"Through lawsuits, grant tracking, whistle-blowing and more, resistance to the US war on science is growing."
"When US President Donald Trump’s administration started slashing science funding in January, Nicole Maphis wasn’t especially worried about her research being affected. She studies the fundamental biology of Alzheimer’s disease, which didn’t strike her as a probable target.
The change in leadership came at a pivotal time for Maphis: she was finishing her postdoctoral studies at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and seeking a highly competitive grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant aims to increase diversity in life sciences, and Maphis was eligible as a woman from a family with a low income. The funding, she hoped, would launch her into an independent role as a professor.
The trouble started in February. First, the funding opportunity to which she had applied disappeared. Then, a staff member at the NIH informed her that her proposal had been pulled from consideration. “I’ve never cried more as a scientist than in the last six months. To hear the NIH staff member say, ‘I’m so sorry but your application has been moved’, to what is essentially the trash, makes it seem that everything you’re doing is worthless,” Maphis says."
Dan Garisto, Max Kozlov and Heidi Ledford report for Nature September 19, 2025.
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