The National Institutes of Health has lost thousands of workers since President Donald Trump began his second term.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among them: scientists who pioneered cancer treatments, researched tick-borne diseases, or worked to prevent tobacco use.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We spoke to a half dozen scientists who said they left the agency because of the tumult of 2025 and talked about the work they left behind. They say the exodus from the world\u2019s largest public funder of biomedical research will harm the nation\u2019s ability to respond to illness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are going to get hurt,\u201d said Sylvia Chou, a scientist who worked at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, for over 15 years before she left in January. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot more health challenges and even deaths, because we need science in order to help people get healthy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The NIH consists of 27 institutes and centers, each with a different focus. Major research areas include cancer; infectious diseases; aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s; heart, lung, and blood diseases; and general medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over decades, the value of the NIH may be the one thing everyone in Washington has agreed on. Lawmakers have routinely boosted its funding \u2014 even for this fiscal year, in defiance of the White House, which had proposed cutting the agency\u2019s funding by 40%.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our reporting showed that, nonetheless, the Trump administration\u2019s actions to curb certain research and push out scientists perceived as disloyal are having far-reaching repercussions. The NIH workforce stands at about 17,100 people \u2014 its lowest level in at least two decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scientists across specializations outlined challenges that made them decide to leave. They included delays in accessing research equipment and supplies, the termination of funds for topics the Trump administration deemed off-limits, and delayed or denied travel authorizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even research aligned with the Trump administration\u2019s stated priorities has suffered, they said. They questioned whether the NIH could continue to fulfill its mission to \u201cenhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear when someone comes out with a drug and now you\u2019ve just cured a disease. But you never know which ones could have been cured,\u201d said Daniel Dulebohn, a researcher who spent nearly two decades at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what we\u2019ve lost.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dulebohn left the NIH\u2019s infectious disease and allergy institute in September and is considering leaving the scientific field altogether.<\/p>\n\n
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