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Medscape
9 hours ago
- Health
- Medscape
How Cuts to Research Funding Could Affect Medical Students
Joseph Alisch took a gap year after his third year of medical school to do research on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats gene editing at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of the Medical Research Scholars Program. In early 2025, he began to experience some of the research cuts at the NIH. While he got to do research in his area of interest, pediatric neurology, some of the cuts and other policy changes dampened his experience. The first was a travel ban, which prevented him from attending the conference where he had planned to present his research findings. He was ultimately able to present virtually, 'though it was never quite the same experience, because you like to go there and interact with all the people,' he said. Next was a pause on purchasing laboratory products, which was problematic for him because his research required a variety of reagents. 'And so, for a while we kind of had to ration things,' he said. Then things became even more difficult. 'So, there were moments we're like, 'Okay, we can purchase things.' And then that policy was pulled back, saying, 'Actually, we can't purchase things right now.'' He recalls thinking, 'I just don't know what's going to happen, but I hope for the best and that we can continue working on these projects with minimal disruptions.' But the shifting policies and delays ultimately interfered with his research. 'I was able to come out with something towards the end, but not the end product that I had envisioned when I did, when I started that gap year,' he told Medscape Medical News . Many premed and medical students pursue research opportunities to bolster their applications to medical school or residency. However, based on the current national landscape, these opportunities are now more limited. This year, the Trump administration made policy changes that limited federal research funding. For example, NIH capped reimbursement for indirect research expenses such as lab maintenance and operations at 15% for current and new grants. Comparatively, average indirect funding reported by NIH generally ranged between 27% and 28%. In announcing the cap in February, NIH said in a statement on its website that, 'Although cognizant that grant recipients, particularly 'new or inexperienced organizations,' use grant funds to cover indirect costs like overhead, NIH is obligated to carefully steward grant awards to ensure taxpayer dollars are used in ways that benefit the American people and improve their quality of life.' The statement went on to say that many private foundations that fund academic research provide substantially lower funding for indirect expenses, yet 'universities readily accept grants from these foundations.' The idea, the statement said, is 'the United States should have the best medical research in the world. It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.' Medscape Medical News reached out to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for comment on how the Trump administration's policy changes and federal funding cuts may affect medical trainees. The office did not respond. Several state attorneys general, higher education associations, and research universities have filed lawsuits in protest. A US district judge blocked the 15% cap. However, the Trump administration appealed, and the fate of the policy remains in flux. Some Physician Researchers Are Nervous 'NIH has been very steady and very reliable, in fact much more reliable than industry funding…,' said Srihari S. Naidu, MD, an interventional cardiologist and professor of medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. 'This is the first time where…we're all on edge that money may not come through.' Srihari S. Naidu, MD Overall, 'this is the kind of thing that will have…downstream consequences that affect the health of our country because these new discoveries and the research are what have evolved health care,' said Bobby Mukkamala, MD, president of the American Medical Association. The government is probably trying to save money, but how they're doing it is 'very drastic,' Naidu said. And in his view, the consequences may be chilling for students interested in doing research. 'We know that a lot of graduate programs, as well as programs that fund research opportunities for medical students, have had delays in or cuts in funding,' added Kenira Thompson, PhD, MBA, director of research at Ponce Research Institute in Ponce, Puerto Rico. 'And that's resulted in, particularly in graduate programs, either delayed or limited new admissions because there are reduced funding pipelines.' Students will still get into medical school, Naidu said, but there'll just be fewer research opportunities. 'And if you have less research opportunities for them, you have a workforce that is less savvy about research and…with less abilities towards research, which ultimately limits…their options as a career,' Naidu said. '…And then you'll also have less innovation in that field because there's less minds, less brainpower in that field doing research,' he said. And there are probably more cuts to come. In President Trump's proposed 2026 budget, NIH faces a budget cut of almost $18 billion, or about a 40% cut in funding. According to reporting by The New York Times , a new analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that President Trump's budget proposals for fiscal year 2026 include a 34% drop in basic science research from $45 billion to $30 billion and a 22% drop for overall science funding from $198 billion to $154 billion. 'The bottom line is that yes, everything is trickling down to impact students,' Thompson said. Implications for Medical Trainees 'The students are going to see either reduced [research] slots or an increase in the competition for the slots that are available,' Thompson said. 'Certainly, if the students don't have sufficient research under their belt, then potentially it will limit their possibility of getting into a medical program.' Naidu is also worried that the quality of research opportunities will suffer. What are the other options? There are registries that students can learn to use for research, but this is not going to be on the same magnitude or caliber as basic science research or clinical research, he said. 'It won't be clearly as innovative because the innovative thing takes a lot of money.' Research Options in New Reality A research vacuum could form where philanthropy, private equity, and industry players may 'pour more money to make up the difference.' However, this increase in profit-driven research would create its own set of problems, Naidu said. One is that this type of research has a bias in favor of trying to prove something. 'And number two, all the money goes towards things that can be commercialized rather than things that might be important,' he said. For example, in his field of interventional cardiology, 'if you have a new stent, industry just wants to prove that the new stent is better than the old stent. But we might want to know if no stents are better than having a stent altogether… And an industry that makes stents is not going to do a trial about whether it's better to not have stents at all.' 'NIH is where you go when you need money to [address] the real important questions that society needs to know,' Naidu said. For example, interventional cardiologists may want to know which is better: stents vs bypass surgery, and stents vs medical therapy. 'Most of those big trials are done through NIH funding.' Given the new research realities, medical students and residents may have to consider research that is industry- or private-equity-sponsored, if those options are even available to them, Naidu said. Most of the industry research doesn't usually use medical students, residents, or fellows 'because they're tightly controlled,' he said. Kenira Thompson, PhD, MBA If the research you do is private sector-driven — based on the research agenda of a particular company that needs to focus on getting a particular medication out the door to the market as opposed to you being in a research setting where there's more independence, where you can do a deep dive into new discoveries and new ideas and sort of build on innovation — then certainly there will be an impact down the line,' Thompson said. Naidu and Thompson also envision some premed and medical students seeking research opportunities abroad. 'The greatest concern is that…there will be great inequity in terms of the opportunities available to students and that some really great students may be sort of left behind,' Thompson said. Bobby Mukkamala, MD Naturally, some students will pursue a research opportunity in other countries, Mukkamala said, but 'there's a huge expense to that as a medical student as if medical school isn't expensive enough….' 'But then, trying to figure out how am I going to get to Germany, as in this example, to collaborate with people whose funding isn't threatened on the exact same topic that I could have done here in my backyard.' Advice to Medical Students Naidu wants medical students to know that research is still a very valuable pursuit, 'both in terms of helping you get to the next stage of your career, but also in and of itself, because it might stimulate you to go into a field of research, (in) a fabulous field that can allow you to be part of scientific progress in the world.' But with decreasing funding opportunities, students may need to 'cast their net wider,' he said, and be open to different topics than they might not have considered. Naidu is trying to do his part to help with providing research opportunities. He created the Medical Research Fund at Brown University School of Medicine, his alma mater in Providence, Rhode Island, to support summer research opportunities for three medical students per year. Students may also want to ask at interviews about the status of grant funding in a given lab they're interested in working in, Mukkamala said. 'There's less opportunities, but the best and the brightest will be able to find opportunities to still do research and…learn about the process and be competitive to move on in their careers,' he said. 'But it's going to be a little harder because overall there'll be less opportunities in total.' '…This is a time in history we're making major cuts to something that has been sustainable for a long time, Naidu said, adding later, 'We would be basically going back 30 years in terms of research funding.' Alisch, now a fourth-year medical student at Brown University School of Medicine, is taking a wait-and-see approach. Despite the delays he experienced as a researcher at NIH during his gap year, Alisch said he was still quite hopeful about his future as a medical science researcher. We are only about 6-7 months into this, he said. 'We have a lot more time to go through before we can see how this is actually going to play out.'
Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Row over SIR doesn't bode well for Indian democracy
What should have been a routine voter list update by the Election Commission of India (ECI) has become a nationwide controversy, triggering political protests, a challenge in the Supreme Court, and growing concerns about mass voter disenfranchisement. The controversy stems from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, where preliminary data suggests that up to 6.5 million voters—about nine per cent of the state's 78.9 million-strong electorate—could be excluded from the draft rolls. The reasons cited include death, duplication, permanent migration, and failure to submit necessary forms. The first phase of the SIR concluded on July 27, while the draft electoral roll is to be published on August 1, followed by a month-long window for filing claims and objections till September 1. The final roll is scheduled for release on September 30, ahead of Bihar's assembly elections later this year. As per the latest bulletin, the likely exclusions comprise 2.2 million deceased voters, seven lakh people registered in several locations, and 3.5 million individuals, who have migrated for good or could not be located during the door-to-door verification. Around 1.20 lakh forms remained incomplete. If all these are excluded, it would mark the largest voter list purge in a single state in recent memory. The Election Commission (ECI) has defended the exercise in the Supreme Court stating that it was essential for maintaining fairness and integrity of elections. Officials cited technical reasons for the delay in releasing final data, with a complete update expected by Monday. The SIR was carried out by an extensive network: over 98,000 booth level officers, nearly 150,000 agents from political parties, and 400,000 volunteers participated in the month-long verification drive. However, serious concerns have been raised over the documentation requirements. Voters must provide one of 11 accepted documents to prove eligibility. Ironically, they don't include Aadhaar, ration cards, or even voter IDs — all widely used government-issued documents. A booth-level officer from Araria district admitted to the media that they were uploading 'whatever documents they could get,' but it was unclear whether these would be accepted. Different age groups face varying documentation burdens: those born before 1987 can submit individual ID proof; those born between 1987 and 2004 must provide personal ID and proof from a parent, while those born after 2004 need to furnish documents of both parents apart from their own. In its July 21 affidavit to the apex court, the ECI maintained that Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter IDs do not qualify as citizenship proof, despite the court earlier advising the Commission to consider accepting these documents. This has set the stage for a legal showdown when the court hears the matter on July 28. On July 20, theECI shared lists of voters marked as deceased, migrated, or untraceable with 12 political parties for verification, but several discrepancies reportedly remain. The final electoral roll is expected to become a key battleground in the run-up to Bihar's elections. Critics argue that the tight timeline may not allow enough time to resolve disputes, potentially resulting in legitimate voters being disenfranchised. The Bihar revision is just the first phase of a larger nationwide effort, with similar exercises planned elsewhere. At the heart of the debate lies the perception of a deeply polarised political landscape and a growing mistrust in the ECI's impartiality—an ominous sign for Indian democracy.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Any of the 11 documents accepted for SIR verification are susceptible to falsification: petitioner counters EC in Supreme Court
Petitioner-NGO Association for Democratic Rights on Saturday (July 26, 2025) countered the Election Commission of India's (EC) refusal to accept Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ration card as valid 'standalone' proof for inclusion in the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as 'patently absurd'. On July 10, the Supreme Court had asked the top poll body to consider these three documents for the SIR, reasoning they formed the foundational records to obtain any of the 11 documents, including residence and caste certificates, listed by the Election Commission for the verification of voters. The EC justified that Aadhaar, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), and ration card could easily be faked. But the NGO, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, said any of the 11 documents were equally prone to fraud. 'It is pertinent to note that the 11 documents included in the approved list are equally susceptible to being procured on the basis of fake or false documentation, thereby rendering the ECI's rationale baseless, inconsistent and arbitrary,' the NGO's rejoinder said. The NGO referred to data in the EC's affidavit detailing the expansive coverage of the 11 eligibility documents, including 13.89 crore residence certificates and 8.72 crore caste certificates issued from 2011 to 2025. 'It is interesting to note that the same far exceed the total number of electors in the electoral rolls. If residence certificates can be accepted as eligibility proof of SIR 2025, despite their total number exceeding Bihar's current aggregate population, there is no reason why ration cards be rejected as a document on the grounds of being prone to forgery,' the NGO argued. It said Aadhaar was accepted as proof for obtaining several of the 11 eligibility documents, including permanent residence certificate, Other Backward Class (OBC)/Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate, and passport. 'This makes the EC's rejection of Aadhaar, which is the most widely held document, patently absurd,' the rejoinder said. The EC had filed a counter affidavit on July 21 claiming plenary powers to conduct the SIR, the authority to determine citizenship, and that a large portion of the population in Bihar already possessed one or more of the 11 documents. The NGO countered a claim by the EC that political parties were fully backing the SIR. 'Not a single political party had asked EC for a de novo exercise such as the one prescribed in the instant SIR order. The concerns of political parties were on the issue of addition of non-existent votes, and deletion of genuine votes supporting the Opposition parties, and on the issue of casting of votes after closure of polls… the EC's counter affidavit fails to substantiate or justify the necessity of the SIR in Bihar, or the broader push for a nationwide citizenship verification of electors,' the NGO said. It said people whose names are not found in the draft electoral roll for Bihar would not have the time to file appeals, prove their citizenship, and get re-enrolled in time for the Bihar Assembly election, likely to be held in November.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Yogendra Yadav writes: On ground in Bihar, Election Commission of India writes a dystopian fiction
We were in Patna when the news channels started reporting on the Election Commission of India's (ECI) counter-affidavit on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). We had just finished a day-long jansunwai, a public hearing organised by peoples' organisations, on the ground experience of the SIR in Bihar. About 250 ordinary people from 19 districts across Bihar, mostly villagers and a majority of them women, had come to Patna to share their stories. Some had travelled through the night in trains packed with kanwariyas and job aspirants coming to the state capital for a major exam. Exhausted, a few snoozed off and on, squatting uncomfortably on chairs. About three dozen of them got to tell their stories to a distinguished panel comprising Justice (Retd) Anjana Prakash, Wajahat Habibullah, Jean Drèze, Nandini Sundar, D M Diwakar and Bhanwar Meghwanshi. We read news reports about the affidavit late in the evening. And we recalled what we had heard through the day in the multiple languages of Bihar. The first-hand accounts we heard that day and in the preceding weeks had no resemblance to the official account. These two were clearly about two different worlds. The official account attributed to the ECI could well have been a piece of creative writing, a fiction about an imagined land, if only it were written better. On the ground, it has been a month of dystopia. Phulkumari Devi, a farm labourer from Hasanganj in Katihar, was asked for her photo, a copy of her Voter Card and her Aadhaar Card. (For context: the ECI had dispensed with the requirement of a photograph; EPIC was unnecessary as it was pre-printed on her form; Aadhaar number was 'optional' and the card inadmissible as per the ECI.) She had to sell the rice obtained from the ration shop, the only thing she had, to get photocopies and a photograph from the nearby town. She went hungry and lost two days of wages. Sumitra Devi, around 60 years old, came from Saharsa. She was told she needed to submit papers for her parents, who died long ago, and give caste or domicile certificates for herself, or else she would cease to be 'sarkar ke log'. She has spent Rs 300 to apply for a caste certificate, which she awaits. Gobind Paswan, again from Saharsa, was asked to give a copy of his passbook and land records. (Context: both were on the voters' list in 2003 and were not required to give any documents.) We heard many stories of touts (the husband of an anganwadi worker who was a BLO, for example) who charged poor people Rs 100 for filling in the form. Woman after woman spoke of how difficult and in many cases impossible it was to arrange documents from their mayaka (which was in Nepal in many cases) on the status of their parents in the 2003 electoral rolls. In this context, the idea that migrant workers would 'fill the enumeration form in online mode using their mobile phones through the ECINet App' is a joke. The findings of a rapid survey of migrant workers by Stranded Workers Action Network were reported in the jansunwai. Of the 235 migrant workers staying outside Bihar who were surveyed over the phone, one-third had not heard of the SIR. Among those who had heard, almost three in four had no idea of the required documents. Only one-tenth had heard about the official announcement of online submission. Let's compare just one sentence of official fiction with ground reality. Here is Guideline 3(b) of the SIR order, which the ECI claims to have followed faithfully: 'BLOs shall visit each household and distribute Enumeration Form, with pre-printed details of existing electors, to each existing elector in duplicate and will guide them in filling up the form.' This simple instruction contains six tasks. And it exposes six lies of the ECI. One, the BLOs were supposed to visit each household within their booth. They did not. Given the impossible deadlines, they could not. After trying for the first few days, they were instructed not to 'waste their time' in going from house to house. In nearly half the cases, we heard about voters chasing the BLO and not the other way round. Two, the distribution was to be done by the BLOs. In many urban areas, this was done by municipal employees with no official credentials. Three, they were supposed to give a unique form to each voter with pre-printed details. In many urban areas, including Patna, residents were given a blank form with no personal details. Four, the forms were to be given to each person on the existing voters' list. We heard numerous cases where not every member got the form. Five, the forms were to be given in duplicate, one copy to be given to the BLO and the other to be retained by the voter with a proof of receipt. This simply did not happen, unless an exceptionally persistent voter took a photocopy of her own form and forced the BLO to give an acknowledgement. Mostly, people were given only one form, with no proof of having submitted it to the BLO. Six, the BLO was to assist and guide people in filling in the forms. This was an impossible ask of the poor BLO, often ill-informed and already beleaguered. The best they could do was not misguide the voters. Senior journalist Ajit Anjum has released a number of video reports exposing on camera the SIR's biggest fraud: Enumeration forms being filled in without the voter's consent or even knowledge. We came across a multitude of cases of voters reporting this gross violation of the process. Either family members signed for a person out of station, or people were informed by the BLO that their forms had been submitted, without their having seen or signed them. In several cases, the voters discovered on the ECI website that they could not file their form as it had already been submitted. At least a quarter or more of the total forms filled in (the ECI reports a success rate of 98.01 per cent) could belong to this fraudulent category. These are not exceptions or operational lapses that often happen in a large exercise of this nature. The confusion and chaos of the SIR are an inevitable outcome of its design. What else should you expect if you kickstart such a massive exercise with less than 24 hours' notice, if you expect an ill-equipped and over-burdened administrative machine to carry out multiple tasks within four weeks, and if you demand of 8 crore people the documents you know they may not possess? The brazen violation of rules and norms and fake documentation being reported from all over Bihar was built into the SIR. It is pointless to blame the BLOs and the rest of the administrative machinery. They are as much victims as the ordinary people. The blame lies squarely with the ECI. It is not too late for it to acknowledge the reality and cease this experiment on the people. The jansunwai in Patna ended with a unanimous call to annul the SIR. Swami is state coordinator of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan, Bihar. Shastri and Yadav work with the national team of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan. Yadav has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the SIR
Economic Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
$1,390 Stimulus check in 2025: Do Americans need to pay tax on the amount and who needs to apply?
Synopsis IRS stimulus checks in 2025: The US government has announced an important relief plan and under this scheme, eligible citizens will be provided a one-time stimulus check of $1,390. A $1,390 stimulus check is coming in 2025 to help with rising living costs. Most people will get it automatically, including those on Social Security, SSDI, SSI, and VA benefits. Reuters The stimulus check of $1,390 in August is completely tax-free Millions of Americans are closely watching updates on the $1,390 stimulus payout in August 2025 as economic uncertainty stretches into the second half of the year. The stimulus payment is part of a federal relief plan which is aimed at low and middle-income households which are struggling with everyday expenses like food, rent, and utility this scheme, eligible citizens will be provided a one-time stimulus check of $1,390. This assistance has been designed keeping in mind those who are struggling with rent, ration, medicine and other essential expenses. ALSO READ: Could ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron sue Coldplay after kiss cam controversy? Check details The stimulus check of $1,390 in August is completely tax-free. This means that you will not have to add this amount to your next year's income and it will not affect any benefits like Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), or housing assistance. ALSO READ: Social Security payments worth $5,108 to be rolled out for Americans this week: Who could see up to 50% cut? This stimulus payment relief scheme has been specially designed for those people whose income is limited and eligibility mainly depends on your income and tax status. People in the following categories are likely to receive this payment: Single tax payers: Income up to 75000Married couples (filling jointly): Income of up to 150 000 dollarsHead of household: up to 112.5kApart from this, people who receive social security benefits, VA and Railroad Retirement beneficiaries, and families with qualifying dependents are automatically eligible for stimulus check. If you have received stimulus payments before and your income has remained stable, you are likely to be eligible this time there is no official announcement on the official date, it is expected that the stimulus checks will be sent out in mid-summer 2025. The IRS and other related agencies are working on the can get this payment in the following ways:Direct Deposit: The fastest and most convenient way, if your bank details are already with the IRS or Social Check: If bank details are not available, the check will be mailed to your Debit Card: Some beneficiaries may receive payments in the form of a prepaid card. ALSO READ: Ozzy Osbourne's massive wealth exposed: How did the legendary rockstar make $220 million? Most people will not need to apply for stimulus check. If you recently filed a tax return or are receiving benefits from Social Security, SSDI, or SSI, you are automatically eligible. But if you have neither filed taxes nor received any benefits, you will have to apply for stimulus will soon update its 'Get My Payment' or 'Check Eligibility' tool for 2025. Through this, you can know whether:Whether you are eligible or notWhen and how your payment is being sentIf there is any problem, what is itYou can get this information by visiting the official website of IRS.
