How the National Institutes of Health cuts affect American health

When President Trump took office in January, he patted it Ministry of Government EfficiencyCalled Doge, to narrow down the federal government. this National Institutes of HealthIt is the world's largest funder for biomedical research, and has since opened fire to shoot 1,300 employees and cancelled more than $2 billion in federal research grants.

Dr. Francis Collins led the agency to work under three governments for 12 years, he said Radical layoffs It may affect the health of Americans for generations.

“When you talk about medical research, when you talk about people’s lives, when you talk about clinical trials of Alzheimer’s disease or cancer that can take three to four years, you can’t just go in and decide, ‘I’m going to close these issues, maybe I’ll try something else.’ These are people’s lives at risk,” Collins said.

According to NIH employees, work on childhood cancer therapy, dementia and stroke slows down or stops as key labs and support staff are released.

NIH is the world's largest proponent of biomedical research

NIH is a large institution with a budget of $47 billion. The institution consists of 27 institutions and centers and is located on a 300-acre campus in Bethesda, Maryland. As the world's largest funder of biomedical research, NIH has contributed to large-scale biomedical breakthroughs.

According to Dr. Collins, the death to heart disease has dropped by 75% over the past 40 years due to NIH. The agency is also behind lifesaving antiretrovirals that can treat HIV, AIDS and treat strokes.

“Every dollar NIH has issued to grants in 2024 is estimated to be returning $2.46 in a year. It's a very good return on investment,” Collins said.

The 2023 American Medical Association Research journal found that between 2010 and 2019, 99% of the Food and Drug Administration approved drugs were linked to NIH-funded research or work.

Collins said more than 80% of the NIH budget is spent on universities and research institutions outside of NIH.

“They are people who do the job, but they get funding from NIH by writing a very compelling grant app,” Collins said.

What happened to President Trump after returning to the White House at NIH

In the weeks following the inauguration, the Trump administration took quick action to cut federal spending. Dr. Collins said on NIH that workers were told not to start any new projects and that their ability to order supplies was temporarily cut off.

“However, they put a $1 limit on the price you can order. You can't order for $1,” Collins said.

NIH insiders told 60 Minutes that even after the six-week spending was cancelled, some shelves and refrigerators held test supplies after the agency was frozen, patients remained empty because many employees who purchased the supplies were fired.

Some workers at the agency, including a physician-scientist who asked to remain anonymous, were worried that they would lose their jobs if they spoke.

“Without a support system, you won't be able to run an organization as complex as NIH. Without a lot of other resources, doctors, nurses and scientists won't be able to operate,” said NIH insiders. “They need the entire support infrastructure. This has been cut.”

NIH employees said NIH morale fell since February, when more than 1,000 probation employees were asked for leave. After that, workers immediately began trying to assess the damage and determine whether they could still care for patients and study participants.

“This is not from inside the NIH, it comes from outside, and they don't know what these people are doing,” said NIH workers.

Some of the fired employees were brought back. Others are still paying, but are not allowed to work.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration planned to leak NIH budget cuts by more than 40% (or $20 billion) to the media. The preliminary budget provides shock waves to NIH through the NIH and the broader scientific community.

It is the largest proposed budget cut by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) government, but not the first. Recently, Presidents GW Bush and Obama have made minor cuts to the agency.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharyaformer Stanford professor's research focused on healthcare economics and opposing widespread lockdowns and missions during the pandemic, was proven to be the new director of NIH late last month. He declined a 60-minute interview request but outlined his vision for NIH in his Senate confirmation hearing.

“If confirmed, I will implement the agenda of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy to address the country’s chronic health needs through gold standard science and innovation,” he said at the hearing.

Bhattacharya said NIH will implement the agenda to create a new comprehensive database to study chronic diseases. NIH will also respond to a request from Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to invest $50 million to study autism, who has been in conflict with scientists for many years.

“Scientific advances have been slow because scientists are frankly afraid to ask this question,” Bhattacharya said in a press conference. “The goal I led is that NIH will achieve this, so these questions are no longer taboo among scientists.”

He recently told agency consultants that he was working to remove some of the recent “disturbances” from NIH. He called for a proposal to “negotiate” to reduce the agency's budget by more than 40%.

Leaked budget draft includes plans Merge Institute and Center Divide into eight and eliminate the other four.

Potential “brain loss”

University of Washington PhD candidate Kristin Weinstein lives in Seattle with her husband and 10-month-old son. Over the past 10 years, she has studied cancer and autoimmunity and hopes to continue researching in the United States after graduation. But now, Weinstein and her family are considering leaving the United States

“It’s somewhat dismal,” Weinstein said. “Nationally, there is a recruitment freeze at nearly every major academic university.”

She is not alone. nature A survey of 1,600 scientists found that 75% are considering leaving the United States to work internationally. Australia, Europe and China have promoted recruitment efforts that hope to capitalize on potential brain consumption.

Researchers influence the entire United States

The chaos of NIH paralyzes many of the 2,500 universities and colleges that rely on NIH to fund research.

The scientists said projects on HIV and AIDS, transgender health and research related to Covid-19 were terminated after researchers were told their work “no longer affects institutional priorities.”

Last week, NIH indicated that more cuts could be expected, announcing that any universities with DEI programs or boycott Israeli companies may not receive new NIH grants and may terminate existing grants.

Grandmother Beth Humphrey, 68, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease last year. She joined the NIH-funded study, which was conducted by Duke University and the University of North Carolina.

“It makes me feel more capable of this disease,” she said. “It’s how I fight back.”

But now, this study could be jeopardized. To reduce waste, the Trump administration wants to limit the amount of grants that higher education institutions can use for “indirect costs” or indirect costs, including programs such as administrative and facility spending. Critics say that overhead is the mud fund for the university. But the university says the funds are crucial to pay for facilities such as brain banks and surveillance workers.

The universities warn that the proposed cuts will cost them billions and will have a “terrible impact” on trials and research that “saving lives.” 22 states, including North Carolina, are challenging the proposed policy in court. Currently, the NIH has been reconciled to some patients like Humphrey.

“You have only this disease when that potential hope for treatment is taken away,” Humphrey said. “And it does require hope.”