Funding and policy

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

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Scissors cut a hundred-dollar bill in half.

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
Glitchy image of a stamp.

Coding error caused layoffs at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke this week, source says

Thirty employees—including 11 lab heads—at the institute should “immediately return to work,” according to an email the institute’s Office of Human Resources sent to top administration at the institute Wednesday evening.

By Sydney Wyatt
3 April 2025 | 3 min read
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke building.

U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Sydney Wyatt
2 April 2025 | 5 min read
A hand holds a magnifying glass over a sheet of paper.

Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated

If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.

By Calli McMurray
2 April 2025 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain

Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is beginning to pay off.

By Angie Voyles Askham
23 May 2025 | 0 min watch
Research image of the spinal meninges in mice.

Immune cells block pain in female mice only

Regulatory T cells in the spinal meninges release endogenous opioids in a sex-specific manner, new work shows.

By Angie Voyles Askham
22 May 2025 | 5 min read

John Beggs unpacks the critical brain hypothesis

Beggs outlines why and how brains operate at criticality, a sweet spot between order and chaos.

By Paul Middlebrooks
21 May 2025 | 94 min listen