Last week, Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee regarding the “grave risk” to U.S. leadership in biomedical and scientific research under the Trump Administration.
“Efforts [to address inefficiencies] have caused both collateral and targeted damage to the biomedical research enterprise and—if rumored proposed budgets for 2026 are realized—will hand leadership of biomedical research to China and, even more devastatingly, dismantle the engine of hope and prosperity for millions of Americans,” Parikh said during his testimony.
Throughout his testimony, the CEO pointed to specific near-term challenges that are currently and will continue to weaken the biomedical research and innovation ecosystem.
One is the prospect of impoundment of remaining fiscal year 2025 funds. Since the Trump Administration took office in January 2025, federal research grants and contracts have been canceled and entire research projects and departments have been shut down with little to no notice. Now, the prospect of impoundment of remaining FY 2025 funding is looming over the heads of scientists already in a tenuous position.
“It is vital that federal research agencies fully obligate the final FY 2025 appropriations as Congress intended, but we have not yet seen spend plans from the administration,” said Parikh.
Funding, cuts and “haphazard changes” for FY 2026 is another serious challenge, especially for the National Institutes of Health. During the Trump Administration, more than 1,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and grant administrators have been fired. The Administration has also announced a plan to cut 10,000 more employees across Health and Human Services agencies.
Leaked documents from the Administration’s FY2026 funding plan reportedly proposes cutting the NIH budget by 20 to 44%. These cuts would also threaten the 72 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers across the country that hold federal grants to coordinate research, conduct clinical trials, and deliver cancer care, screening and prevention.
“This level of funding would mean fewer treatments for cancers, slower progress toward our understanding of Alzheimer's and dementia, and diminished resources for fighting the opioid crisis, threatening the health and livelihoods of Americans in every town, every region, and every state across the United States,” said Parikh. “Let us be clear. Cuts this drastic would mean the loss of America’s global leadership in biomedical research for a generation or more.”
The impacts to this generation and those beyond are especially concerning to today and tomorrow’s scientists. For example, the number of NSF Graduate Research Fellowships has been cut by over 50% since January 2025.
“These are the highest potential students from all over our nation. These fellowships enable our early-career scientists to go as far as their talent and drive can take them. Many go on to become scientific leaders in the biomedical research ecosystem and beyond,” said Parikh. “With these reductions, we are sending a message to the next generation of early-career scientists and engineers that the future of the U.S. research enterprise is not just in question—it is bleak.”
Parikh said he has spoken with many undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral researchers who are worried about whether they should continue their scientific pursuits or switch careers. Midcareer and senior scientists are also questioning their role in U.S. research at this time.
“We have given a green light to our allies and competitors alike to take advantage of this opportunity to lure the brilliant minds here in the U.S. to their higher education institutions and research labs, and to generate their innovations,” said Parikh. “We are already seeing countries like France, Ireland, Denmark, Canada, Australia, and China increase recruitment efforts to attract U.S.-based scientists.”
For example, the CEO pointed members of Congress toward a report recently issued by Stifel that shows over 37% of pharmaceutical licensing deals above a certain level in 2025 involved a Chinese biopharma company. It was at zero as recently as 2019.
“We are rapidly losing our competitive edge, and the dollars we are putting into buying pharmaceuticals will not be reinvested into the American economy. Instead, our drug costs will fund someone else’s investment,” said Parikh.
Parikh finished his testimony to congressional members with these words:
“The enterprise, which has benefited our society for decades, is resilient, but there is a breaking point—and we are close to reaching it. If we allow it to break, we cannot simply put it back together again next year. It took generations to build it, and it will take generations to rebuild it. I am optimistic we can find a way forward together.”
Sudip S. Parikh, Ph.D., became the 19th Chief Executive Officer of AAAS and Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals in January 2020. Parikh has spent two decades at the nexus of science, policy, and business. Immediately prior to joining AAAS, Parikh was senior vice president and managing director at DIA Global, a neutral, multidisciplinary organization for healthcare product development. Prior to DIA, Parikh was a vice president at Battelle, a multibillion-dollar research and development organization, where he led two business units with over 500 scientific, technical, and computing experts. From 2001 to 2009, Parikh served as science advisor to the Republican leadership of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, where he was responsible for negotiating budgets for the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and other scientific and health agencies.