action
Share the links freely and follow the campaign on the social platforms you use. If you haven’t already, take a moment to urge your representatives to support federal funding of science.
The campaign stems from internal and community conversations about the impact of the administration’s actions taken toward the NIH – well-known to us: the reduction of indirect costs earlier this year, the suspension or cancellation of grants already awarded, NIH campus workforce reductions and reorganization, and more recently the administration’s request to cut the NIH budget by an astounding 40%.
While the US House of Representatives agreed to the cut, the US Senate expressed its support for a stable NIH budget. At present it appears that the next US fiscal-year budget may not see a devastating reduction for the NIH or other agencies that support the scientific and biomedical enterprise. However, it takes only a quick read of the day’s headlines to see that America’s status as a scientific powerhouse is in the crosshairs.
To formulate our campaign, we undertook a survey of the general population to find out what people knew and which messages resonated with them. Among the findings, only 52% of respondents were aware that the government funds research. At a time when this research is producing amazing results and is poised to address significant challenges presented by major diseases, it’s unfortunate that awareness isn’t greater. However, it’s an opportunity for us, this campaign, and others like it: to engage with the tax-paying members of the public about the great work they’re supporting, to grow their understanding, and to have them join us in advocating to continue the progress research has made for many decades.
Priscilla Y. Hsue, MD
President, 2025-2026
The American Society for Clinical Investigation
https://the-asci.org
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