Opinion: What am I supposed to say to this generation of young scientists?
Undermining the future of American science is not a path to accountability — it’s a path to decline.
I recently sat with a young scientist in my office, tears in her eyes, who was asking for advice: Her grant had been canceled by the government. Years of hard work and training seemed to vanish in an instant. She was — is — an exceptional scientist, having earned one of the most prestigious early-career awards from the National Institutes of Health, an award that reflects a history of federal investment in tomorrow’s science. But with no warning, and for reasons that had nothing to do with her science, it was gone.
Yes, the funding was important for material reasons. But more than that, the funding represented trust in the next generation of scientists. She had devoted her 20s to the pursuit of knowledge, hoping to make life better for all of us. She had seen, in her own family, the devastation of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. She believed, like many of us do, in the promise of dedication and hard work. And then, just as that promise was starting to materialize, it was taken away.
