Hello,
I am a researcher in the U.S. who began writing about the NIH federal funding issues just to keep people informed about things that weren't reaching most major news outlets.
I began this piece several weeks ago, and finally finished it this past week. The focus is on the attacks against the NIH for their gain-of-function research funding policy. I ended up doing a deep dive into the history of the policy which began in 2014, and trying to condense everything into an article for a broad audience.
You may have seen all of the proposed legislation about gain-of-function (GOF) research, and more recently increasing attacks on mRNA vaccines. It is being presented by legislative members as a concern over safety issues, however, it turns out there are many reasons to question if that is the legitimate reason these bills are being introduced. It's important to note that the GOF legislation is not aimed at improving any safety requirements for the research. It is only aimed at funding policy.
The language of the bills is very vague, and many researchers worry that the legislation would make it illegal to federally fund any vaccine research in the U.S. This would mean a complete privatization of vaccine research. Pharmaceutical companies would still be free to carry out the allegedly dangerous research because it is (typically) privately funded.
Interestingly, if you do a deep dive into the policy history, and everything that has led to this moment, you will find that an updated set of policy guidelines has been in the works since last summer. The updated policy may even be extend to the creation of mandatory oversight laws for private research. Meaning that the updated policy guidelines which are due to be released by May of 2025, would not only address the safety concerns which are being used to justify the GOF legislation for federal funding, they may even result in safety improvements and oversight across the private sector.
So, why do so many law makers seem to be in such a rush to pass these bills that will only privatize the allegedly dangerous research?
The article is broken up into 5 sections including the introduction. The main focus of this article is GOF funding policy history, which is covered in sections 1-3. The last two sections briefly focus on the legislation attacking the research, and some potential motivations for vaccine research privatization.
I am planning two individual follow up articles that will cover these last two sections in greater depth. My goal is to spread public awareness of this information, to defend science and improve public health. Please help me do that by either sharing the article or just by spreading this information by word of mouth.
Thank you!
I think one thing we're all going to have to remember, is that living in unprecedented times means we're going to have to start holding ourselves to unprecedented standards. We should all be very angry and demanding better as a society, but it's important to give ourselves grace as individuals, remember it's up to us to try and avoid the things that make us unhappy as much as we can, and be proud of ourselves when we do manage to find glimmers of happiness while living in a dystopian society.
I say that to remind myself as much as to give advice to anyone else. I remember dreading 30 as it approached, and feeling like I was nowhere near where I was supposed to be. It felt like I had done everything I was supposed to do, but just never saw the payout for doing it. I had gotten a college degree, then a graduate degree. This allowed me to get a 9-5 job that I dreaded going to everyday. I was under a mountain of college loan debt. I barely made enough to cover my rent, let alone ever consider buying a house. I felt like I was going nowhere fast, and when I looked at social media, it felt like I was way behind all of my peers.
That was also around the time I decided that if I couldn't obtain the material things that were supposed to make me feel happy and successful, I would focus on maximizing the activities and relationships that made me happy while slowly (and sometimes painfully) cutting out the things that only made me more miserable.
Flashforward a decade as I begin to approach 40, and I wish I could tell you that the material things eventually all worked themselves out, but pretty sure you already know they didn't.
Financially I'm in basically the same situation I was then, except now I have a child to take care of, so obviously that means less money. Even with cost of living and merit based raises over the years, with inflation and an even worse housing market, it just never seemed to work out to making much of a difference. I'm still buried under the mountain of student debt and barely make rent each month. I also found out this past week that I'm losing my job soon, and as a federally funded science researcher, the prospects of me finding one to replace it aren't great to say the least.
However, even though the stakes are more dire than ever, and hard times are only forecast to get harder, I don't feel quite as pessimistic as I did when I was approaching 30. I actually feel a bit of comradery with the majority of Americans, because I think most of us are in a pretty similar boat. As far as my personal relationships and family, I'm happier than I've ever been.
Maybe it's just a part of mellowing out with age, but I feel it's also in part due to being very happy with my personal relationships, and the people that are in my life now vs a decade ago. I've gotten involved in community work in my free time, and as of 2025 I feel a drive to embrace that kind of work more than ever. In a lot of ways starting from scratch at almost 40 is scary, but in some ways it's actually somewhat of a relief. The last of a mirage that was keeping me in my stable career has been destroyed, and it would feel a bit more delusional of me to jump ship to a similar job which will eventually meet the same fate.
Again, I want to stress I don't say this as a way to get people to be docile and just accept what's happening, but to channel your anger and frustration into something that gives you a sense of accomplishment. If anyone in your life is making you think that being unhappy with the current situation is strictly a you problem, and not a reflection of reality, that's a good sign you should probably lessen your ties to them for now. If they want to do some self reflection and try to come back later, that's always an option.
Finding others in your community that feel the same way, and working together locally to keep people informed and prepared for policy changes before they happen, is one of the easiest ways you can improve your immediate surroundings and feel some power in a situation where we're all pretty powerless.
Most of the senators and representatives we've elected to represent us and look out for our interests are failing hard. It's important to keep in mind that everything happening at a federal level is going to start happening at state levels. In many red states it has already begun. DOGE inspired taskforces are popping up all over the country. I've been keeping a list of them, but even since my most recent update a few weeks ago, more have been announced.
Regardless of where they're located, all of these DOGE task forces have a common goal. Make up a dollar amount to show how much they're saving tax payers, find excuses to cut money for social programs (and in some cases even cuts to government safety programs!) to make that number a reality, make the lives of citizens worse and make governors and their wealthy friends even wealthier, all in the name of trimming wasteful spending and getting rid of bureaucracy.
It's easy to get stuck in a mindset where you let the reality of yesterday influence the way you view your present, but it's a mental trap. I haven't used any form of social media that isn't anonymous in almost a decade. No Facebook or Instagram. I don't scroll by pictures of a lifestyle that never even came close to matching my reality. I think it's no coincidence that I no longer feel left out among my peers, when I'm not acknowledging false public images people attempt to shape for themselves online. Instead, I feel more connected to a bigger chunk of America than ever before, and it's helped me to realize how much we all have in common regardless of political identity.