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If you missed the July 1st UC Davis-based webinar, "Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research in America," featuring Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman of UC Berkeley and other Nobel Laureates and two dozen other scholars, not to worry.

The webinar is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Tq5-vBrSDYc.

The participants offered "valuable insights into the urgent threats facing scientific research in the U.S., along with the broader consequences for public health, innovation, and global leadership," said UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal, a member of the National Academy of Sciences who organized and coordinated the webinar.

The webinar drew 454 participants via Zoom and an additional 205 watched it on YouTube. (The Zoom license capped attendance at 500.)

The webinar marked the 80th anniversary of "Science--The Endless Frontier," a document that propelled the United States into its current position as a global leader in science, technology, and defense.  Vannevar Bush (1890-1974), director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, submitted the Science document in July 1945 to President Harry S Truman. It led to the formation of the National Science Foundation (NSF). In the document, Bush advocated for government funding of basic research in universities, colleges, and research institutes because "that’s where the talent is." He wrote that "The most important ways in which the Government can promote industrial research are to increase the flow of new scientific knowledge through support of basic research and to aid in the development of scientific talent."

Schekman, a Distinguished Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and a member of NAS since 1992, keynoted the webinar and interacted with a  panel of distinguished scholars. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, he shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with colleagues James Rothman and Thomas Südhof for their pioneering discoveries on the mechanisms of vesicle trafficking in cells.  

Schekman lamented the "attack on science" by the current White House administration and the challenges that scientists face.  "Despite over 80 years of progress that led from the foundational report of Vannevar Bush, just a few months into the current presidential term, the infrastructure that supports science in this country faces an existential crisis. We are now challenged by an increasing antagonism to science and the scientific method, even to the point of ignoring the overwhelming evidence of a role for fossil fuels in climate change and a rejection of the success of the mRNA vaccines and the anti-retroviral medications that have reversed the certain death sentence of an HIV infection."

"The current Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is neither a scientist nor a physician, has embraced the fringe views of vaccine and HIV AIDS skeptics and has recommended cancelling National Institute of Health (NIH) grants supporting infectious disease research," Schekman said. "He's fired all the members of the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) committee charged with vaccine policy and replaced them with other fringe vaccine skeptics. Academic institutions where most of the basic science is conducted are under attack based on false claims of anti-semitism and a supposedly unbalanced application of civil rights. Universities and research institutes have been directed to accept grants with an unsustainable low level of indirect cost, a restriction that has not been imposed on other government support  for agencies such as those that support aerospace and defense industries.

Schekman noted that NSF "is being evicted from its headquarters" and that the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) "has publicly expressed the view that science can be supported only in so far it is as it is consistent with fundamentalist Christian principles. If Congress proceeds with the current budget, Fiscal Year26 will see a 50 percent decrease for the NSF and a 40 percent decrease for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We face a sea of change in government support that has shocked our colleagues around the world. Some of whom have offered a lifeline not unlike the Marshall Plan after World War II. Science will continue to advance around the world. Even as we take a back seat in adjusting to a new reality, our place may be taken by those countries such as China, where an enormous investment in basic science continues to grow as our support dwindles."

"It is now up to our leaders of the scientific community to speak up more forcefully in support of science," the Nobel Laureate said. "This message must be taken beyond Washington to all corners of this country...We have a powerful message to deliver that an investment in basic science pays enormous dividends in improved health outcomes and technological development. We need the next generation of scientific leadership to show that America can still lead the way."  

Marcia McNutt, NAS president, commented: "The trick is getting your message to people who either have no interest in science, who have no time for science, or no trust in science." She added that one way to engage is to pair comedians with scientists.

"Federal investment in science is not a cost--it's a national asset and must be protected," Leal told the webinar audience.  On July 2, he shared an executive summary and a detailed summary of the webinar, "The Case for Protecting Federal Support for Scientific Research," with the registrants and with his congressional representatives. Leal, a Distinguished Professor with the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and a former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology encourages "others to amplify the message."

Executive Summary 
"America’s scientific strength is not just a line item in a budget—it is a strategic national asset. Protect it. Invest in it. Lead with it."

Detailed Summary 
"For over 80 years, the partnership between the U.S. federal government and its research universities has been a cornerstone of American innovation, public health, and national security. This collaboration, launched by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and formalized in Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report Science--The Endless Frontier, created a science funding system that led to transformative discoveries in medicine, technology, agriculture, and defense. It helped the U.S. become the global leader in science and innovation. 

"Today, that legacy is under threat. 

"What’s at Stake? The proposed FY26 federal budget includes devastating cuts:

• 50 percent cut to National Science Foundation
• 40 percent cut to National Institutes of Health
• Drastic reductions to U. S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense,  and Department of Energy science programs
• Cap on indirect cost recovery at 15 percent, far below the actual cost of administering federally funded research  

"These cuts would not only jeopardize individual research projects—they would destabilize the entire research enterprise, diminish U.S. competitiveness, and cause a brain drain as top scientists seek opportunities abroad."

The webinar drew widespread appreciation and applause. Some of the comments Leal received:

• I wish everyone in the country were required to listen to it.
• Thank you for the opportunity to hear the excellent and enlightening presentations by the outstanding scientific experts in your webinar.  
• Thank you for leading this effort and shining a light on these issues. I have been spreading your link to many others. I especially like the idea of teaming a scientist with comedians. That’s a brilliant way to spread this message. 
• I learned good stuff and was AMAZED at the one doctor who spoke about a father with stage 4 melanoma. That innovative science, and by using the father’s own immune system, he lived on 20 plus years. That is such an impressive piece of evidence of what our quiet, hard-working, determined scientists and researchers are doing for us and how they improve and extend life. 
• I just wanted to thank you for putting together the webinar. I was especially inspired by the words and optimism of Torsten Wiesel, and the many ideas for way to take action and use our agency. 
• Thank you for organizing this important event. It was so wonderful to hear from remarkable scientists and share our common concerns. The words of Torsten Wiesel brought tears to my eyes.
• The U.S. has been insufficiently funding science for decades. The current policies are an unmitigated disaster from which recovery will be lengthy, if at all possible.
• Thank you very much for this webinar. What a treat to hear from so many Nobel Prize-winning scientists on this timely issue! I must say that Torsten Wiesel was a favorite! Such an advocate for the power of intellectual curiosity at 101.
• A triumph! We must call our legislators every day, every week. Thank you for all you do!
• Thank you for organizing. The two Presidents of the National Academies and the UC Berkeley Lawyer are sensational. Excellent event. Bravo!