"Beyond cancer, any disease that touches your life, the treatment has been improved by NIH-funded research. From cystic fibrosis to HIV to recovery from motor vehicle accidents, we can all thank the NIH for generating investigation to improve and change lives," Amy Anne D. Lassig writes. Above, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. (Grandbrothers)

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My mom is alive because of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a plasma cell cancer, in 2015. After a stem cell transplant in 2016, she relapsed a year and a half later, and since then, she’s had the benefit of multiple novel therapeutics. She’ll be 84 in June, and despite years of continuous treatment, she’s feeling great. She goes to church, travels and volunteers. My kids adore her spontaneity and joyful optimism. I am so grateful to have her here to love.

Thirty years ago, however, before all the new drugs that have sustained her were available, she would have long passed away from her disease. As a cancer surgeon and researcher, I know why she is alive. NIH-funded research at all levels is why she is here. National Institutes of Health funding supported basic science research in a lab to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the disease and the body’s response to it. It supported translational research to transform these findings to a human model and then clinical research to ensure safety and efficacy of these medications. This NIH-funded science then fueled private-sector drug development (with broad technological and economic benefits) to make these new drugs available for my mom and many others.

My patients have similarly benefited from NIH-funded science at all levels. Head and neck cancer and its treatment are not for the faint of heart. Imagine cancer taking over your tongue, the nerves that move your face, the tissues around your eye, or your carotid artery. Fighting the disease is difficult and seeing the result of losing the battle is brutal. But what if a novel drug could melt away the basal cell carcinoma that was taking away your eyesight? What if immunotherapy could keep your squamous cell carcinoma at bay, so you’re planning your next trip south for the winter instead of planning your funeral? I am so grateful to have innovative treatments to offer my patients who come to me from all over Minnesota; novel therapies have changed the way I am able to practice medicine.

Of course, these innovations aren’t just for multiple myeloma or head and neck cancer. They have helped all patients with cancer, and that means they have helped you and the ones you love — your sister with breast cancer, your uncle with lung cancer, your nephew with lymphoma, and on and on. Beyond cancer, any disease that touches your life, the treatment has been improved by NIH-funded research. From cystic fibrosis to HIV to recovery from motor vehicle accidents, we can all thank the NIH for generating investigation to improve and change lives.

Beyond improvements in health, however, NIH funds drive discovery, innovation and private-sector economic gains. In fiscal year 2023, NIH funding generated more than $92 billion of economic activity. The NIH, creating $2.50 of economic activity for every $1 invested, is a longstanding powerhouse for patent development. In Minnesota, we know what that means. As “Medical Alley,” our state is a world leader in medical technology and device companies. Yet, Medical Alley can’t flourish without NIH-funded research. Our great health institutions, like Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota, can’t either. Simply put, the U.S. can’t continue to be the worldwide leader in medicine and medical technologies without the NIH.

It seems obvious to say, but the NIH won’t exist if it isn’t funded. For decades this has been a bipartisan priority, as the ratio of input to exponentially beneficial output has been clear to all. On Friday, however, the NIH under the Trump administration announced a massive funding slash nationwide with indirect cost reimbursement cut to 15%. [Opinion editor’s note: On Monday, a federal judge put the cuts temporarily on hold in 22 states, including Minnesota, that had sued over the action.]

While cutting indirect costs might sound innocuous, these funds keep the lights on, pay staff, and above all, allow for the infrastructure which supports the next big and small discoveries. I cannot emphasize enough how catastrophic this decision will be for our health, our research, our technological prowess and our economy. Minnesotans, from the individual to the CEO, I implore you to use your voice to stop this destruction of American health and medical innovation. If we don’t, when we have cancer, there won’t be anything new to keep us here.

Dr. Amy Anne D. Lassig is a head and neck oncology surgeon and clinician scientist in the Hennepin Healthcare system as well as an assistant professor in the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department at the University of Minnesota Medical School.