Last weekend I attended the 196th Final Exercises at the University of Virginia. It was a wonderful graduation with blue skies and balloons aplenty.
There I met a charming young lady who had proudly received her BS in physics. She told me that, as an undergraduate student, she had participated in research which would soon be published. Standing beside her immigrant parents, she also told me of her plans to study for a PhD, but everything had been sidetracked due to recent federal cutbacks in funding university training programs and basic research projects. On that happy day she wasn’t sure which direction to move, but the sad acceptance of giving up on her career seemed certain.
My own career, decades gone by, passed before me. Also, the son of an immigrant, I was able to study for my doctorate with support from the federal government, I was supported for additional post-doctoral research at another institution, joined a large team of university scientists supported by federal funds, competed for research support from the NIH and was awarded funds to carry out studies of my own in virology. Later in my career I joined the federal government and served as a supervisor of the NIH peer-review process which evaluates the scientific merit of proposed research projects. Thus, I played a role in the process of funding deserving scientists. I am profoundly appreciative of the support I was given and I am proud to have served in process of awarding federal dollars to support outstanding scientists.
I recently learned, from the evening news, that the University of Virginia has experienced 38 terminations to fund federal projects amounting to about $85 million. The public news has also reported that federal support for cancer research is down about one third. In addition, I’ve read a landmark report, issued on May 13th by the United States Senate Health, Education. Labor and Pensions Committee, provided by Sen. Bernard Sanders, Ranking Minority Member, titled “Trump’s War on Science.” This report states that, “As of April 2025, the Trump administration has terminated at least $13.5 billion in health funding, including 1,600 grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and arbitrarily fired thousands of workers who ran America’s scientific infrastructure (nationwide)”.
Our nation’s support for all the various dimensions of scientific endeavor has always given me special pride. The U.S. has led the world in scientific achievements and the practical outcomes of new knowledge has touched all our lives. We only need glance back a few months to recall the threat of COVID-19, which was controlled by a rapidly produced vaccine that would have not been possible except for knowledge developed from molecular biology.
Yet, our concern today must not only address the failure of our nation to support vital new research, important as it is. Not when we can see the distress on the faces of undernourished children, the denial of needed services to our own citizens, and the possible withdrawal of fundamental freedoms which our constitution has provided for all of us.
From personal knowledge, I know that activities are taking place in Europe and elsewhere in the world to recruit highly accomplished U.S. scientists and technicians. Successful recruitment would not only cause us to lose some of our best scientists, but that loss would carry with it the accumulated background knowledge and know how that is vital to carry out world-class research.
How has this come about? Recently Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was questioned by the same committee referred to above. Sen. Chris Murphy asked him about the value of vaccines, and Kennedy was unwilling to clearly acknowledge such. Sen. Tim Kaine quizzed him on funding cutbacks and staff layoffs. Sen. Rick Scott largely sang his praises, while Sen. Lisa Rochester strongly took him to task for not being truthful when addressing vaccine issues or studies involving children’s sleep. Yes, some hardball questions, and some soft. But this unqualified secretary failed to give clear and direct answers, while giving every indication of leading our nation in the wrong direction. The stumbling and incompetent Trump administration, with the announced intention of downsizing the federal government, is doing great harm to our national research base, and the damage done will last for years to come.
Will that physics student, mentioned earlier, ever be able to contribute to her field of study? Will the U.S. become a nation of uncaring folks who only see self-centered efforts as worthwhile? Will we meet the criteria which Albert Einstein suggested when he wrote that mankind is dominated by ignorance, fear and greed?
I say no, we Americans, are far stronger and far better than that! But we need to wake up to the real threat which the Trump administration presents. Each in our own way, but all of us together, need to speak out and become full-time responsible residents of the “land of the free and home of the brave.”
If you know students, encourage them. If you know some scientists, tell them to hold on, to maintain their laboratories, resources and equipment, publish their papers and plan for tomorrow’s exciting research.
Halvor G. Aaslestad resides in Waynesboro.
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