By ZANE MARTIN
In light of the funding sequestration across most federal agencies, medical research funding will suffer some of the greatest repercussions.
Biomedical research relies on the federal government for over 80 percent of its scientific discoveries.
Through federal funding, a mutual relationship between scientists and the public occurs through funding by grants, scientists provide knowledge and medical breakthroughs.
This drives motivation away from bias typically seen through commercial endeavors.
However, when federal funding doesn’t hold up, the result will have a direct impact on the health of our citizens, where costs are already increasing. It is predicted that for biomedical research, sequestration will result in a $4-billion decrease in 2013, leading to 25-percent reduced newly funded grants, fewer grants funded and fewer scientists trained.
This could lead to a collapse in America’s medical research system. Decreases in research and development will diminish America’s innovative lead in the world, especially now when other nations are moving up fast.
Ultimately, the backlash will have a catastrophic effect on our economy because jobs will be lost and our health-care system will become inefficient. The deleterious effects of this counterintuitive solution to economic dismay need to be voiced to our policy-makers. Please contact your congressman today.
[The writer is affiliated with the New York State Institute for Basic Research, Willowbrook.]