A Mother’s Hope Put on Hold

Anne Morgan Giroux believed a cure for epilepsy was finally within reach. Her daughter, born with epilepsy, inspired her to raise over $1 million for research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But now, the next step—a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—is frozen due to budget cuts by the Trump administration.

“We were so close,” Anne said. “Now, the research is just sitting there.”

The Freeze on Medical Research Funding

The Trump administration has cut funding for NIH, the world’s largest source of medical research money. This has put thousands of important studies on hold, not just for epilepsy but also for diabetes, autism, cancer, and more.

Dr. Avtar Roopra, the lead researcher on the epilepsy project, warns that if funding doesn’t resume soon, his team could lose experienced scientists. “Even if we hire new people later, we will have lost decades of knowledge,” he said.

Other Medical Breakthroughs at Risk

Epilepsy research is not the only area affected. Other critical studies have also been stopped:

• Diabetes Prevention Program: This program, previously funded at Columbia University, was showing how diet and exercise could prevent diabetes. It was cut after losing $400 million in funding.
• Autism and Schizophrenia Research: At the University of California San Diego, research into genetic causes of these disorders is struggling due to a lack of funds.
• New Drug Development: Life-saving drugs like Ozempic, which helps with diabetes and weight loss, took 30 years of research—funded by the NIH. Without that support, future breakthroughs could be lost.

The True Cost of Cutting Research

Cutting funding for medical research doesn’t save money—it actually increases healthcare costs.

For example, the Diabetes Prevention Program cost $80 million per year but was estimated to save the U.S. $20 billion annually in diabetes-related expenses. Without this kind of research, more people will have to rely on expensive treatments instead of finding long-term solutions.

Dr. William Hsu, a former Harvard Medical School professor, warns that cutting funding forces people to rely on medications instead of preventing disease. “We should be investing more in prevention, not less,” he said.

Why Did Trump Cut NIH Funding?

The Trump administration argued that private companies or state governments should fund research instead. However, experts say this won’t work because:

• Pharmaceutical companies only invest in research when a product is nearly ready for sale.
• State governments don’t have enough money to replace NIH funding.

Some conservatives have also criticized NIH for funding controversial studies, but researchers argue that stopping all funding is not the answer.

What Needs to Happen Next?

Until 1901, The White House Was Known By What Name?

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Even though a federal judge has blocked the funding cuts, money still hasn’t started flowing again. Scientists and families are urging Congress to restore NIH funding to avoid losing progress on life-saving treatments.

For families like the Girouxs, this is more than just a policy debate—it’s personal. “We’re watching a cure for epilepsy slip away,” Anne said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Sources

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) – www.nih.gov
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Research – www.wisc.edu
• Columbia University Diabetes Prevention Program – www.columbia.edu
• University of California San Diego Autism Research – www.ucsd.edu
• USA Today article on Trump’s NIH budget cuts – www.usatoday.com
• “President Donald J. Trump is seen at his desk Friday evening, December 21, 2018, in the Oval Office with a stack of documents awaiting his signature.” (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead. Public domain via White House Flickr. License: CC0 1.0).