AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement regarding an amicus brief filed today with the Supreme Court of the United States:
“Recent efforts to undermine the scientific mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest funder of scientific research in the world, will do irreparable harm to the future of research and to the health of the nation. The abrupt termination of thousands of grants has destabilized critical health research—including studies on cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and health disparities—leading to the disruption of long-term projects and wasting years of taxpayer investment.
The AAMC and our co-amici filed this brief to provide the academic research community’s perspective on the critical importance of NIH’s continued adherence to scientific principles in grantmaking and the dire consequences of the termination of grants based on non-scientific considerations. Funding decisions made through rigorous scientific review should not be arbitrarily undone based on political whim.
Our message to the Supreme Court is two-fold: the administration’s blanket cancellation of NIH grants flouts longstanding principles of science-based decision-making; and the mass termination of NIH grants has destabilized the scientific research landscape, decimated research careers, and wasted government resources.
At the foundation of the relationship between academic institutions and the NIH is the core tenet that decisions about scientific research should be based on the nation's scientific and health needs. To do otherwise jeopardizes the integrity of biomedical research and risks long-term setbacks in scientific progress and health outcomes.
We have urged the court to deny the government’s stay application, ensuring that all grants at issue are reinstated.”
The amicus brief was filed by the AAMC, the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the American Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, COGR, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.