The spirit of American greatness isn’t found in political skirmishes but in a collective vision that no challenge is too great.
It’s the optimism of the space race, when we boldly invested 1.8% of our gross domestic product into federal research and development in the 1960s, according to the National Science Foundation. That investment didn’t just put a man on the moon; it united a fractured country behind a common goal.
Today, that investment is just 0.6%, a figure that has been essentially flat for nearly two decades. Restoring this optimism means returning federal R&D investment to the levels of that era, not slashing it.
Instead of embracing this legacy of greatness, the president’s proposed science budget cuts of 50% are a fantastic way to ensure the next major advance is not developed here.
From decimating staff at our scientific research agencies to the unprecedented action of requiring political appointees to oversee research grants, this administration is actively gutting our future.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Instead, my future and those of countless others are being sold out in the name of the war on “woke,” to justify cuts to the federal R&D apparatus that has made our country the preeminent technological superpower.
Science research is critical to health, jobs and development
I earned my Ph.D. in pharmacology at Emory University last year, a dream come true. Since I was a teenager, I’ve wanted to understand how drugs work and to help cure diseases and improve lives.
The proposed cuts are a disastrous step backward, making us all poorer and sicker. A 2025 American University study found that every 25% cut to nondefense R&D shrinks our GDP by 3.8%. They estimated the White House’s proposed cuts to agencies like the National Institutes of Health and NSF could shrink our GDP by approximately 7.6%, nearly twice as severe as the 2008 Great Recession. In real dollars, that means the average American would be $10,000 poorer next year.
Some politicians criticize academia as out of touch or wasteful. I agree some grant titles can sound goofy, but scientists are eager to explain their work. Our institutions are a critical talent development pipeline.
Even if the White House is concerned with eliminating so-called “woke” research, how do 50% cuts make us healthier and safer? A Nature study found that 75% of surveyed researchers were considering leaving the United States because of this administration’s actions.
Fewer scientists will reduce research
Federal R&D investment is not an academic luxury; it is a national security imperative and a powerful engine for our economy. Every dollar invested in the NIH, for example, yields approximately $2.50.
In Georgia, federal R&D dollars bring in nearly $1 billion in NIH and NSF funding, supporting jobs and innovation across the state. The cuts are an attack on Georgia’s future.
Should the president’s proposed cuts pass Congress, we will be poorer and sicker in Georgia. Our society’s collective challenges require substantial investment from all of us; pharmaceutical companies cannot shoulder the decades-long cost to study how cancers develop, for example.
Our governor has already alerted agency heads that our state’s Fiscal Year 26 and FY27 budgets will remain flat. The state will not offset the losses in research capacity to universities, and cuts to the federal R&D budget will eliminate thousands of jobs in our state.
The state’s life sciences sector, which includes Emory, GSU, Morehouse, Georgia Tech and UGA, employs over 215,000 people and contributes $50 billion in economic output. This funding supports research to improve agricultural yields, develop new medicines and track hurricane formation.
Meanwhile, adversaries like China are increasing their science budgets and are projected to graduate 77,000 Ph.D.s this year, compared to 40,000 across our nation, according to a Georgetown University study.
Shrinking the number of scientists we train today will inevitably shrink our research output tomorrow. By gutting our research programs and fellowships, the administration isn’t just cutting ‘woke’ programs; it’s eroding our nation’s competitive advantage.
My fellow young scientists and I are the next generation that will lead our nation’s economy. How can we work to alleviate the suffering of cancer or Alzheimer’s disease if we ax the money to pursue these projects? How can we remain at the cutting edge of cybersecurity or artificial intelligence if we slash funding for the National Science Foundation? For decades, we’ve agreed that science provides more opportunities for the next generation. Shouldn’t we want a tomorrow that is better than today?
We must all work together to create a world that has never been. Like University of Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart says: “How do you play well? You practice well. You prepare well.” Science and engineering are our preparation and practice; science creates a more curious, safer, knowledgeable and healthier tomorrow.
Elijah Zorro Ullman, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Emory University.
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