The new federal administration has moved quickly and recklessly to fire large numbers of recently hired government employees and prevent congressionally appropriated funds from being spent. These actions have been felt especially acutely by scientists and health care workers across the nation and in other countries as well, because the administration has fired large numbers of employees who work for agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

It appears the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which also fund science and health research, will now be the target of major cuts. These agencies and others in our government are the envy of the rest of the world because they 1) fund crucial research that helps us understand our universe, our planet and ourselves; 2) enable future technological breakthroughs and 3) make evidence-based recommendations and approvals on everything from new pharmaceuticals for Alzheimer’s disease, to medical devices for brain stimulation therapies for depression, to behavioral interventions for autism spectrum disorders.

Although Nevada and its universities do not receive as much federal funding for science as some blue states such as California and Massachusetts, or some red states such as Alabama and Texas, our purple state does receive vital federal research funds that have made possible the recent designations of both our research universities to R1 status. And importantly, all of this research has not and should not be politicized as it benefits everyone in this country in terms of our economic, physical and mental health, all of which have been threatened by the recent pandemic, climate change, the rise in diseases of aging and declining birth rates. In other words, this is no time at all to threaten scientific progress.

A topic of particular focus at UNR and UNLV during the past 20 years has been the area of neuroscience, a field that I have dedicated my research, teaching and service activities to since I was hired at UNLV in 2007. During this time, the two universities together have hired numerous professors who have come to Nevada, usually from other states or even other countries, use relatively modest amounts of start-up funds from the university to begin a research program, and, if all goes to plan, leverage those funds into important discoveries about our nervous systems that attract federal research grants that can sum up to 10 times as much as the universities’ start-up investment.

This has included several multimillion-dollar grants from the National Institutes of Health to advance integrative neuroscience at UNR and neurodegenerative disease research at UNLV, along with many other smaller grants from the Defense Department, NAS, and other agencies and foundations. Our neuroscience professors also advise the state and the public at large on important issues, including Alzheimer’s disease therapies and psychedelic therapies.

UNR and UNLV also have started bachelor and doctorate degree programs in neuroscience that prepare students not only to go into academic research careers like my colleagues and I did, but the majority will use their knowledge and skills to pursue careers in fields such as medicine, nursing, physical therapy, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical imaging, data analytics and public policy — many of them staying in Nevada to make a positive impact in all these needed areas.

Three particular actions of the new administration concern me with respect to our neuroscience initiatives in Nevada. First, there has been an effort to impede the awarding of new grants and cancel grants that have already been awarded. If this persists, it will prevent millions of dollars from coming to our state, eliminating the well-known multiplying effect on the economy. It will also prevent us from having enough research funds to support ongoing shared expenses for state-of-the-art animal housing and brain imaging facilities that require staffing and consumable supplies to be paid for on an ongoing basis.

Second, the new administration is trying to limit indirect costs on some grants to 15 percent, down from typical levels around 50 percent. If this holds, even on grants that are allowed to come to Nevada, the amount dedicated to maintaining needed infrastructure and staff support to make research possible will be severely compromised.

Imagine a grant that is awarded with $1 million to directly support the experiments proposed, which normally would come with an extra $500,000 that the university can use to support the research. But, under the 15 percent rule would only come with an extra $150,000. This will make it nearly impossible for UNR and UNLV to maintain and grow our research mission in neuroscience and in our medical schools, nursing schools, colleges of science and other health-related departments.

Third, there is an effort to prevent funding of Broader Impacts at the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF is the main basic science funding agency in our country, whose investments have made possible many technologies, including the MRI machine that is used in everyday medical imaging and cutting edge neuroscience research.

Broader Impacts refers to the positive effect a given grant will have on many possible aspects of science and society, and importantly, it is not a frivolous part of a grant but rather a congressionally mandated part of the mission of the National Science Foundation that includes broadening participation in science, related education activities and real world benefits to people.

This is especially important to Nevada because of our need to educate and uplift all in our state. Specifically, we must make an effort to help all Nevadans get the most out of their education and encourage them to consider careers in science, health and related fields. 

If we don’t do this with the help of federal grants, our state’s young people will be left behind even further than they already are in education, science, health care and economically. It will also undermine our efforts to attract talented students from other states and countries to come to our universities to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees, which normally would boost our economy and the talent pool for various industries in Nevada.

Joel Snyder is a professor of psychology at UNLV.

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