To: Rep. John Sarbanes (MD-3), The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Reopen the government: you're killing basic science
The NIH is the largest government body of basic science research. Thousands upon thousands of dollars and animals' lives are being wasted with this petty political posturing. Please, open the government so that basic science researchers impacted by the shutdown can get back to doing their work.
Why is this important?
As an anonymous researcher at the NIH, my experiments have been devastated by the shutdown. I keep hearing the stories from my friends: Months of work with cell cultures that require daily tending is down the tubes. Sensitive behavioral training and testing is ruined. Animals will have to be destroyed when we get back to work because, sadly, they will be useless as research models (imagine a partial-inducement of Parkinson's Disease in a rodent: what can you do with this now that it is not characterizing anything in the human?). Humans enrolled as research subjects--something that takes months of paperwork and coordination--will likely not return for follow-up testing because timing is critical on these types of experiments. The list goes on and on.
As a post-doc, and after a long haul of education and training, I make very little money. I work every weekend and many nights, but I love what I do. I do it because I believe in basic science. It's one of the most noble careers, because for me, it represents a quest for truth. And I feel white hot anger that these elected "representatives" toy with federal funding like it's play Monopoly money.
I'm just one story. But I know I represent the vast majority of government-employed basic science researchers who are sitting at home right now wondering what they can do. So I hope you will sign this. A voice of reason is only as strong as those that join with it. Please help me get a message to Congress--maybe they'll quit ignoring some of us on the ground.
As a post-doc, and after a long haul of education and training, I make very little money. I work every weekend and many nights, but I love what I do. I do it because I believe in basic science. It's one of the most noble careers, because for me, it represents a quest for truth. And I feel white hot anger that these elected "representatives" toy with federal funding like it's play Monopoly money.
I'm just one story. But I know I represent the vast majority of government-employed basic science researchers who are sitting at home right now wondering what they can do. So I hope you will sign this. A voice of reason is only as strong as those that join with it. Please help me get a message to Congress--maybe they'll quit ignoring some of us on the ground.