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Contributed commentary by Cherie Saffold on federal budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health:

I am a Clarksville-born biomedical research scientist, and my life’s work is in jeopardy. I need a hero.

I reside in the city of Nashville, studying how cells communicate with each other during allergic reactions. I aim to understand how a new messaging network, a cellular version of UPS, can trigger allergic reactions or stop them in their tracks.

My work, and the work of so many other Tennessee researchers, would not be possible without the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The federal government is now proposing to slash NIH funding. These cuts will disrupt scientific research like mine, slow down progress on life-saving therapies, and devastate the hometown I love.

Biomedical science research is a vital component of human health and society. Every day, scientists delve into unknown worlds and make fundamental discoveries about how our bodies work. This knowledge is then used to make disease-fighting drugs, from cancer cures to Claritin.

But sometimes, Claritin isn’t enough. I study how allergic reactions work for people like Cpl. Will Bailey, a Clarksville resident and life-time allergy sufferer. Bailey has suffered from allergies as long as he can remember. Allergies shots only mildly improved his ailment, and he must take medications to manage his symptoms. If he does not take medication in time, flu-like symptoms disrupt important work he’s doing for our country.

Bailey laments that sometimes “it would get so bad that I would start to break out into hives.”

My work will provide critical information about how allergic reactions work to develop more permanent, refined therapies. Like countless other research studies happening in Tennessee, my work is supported by the NIH.

The NIH, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world. It provides American research institutions much-needed resources to perform research and train the next generation of scientists. It is also a pillar of our economy; in 2024, the NIH provided Tennessee research with $819 million and 1,312 grants.
As a graduate student researcher, my training would not be possible without the NIH. NIH grants supported my tuition payments and allowed me to purchase vital research supplies. Without them, I would not be the scientist I am today.

In my time as a research scientist, I have watched Tennessee scientists make revolutionary cancer discoveries and life-saving virus treatments. Their NIH-funded research also changed the world for the better. With your help, we can keep changing the world.

In 2025, the federal government has terminated thousands of active NIH grants. These terminations ripped away nearly $5 billion from biomedical research scientists. Some of my colleagues cannot continue their work because their awarded grants are gone. Some, who are recent graduates, struggle to find work because universities are not receiving research funds. Others will not be going to graduate school at all; some universities are rescinding offers due to financial uncertainty.

My laboratory has limited access to research funds. My mentor must spend more time at her other job, and less time training me, because of research budget cuts.

The government is proposing an $18 billion budget cut to the NIH. My job, and those of many biomedical research scientists, is in peril. Your valiant efforts will ensure that we can continue our work and train the next generation of scientists.

Call your elected representatives and tell them you support NIH-funded science. Sign letters supporting federal science funding. Write an opinion piece for your local newspaper. Use your voice to save our home.

Cherie Saffold