The National Institute of Health’s budget cuts took effect Feb. 7. For sophomore Dwight Erdmann, these cuts hit close to home.

“Science is a really stressful place to be in, and my mom is definitely stressed out. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., historically has not believed in vaccines, and a lot of her research involves antibiotic research, which is adjacent to vaccines,” Erdmann said.

At Washington University in Professor Dr. Petra Levin’s lab, she studies how bacteria grow and also how the environment changes their response to antibiotics.

“If you get sick and take a drug like cephalexin or ciprofloxacin, we’re interested in how the environment of the infection site might impact sensitivity to that drug,” Levin said.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has funded this research for decades. At Levin’s lab, she receives between $250,000 and $280,000 annually. Currently, there is a freeze on all NIH money for grants.

“Without this money, we can’t do anything, because WashU does not provide us research support,” Levin said.

The freeze has created unreviewed grants across the country. Levin, as the Washington University’s biology lab Associate Chair for Research, has seen one-third of her colleagues’ proposals for grants get stuck. Early career researchers are especially vulnerable.

“This is discouraging for the younger students because it’s so uncertain,” Levin said. “It’s like if you know what the landscape is, you can decide whether you want to take that risk, but if you don’t know what the landscape is, then you have no idea where you’re going.”

Levin believes that the United States has been outstanding at biomedical research because of the investments made through the NIH. Scientists have been encouraged to explore unexplored areas, which has led to unexpected discoveries such as better treatments for pancreatic cancer.

“Weight loss drugs are also for diabetes from original research done on Gila monsters reptiles, and that’s the kind of creativity that the US system has fostered,” Levin said. “Americans don’t all realize that the US has been outstanding in biomedical research because we have invested a lot in it.”

Each dollar the NIH invests in this research generates two in return. Missouri alone receives nearly one billion dollars annually in federal research funding.

“To keep the US competitive and to continue our really extraordinary run of essentially finding cures for different kinds of cancer, infectious disease and all sorts of things, I think we need to keep funding basic research. It would be really great if our representatives would look at it from an economic perspective,” Levin said.

According to the National Institute of Health, deaths from infectious diseases have decreased from 797 per 100,000 in 1900 to 36 per 100,000 today. This is a result of modern medicine, which was discovered through laboratory research. 

“Now, [a major cause of death] is cancer. The reason cancer replaced infectious diseases is because cancer is really something you can only get if you live long enough. People rarely lose children to infectious disease, and that’s because of science,” Levin said. “That’s the takeaway: appreciate where we are and the science and tech that got us here.”

Although Levin initially thought current fellows would be safe, Levin learned that the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health Related Research program was terminated. 

“[I feel] pretty defeated. This particular type of grant helps students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds or are underrepresented get training necessary to become PIs (lab heads). My student is one of many PhD students, post doctoral scientists and young PIs who are supported by these programs,” Levin said. “Younger scientists are the future of biomedical research and need to be supported as much as possible. Cancelling these programs is very short-sighted.”

Levin believes that this should not stop the interest of students interested in jobs in science.

“I think if you are really interested in pursuing a career in STEM—particularly biomedical research—I would not let this deter you from majoring in Biology, Chemistry or related areas in college,” Levin said. “In the big picture I am an optimist. I am hopeful people will ultimately realize that research is important for the public good—and I also hope it doesn’t take a pandemic or a massive measles outbreak to do it.”