‘Do Not Let This Moment Even Slow You Down’

At a special session held at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) this week, speakers addressed the ongoing attack on biomedical research happening in the U.S. right now. It wasn’t the usual panel of PhD scientists presenting research results; the group included former leadership members from the National Institutes of Health, a patient advocate, and a retired physician, among others. Strikingly, four of the eight participants said they were cancer survivors — a fact they attributed to advances made possible by NIH-funded research.

I’ve attended AACR many times, and I don’t recall ever seeing this community in such a state of crisis. The assault on science funding represents an existential threat not just to basic research, but also to our ability to keep developing better ways to detect and treat cancer in this country. This panel session felt like the primal scream of the 20,000-plus attendees gathered here in Chicago at a meeting that usually celebrates the latest advances in cancer research and management.

“You may have noticed we’re a nation divided,” said moderator Clifton Leaf as he opened the session. But despite these many divisions, he added, there is still broad support for government funding of scientific research, just as there has been for decades.

But with the recent indiscriminate cuts in scientific funding, and a proposed federal budget that would hobble the U.S. research community by slashing more than 40% of NIH funding, “[it] feels more uncertain than any other point in my career,” said Patricia LoRusso, outgoing AACR president. She pointed to a “wave of destabilizing actions” that are threatening the potential to push forward innovations that could one day cure cancer.

“Let me be clear,” LoRusso said. “The science is not failing. The researchers are not failing.” It’s the system that is supposed to support biomedical research and the scientists who rely on it that’s crumbling, she added. An AACR survey found that funding cancellations, hiring freezes, and other tactics are forcing cancer researchers out of the field.

Addressing an audience of scientists focused on cancer, the panelists had a common message: find better ways to tell your story. “Science has a communication problem,” said cancer survivor and former journalist Kristen Dahlgren, suggesting that the reason the anti-science views of a small minority have taken hold is that “those voices are simply louder.”

The general public wants to hear about advances in cancer, panelists said, and it’s up to the scientists to talk about their work in an engaging and relatable manner — and to connect the dots between basic research funding and the cancer treatments, jobs, and economic impact that are fueled by it.

Former NIH director Monica Bertagnolli urged the cancer research community: “Fight for your science. Fight for what you do that benefits American people.” She added, “Do not let this moment even slow you down.”