Across our state, from research labs in Ann Arbor to community clinics in Detroit, the National Institute of Health (NIH) fuels the research that keeps our families healthy and our economy strong. As someone who has grown up in Troy, attended Troy Athens, and worked at Wayne State University, I am scared of the consequences these massive cuts to funding will have on our community. The recent attacks on the NIH, and subsequently on our nation’s scientists, have left me concerned for the consequences this will have on not only our nation’s academic achievements and advancements, but also the livelihood of our communities.
The misconception about NIH grants is that they only pay for the research project itself, but their application spans staff, community programs and indirect costs at the institution, such as utilities and administrative staff. Cutting NIH grants does not only affect the research itself, but also anyone adjacent to the project.
Students are losing their ability to train and learn, and many technicians and managers are losing their jobs. The state of Michigan is dependent on the jobs and economic contributions that NIH-funded institutions provide. In 2024, institutions in Michigan received nearly $1 billion in NIH grants, which accounted for an economic impact of about $2.5 billion (Citizens Research Council of Michigan, 2025).
The University of Michigan receives the third highest amount of money from the NIH (U-M, 2025). About 12,000 jobs are directly paid for by money awarded from the NIH (Citizens Research Council of Michigan, 2025).
Behind auto manufacturing, technology and healthcare are Michigan’s second and third leading industries (KR Group INC, 2025). Both industries benefit from NIH grants and they are directly impacted by research conducted at universities and colleges. A majority of Michiganders will experience these funding cuts first-hand, as someone in their family or community likely works in one of these fields – and it won’t just be our economy that suffers; our community well-being will too.
Our community benefits from institutions that receive NIH funding in numerous ways including: training hospitals, community clinics, tutoring services, and multiple community programs. Wayne State directly benefits Detroit through initiatives such as the Center for Urban Responses to Research (CURES) and the Office of Community Engagement Research (OCEnR), both facilitate collaboration between researchers, community members, and local organizations to address issues such as environmental health, health disparities, and economic development.
Several Michigan colleges and universities support local clinics in their community, and many who visit these clinics do not have access to other means of healthcare.
Multiple universities, specifically the University of Michigan, Western Michigan, and Wayne State offer free tutoring to the community. Universities and colleges directly improve their community’s overall health and education, and these cuts threaten to dismantle the progress we have made, and lower our quality of life.
While higher education institutions step up to support their communities, the federal administration projects misleading narratives that undermine the trust in critical research and community work they do.
When COVID-19 hit, Wayne State stepped up with its Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and helped small businesses stay afloat by assisting them with obtaining government contracts and training individuals about business management (Wayne State, 2019). Michigan’s higher educational institutions work to strengthen the local community, while the federal government often attempts to dismantle our community through the use of false claims.
The White House has an article posted about the Biden administration spending millions on transgender animal experiments, which is not completely accurate. While the research can be applied to transgender health care, that is not the only application. Most studies examine hormones, which play apart in menopause, puberty, and hormone associated cancers. Hormones studies benefit everybody as every single American has hormones.
Two examples of the supposed ‘transgender’ studies that have had their funding cut are a study examining estrogen’s and testosterone’s effect on wound healing and a study examining how hormone therapy affects fertility. Hormone therapy is used in gender affirming care, but it is primarily used as a treatment for breast, prostate and other hormone-sensitive cancers, and it is used to treat symptoms of menopause. Any study remotely connected to the word “transgender” has been unfairly criticized.
The current administration confused the words “transgenic” and “transgender.” Transgenic mice are mice that have an altered genetic makeup, and are used to study genes, diseases and test potential treatments.
Transgenic mice are not new and have been around since the early 1980’s (Yale, 1999), but they are only being targeted now not because of any legitimate concern, but because of the current administration's hate for the 1 percent of Americans who are transgender (USA Facts, 2025).
Their distaste for the transgender community has blinded them in their ability to understand these studies fairly and accurately and as a result we are losing countless studies aimed at benefiting the United States.
These funding cuts also impact the reputation of research in the United States. The United States has been recognized as the leading country for research, with a significant number of publications, patents and number of doctoral (PhD) degrees awarded. However, these cuts will diminish our reputation and force research out to other countries. We will now have to outsource a majority of research, and this drastically affects the cost of disease treatments. A new cancer treatment that used to be 45 minutes away will be gone forever, and that individual will not receive that same quality of care.
Scientists in the United States have worked hard to drive the American economy through research. The Trump Administration has preached about bringing jobs back to the United States, but the NIH funding cuts achieve the exact opposite.
Scientists are your friends and family members and our sole aim is to assist the community, and further the United States’ research endeavors. Scientists help to uplift communities and are a staple to our nation’s economy. We cannot allow for this administration to continue blindly cutting research if we want a healthy, educated, and economically stable country.
The people of Michigan have historically not backed down from oppressive and exploitative governments, and it is time to stand up for science, for education, and for our community.
Sarah Snider is a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, pursuing a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences.
The misconception about NIH grants is that they only pay for the research project itself, but their application spans staff, community programs and indirect costs at the institution, such as utilities and administrative staff. Cutting NIH grants does not only affect the research itself, but also anyone adjacent to the project.
Students are losing their ability to train and learn, and many technicians and managers are losing their jobs. The state of Michigan is dependent on the jobs and economic contributions that NIH-funded institutions provide. In 2024, institutions in Michigan received nearly $1 billion in NIH grants, which accounted for an economic impact of about $2.5 billion (Citizens Research Council of Michigan, 2025).
The University of Michigan receives the third highest amount of money from the NIH (U-M, 2025). About 12,000 jobs are directly paid for by money awarded from the NIH (Citizens Research Council of Michigan, 2025).
Behind auto manufacturing, technology and healthcare are Michigan’s second and third leading industries (KR Group INC, 2025). Both industries benefit from NIH grants and they are directly impacted by research conducted at universities and colleges. A majority of Michiganders will experience these funding cuts first-hand, as someone in their family or community likely works in one of these fields – and it won’t just be our economy that suffers; our community well-being will too.
Our community benefits from institutions that receive NIH funding in numerous ways including: training hospitals, community clinics, tutoring services, and multiple community programs. Wayne State directly benefits Detroit through initiatives such as the Center for Urban Responses to Research (CURES) and the Office of Community Engagement Research (OCEnR), both facilitate collaboration between researchers, community members, and local organizations to address issues such as environmental health, health disparities, and economic development.
Several Michigan colleges and universities support local clinics in their community, and many who visit these clinics do not have access to other means of healthcare.
Multiple universities, specifically the University of Michigan, Western Michigan, and Wayne State offer free tutoring to the community. Universities and colleges directly improve their community’s overall health and education, and these cuts threaten to dismantle the progress we have made, and lower our quality of life.
While higher education institutions step up to support their communities, the federal administration projects misleading narratives that undermine the trust in critical research and community work they do.
When COVID-19 hit, Wayne State stepped up with its Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and helped small businesses stay afloat by assisting them with obtaining government contracts and training individuals about business management (Wayne State, 2019). Michigan’s higher educational institutions work to strengthen the local community, while the federal government often attempts to dismantle our community through the use of false claims.
The White House has an article posted about the Biden administration spending millions on transgender animal experiments, which is not completely accurate. While the research can be applied to transgender health care, that is not the only application. Most studies examine hormones, which play apart in menopause, puberty, and hormone associated cancers. Hormones studies benefit everybody as every single American has hormones.
Two examples of the supposed ‘transgender’ studies that have had their funding cut are a study examining estrogen’s and testosterone’s effect on wound healing and a study examining how hormone therapy affects fertility. Hormone therapy is used in gender affirming care, but it is primarily used as a treatment for breast, prostate and other hormone-sensitive cancers, and it is used to treat symptoms of menopause. Any study remotely connected to the word “transgender” has been unfairly criticized.
The current administration confused the words “transgenic” and “transgender.” Transgenic mice are mice that have an altered genetic makeup, and are used to study genes, diseases and test potential treatments.
Transgenic mice are not new and have been around since the early 1980’s (Yale, 1999), but they are only being targeted now not because of any legitimate concern, but because of the current administration's hate for the 1 percent of Americans who are transgender (USA Facts, 2025).
Their distaste for the transgender community has blinded them in their ability to understand these studies fairly and accurately and as a result we are losing countless studies aimed at benefiting the United States.
These funding cuts also impact the reputation of research in the United States. The United States has been recognized as the leading country for research, with a significant number of publications, patents and number of doctoral (PhD) degrees awarded. However, these cuts will diminish our reputation and force research out to other countries. We will now have to outsource a majority of research, and this drastically affects the cost of disease treatments. A new cancer treatment that used to be 45 minutes away will be gone forever, and that individual will not receive that same quality of care.
Scientists in the United States have worked hard to drive the American economy through research. The Trump Administration has preached about bringing jobs back to the United States, but the NIH funding cuts achieve the exact opposite.
Scientists are your friends and family members and our sole aim is to assist the community, and further the United States’ research endeavors. Scientists help to uplift communities and are a staple to our nation’s economy. We cannot allow for this administration to continue blindly cutting research if we want a healthy, educated, and economically stable country.
The people of Michigan have historically not backed down from oppressive and exploitative governments, and it is time to stand up for science, for education, and for our community.
Sarah Snider is a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, pursuing a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences.
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