OPINION: Why we all need to stand up for science

You’ve seen the news, right? The infrastructure that supports American science is being dismantled. Beyond what we will lose, I find myself mourning who we will lose.

It is nearly impossible to measure the losses we as a society are facing from these massive cuts to scientific inquiry. For the last month, I have been thinking about who gets hurt. I think about how the anti-vaccine agenda will slow down the next steps for a new mRNA vaccine to protect against pancreatic cancer, which took the life of my best friend’s father when we were 17. I think about my officemate, whose research on health disparities and substance use in the LGBTQ+ population was politically sabotaged. I am thinking about her son, who is less than a year old and can’t yet be vaccinated for measles while it spreads here in New Mexico. I am thinking about the would-be-researcher who spoke at our Stand Up For Science rally in Santa Fe: She was accepted to three environmental science PhD programs (a wildly impressive feat). All three offers were rescinded because of threats to federal funding. I think about a fellow postdoc whose proposal to study the link between Alzheimer’s disease and alcohol in mice was thrown away because the grant program supports diverse scholars. I think about my own work, whether I can continue to do research in harm reduction and substance use to improve public health and reduce fatal overdose, which took my brother’s life a decade ago. It is increasingly unbearable to watch as my friends, fellow researchers, lose opportunities to advance scientific research.

I think about how many people simply don’t see scientists in their everyday lives; they don’t see how badly we are hurting both professionally and personally. They may not see how much we will all suffer the consequences in a country without scientific infrastructure. Those of us who do the daily work of research, clinical trials and field work know all too well the far-reaching consequences of dismantling this infrastructure. We know that real people — people we love — will suffer.

Maybe I think this way because my work focuses on social connections and substance use, so I am often preoccupied with thoughts about how our social networks, relationships and community shape us and our health. Throughout this process, I started to think that I needed to stop thinking, I needed to act.

I heard about the budding Stand Up For Science movement on BlueSky and immediately messaged my friend from graduate school who was on the leadership team. Two days later, I was sitting in my mentor’s office seeking support, which she excitedly provided. I reached out to my network and got to work with three incredible colleagues: Kalina Fahey, a fellow postdoctoral researcher; Matison McCool, an assistant research professor; and Christina Gillezeau, a graduate student. Together, in the span of 15 days, we put on the New Mexico Stand Up For Science rally.

This is only the beginning of the movement to stop political interference and censorship in science, secure funding for research, and defend the work of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility across scientific disciplines. The science that supports human health and innovation is conducted by real people, people like me. But it is now time for all of us to act.

Attacking and dismantling our collective capacity for scientific discovery is a disservice to our entire society, whether we work in science or not. We need to collectively show that we are not ready to give up on our communities.

In solidarity, science is for all.