Funding and policy

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Stories about research grants, funding models and the business of science

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Expediting clinical trials for profound autism: Q&A with Matthew State

Aligning Research to Impact Autism, a new initiative funded by the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, wants to bring basic science discoveries to the clinic faster.

By Lauren Schenkman
24 April 2025 | 8 min read
NIH building cut by a red line, a section of the building falls out of the frame.

Proposed NIH budget cut threatens ‘massive destruction of American science’

A leaked draft of a Trump administration proposal includes an approximately 40 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health’s budget and a major reorganization of its 27 institutes and centers.

By Angie Voyles Askham
17 April 2025 | 3 min read
People help each other climb up a supersized human brain.

As federal funders desert mentorship programs for marginalized students, trainee-led initiatives fill the gap

Grassroots organizations, led by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, are stepping up to provide neuroscience career training and guidance for students from marginalized backgrounds—and they need your support.

By Christian Cazares, Maribel Patiño
11 April 2025 | 5 min read
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Exclusive: NIH nixes funds for several pre- and postdoctoral training programs

Many of the axed grants support scientists from underrepresented communities.

By Claudia López Lloreda
8 April 2025 | 9 min listen
Coins flow from a spigot.

Newly awarded NIH grants for neuroscience lag 77 percent behind previous nine-year average

Since President Donald Trump took office on 20 January, the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke and the National Institute of Mental Health have awarded one quarter as many new grants as during the same two-month period, on average, since 2016.

By Natalia Mesa
4 April 2025 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Genetic background steers PTEN syndrome traits

People with the syndrome, caused by variants in the gene PTEN, often have autism or cancer, or both, but it depends on the genetic diversity encoded in the components of distinct cell signaling pathways, according to a new study.

By Holly Barker
19 June 2025 | 5 min read

Star-responsive neurons steer moths’ long-distance migration

Cells in the bogong moth brain respond to astral landmarks to orient the insects in the direction they need to go.

By Angie Voyles Askham
18 June 2025 | 5 min listen

Exclusive: Issues with dozens of papers prompt inquiry into prolific stroke researcher

Two of John H. Zhang’s papers have been retracted, 19 have corrections, and 27 have expressions of concern.

By Calli McMurray
18 June 2025 | 4 min read