The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) urges you to take immediate action to protect the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its vital role in advancing cancer research, improving patient outcomes, strengthening the economy, and preserving U.S. leadership in medical innovation. Escalating challenges to NIH operations are already undermining progress, derailing critical studies, and putting lives at risk. These are not routine policy shifts—they represent a serious threat to the future of biomedical research in the United States. These actions are the result of sweeping administrative decisions made with little transparency or scientific consultation.

Why Your Voice Matters

For decades, NIH has been the engine of U.S. biomedical progress—fueling discoveries that have led to groundbreaking treatments, improved survival rates, and better prevention strategies. But right now, that engine is under threat.

The consequences of recent actions are severe and far-reaching:

• Stalling Lifesaving Research: NIH-supported breakthroughs like immunotherapy and precision medicine are transforming cancer care. Without stable funding, promising discoveries will be delayed or lost altogether.
• Delaying Critical Clinical Trials: NIH funds the trials that turn research into real treatments. Interruptions in funding delay trial launches, disrupt ongoing studies, and deny patients access to therapies they urgently need.
• Destabilizing the Scientific Workforce: Talented researchers rely on NIH support to pursue innovative discoveries. Prolonged instability is driving scientists out of the field and weakening our national research capacity.
• Risking U.S. Global Leadership: America’s long-standing leadership in biomedical innovation depends on a strong NIH. Eroding support risks ceding that leadership to other nations.

What’s Happening Right Now

In recent weeks, NIH has been subject to a series of deeply concerning policy decisions that are stalling scientific progress and weakening the foundation of biomedical research:

• Frozen new grants and blocked the release of already-approved funding, delaying timelines and halting active studies.
• Proposed a 15% cap on indirect costs, cutting essential support for labs, equipment, and personnel.
• Canceled NIH Advisory Council meetings, halting final approvals for peer-reviewed grants.
• Terminated active grants despite federal court orders, creating uncertainty and instability across the research community.
• Announced the elimination of 1,200 NIH employees, threatening NIH’s capacity to conduct and support research as part of a sweeping reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services that will reduce the HHS workforce by more than 20 percent.

This unprecedented workforce reduction includes thousands of job losses across FDA, CDC, CMS, and other public health agencies—and is being carried out with little warning, transparency, or consultation. NIH’s ability to support and conduct lifesaving research is being directly weakened, threatening the pace of scientific progress and endangering the infrastructure that drives new treatments and cures.

How You Can Take Action

Now is the time to make your voice heard. Congress must act swiftly to defend the NIH and protect the future of medical research.

Join us in urging lawmakers to:

Reject all cuts to NIH and NCI funding. We need stable, predictable, and robust support to sustain scientific progress and deliver the next generation of cancer cures.

Restore stability at NIH. Congress must address the damage caused by recent administrative actions and reaffirm NIH’s independence and ability to partner with the broader research community.

Protect the future scientific workforce. Early-career researchers need long-term support to pursue discoveries that could save millions of lives.

While emails are important, phone calls are often more effective. Congressional offices log and prioritize calls differently, and speaking directly—whether to a staff member or by leaving a voicemail—can help ensure your concerns are heard and taken seriously.

If you’re unable to reach someone, leave a voicemail. Every call is recorded and reviewed.

Your voice matters. Calling can make the difference.

Lives Are at Stake

The decisions Congress makes in the coming days and weeks will shape the future of cancer research for decades. Without strong action, we risk losing progress, forfeiting discoveries, and abandoning patients who are counting on us.

Take Action Now to defend NIH and protect the future of cancer research.