The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, and its work underpins nearly every major advance in modern medicine. NIH supports basic science research—the “bottom of the pyramid” work that is too risky and too long-term for private companies to finance. This research includes studies in genetics, cell biology, immunology, neuroscience, and how diseases develop.
Without NIH, the base of our medical innovation pyramid collapses. Companies need that knowledge to create real treatments. COVID-19 vaccines, cancer immunotherapies, and HIV treatments all grew from many years of NIH-supported discoveries.
NIH-funded research primarily supports foundational science. This is the kind of research that looks to understand how biological systems function at the most fundamental level, studying genes, proteins, cellular pathways, and disease mechanisms.
It doesn’t usually result in a new drug tomorrow, but it builds the essential knowledge that makes applied innovation possible. Without this groundwork, private companies would be venturing into the unknown with much higher risk and cost.
Once foundational discoveries are made, the private sector often steps in to conduct translational research. This phase bridges the gap between basic science and practical applications, finding potential drug targets, developing new therapies, and designing early testing models.
Translational research is where discoveries start to show real promise for clinical use, but it is expensive and risky—far more so without the insights generated by publicly funded research.
Finally, clinical trials bring potential therapies to patients. These trials are typically led by private companies that have the resources to navigate the regulatory process, scale production, and ensure safety and efficacy. By the time a therapy reaches this stage, NIH-funded research has often been critical in finding the underlying biology that made the therapy conceivable.
One Arizona-based example brings this home. At the University of Arizona’s Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies, researchers are using NIH-funded work on mRNA to create personalized cancer vaccines.
These highly precise treatments – that have the potential to displace the blunt instrument of chemotherapy in some cases – wouldn’t be possible without the basic science that NIH supports.
A 40% cut to the NIH budget would do more than slow progress—it would break the pipeline. Labs would close. Young scientists would leave. The training ground for tomorrow’s breakthroughs would vanish. That damage would last for decades.
Why NIH matters
- Builds the foundation: NIH pays for early research into how diseases work.
- Drives innovation: Most new treatments—like cancer vaccines and HIV drugs—come from NIH discoveries.
- Supports jobs and learning: Grants fund lab workers, grad students, and new scientists.
- Boosts our economy: Every dollar of NIH research often leads to new companies, patents, and medical tools.
- Keeps us global leaders: NIH helps make sure big medical breakthroughs happen right here in America.
Kennedy’s plan to cut NIH funding by 40% next year will sabotage the scientific discoveries that will change lives for years to come. The long-term damage occurs as research scientists leave the field causing an atrophy of people to actually do the research even after the current administration leaves.