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Cuts to National Institute of Health could devastate University of California research and negative impact San Diego County’s economy (Photo by unknown author is licensed under CC BY-ND)By Cami Scantlin
June 25, 2025 (San Diego) -- Microbes are the world’s most powerful chemists. These tiny life forms are in the business of transforming things. They transform milk into cheese and barley into beer.
Other microbe-driven transformations are less obvious and less tasty. They release fertilizer into the soil and collect heavy metals from acid mines.
The chemistry done by any one microbe is small, but collectively, they are mighty.
There are about a million trillion trillion microbes alive at any given time, or more microbes on earth than grains of sand. When they work together, they have the power to influence every inch of the planet.
Amid cuts to science funding, I want to share how microbes, and science as a whole, shapes our world for the better.
My love for California is intertwined with my love for science.
I inched up the California coast during my academic journey. I went to Valhalla High School, studied chemistry at Caltech, and now, I am getting my Ph.D. in microbiology at UC Berkeley.
The values I learned from school and sports in East County are the same values that make a good microbiologist: passion, humility and grit.
My passions led me to study how microbes “do” chemistry.
In my Ph.D. lab, I research B12 vitamins that act like a chemical tool-kit. B12 gives microbes the parts and the power to make new things.
When microbes have B12, they can produce more propionate, a chemical that promotes healthy interactions between the gut microbiome and your intestines.
Understanding the chemistry of gut microbes will give us the knowledge to predict how they influence human health.
Work like mine is called foundational science. It improves our understanding of how the world works. The results of fundamental science allow engineers, clinicians and doctors to create medicine and technology.
For example, research into how cells gather and use iron is used to create treatments that target iron-hungry cancer cells without hurting healthy neighboring cells.
Beyond life sciences, theoretical physicists from UC Santa Barbara are currently working with Microsoft to build quantum computers that can process massive amounts of information.
With all of this innovation, it is not surprising that one dollar invested in research generates over two and a half dollars of economic activity.
The unparalleled freedom of research in American universities has long made us a global leader in science and technology. In particular, California public universities give scientists a place to study fundamental and applied sciences.
The University of California system alone conducts over 8% of the nation’s research. This entire university system relies on the investment of federal dollars. The federal government financially supports over half of all UC research, and many UC-affiliated labs depend on project-specific government grants to function.
I have worked in labs that would not exist without direct funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health and the Department of Energy.
Cutting science funding does not reduce waste; it creates lost jobs and lost potential. It slows our economic and knowledge output.
San Diego County Supervisors have recognized that cuts to NIH funding “could result in over $500 million in lost economic activity” in San Diego County alone.
At the state level, federal funding cuts hurt the 1 in 45 Californians whose jobs are supported by UC operations.
These cuts erase a generation of California-grown scientists who lose training opportunities. Reduced funding devastates countless Californians who rely on treatments for rare diseases. Slashing support halts the exploration of more powerful computers and agricultural technology.
We can reverse this tide.
How? Simple, be like a microbe. Be one of many voices that says, “Science funding matters!”
If you are looking for a place to start, please take the Citizens for Science Pledge (tiny.cc/sciencepledge) and let scientists know that you like hearing about our work in articles like this one.
Talk to your family, your community and your local officials about the content of spending bills and the value of science.
A million trillion trillion small conversations will shape our world.
The views in this editorial reflect the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org
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