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DOGE shuts down pediatric brain cancer research



HBOT was asked for comment

All we could muster was a "that's kinda not cool" from @hydro2.0

BREAKING: Research into Pediatric Brain Cancer is essentially being shutdown by a brilliant research team because of Trump’s actions against the NIH.

Vice Chair of Research for Neurosurgery at UMass Chan Medical School, Dr. Rachael Sirianni just published this letter to the public:

“This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH. Want to keep clarifying that my lab is not closing, and I am not leaving academia. We are stopping most of our experimental work.

“What’s happening to our country is inexcusable and much of the damage is already irreparable. We will continue with data collection for a recently funded grant that came from a private foundation. There will be no pursuit of new ideas for now. We will continue with data collection for a recently funded grant that came from a private foundation. There will be no pursuit of new ideas for now.”
OF course Doge and Musky are shutting it down because they can and it is to help kids.

Just Wacko
 
Big Pharma funds hair loss and boner pill research. The US government, and the citizens, have done very well with subsidized research over the years. But, we are in burn it down mode.
I can see the Stead Family Children’s Hospital as I type this. So, let’s all do the wave for the sick kids, but let’s slash research funding…
How many of those kids in the Children's Hospital are there because of a pharmaceutical they ingested - or that was injected into their mothers pre-birth...or into them post-birth? 🤷‍♂️
 
This thread has so many inaccuracies I'll just avoid it like a land mine. Hilariously ignorant posts. The best one is that big pharma doesn't innovate. I needed a laugh.
I didn't say they don't innovate, but, you know, profits. Do you recognize the public funding of research is a significant driver of innovation and discovery in the US?
 
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I didn't say they don't innovate, but, you know, profits. Do you recognize the public funding of research is a significant driver of innovation and discovery in the US?
I'm in the industry. I bet I have a tad better grasp than you do. I will also tell you that there is a ton of waste of money and resources in academic research. I will also tell you that the rate of return for funding academic research is very low, in so far as fda approved drugs are concerned. Lastly, having indirect costs in the range of 55 to 65 percent is laughable.

And wtf is wrong with profits? It allows us to hire the best talent, upgrade equipment and facilities. Next time you go to UI Healthcare, tell the Healthcare team you don't want anything made by big pharma, because they have a profit motive. We can then take you to Bowen Science Building to find therapies that are purely driven by the love of science. Do you see how absurd that sounds?
 
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Are you seriously going to deny that public funding of basic research isn't a huge driver in drug development?
The rate of return from academic research is abysmally low. It's a cash hog and it's about time it was streamlined.
 
2010 Joe Biden: “One third of Medicare is wasted.”

Democrats: Oh what a brilliant statesman.

2025 DOGE: “Tens of billions in medicare waste.”

Democrats: “Elon Musk is literally Hitler.”

 
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LOL...it's basic research...it's not there to generate a "rate of return". But it does, anyway. Claiming otherwise just makes you look abysmally stupid. You should avoid that.
Dude, I know you're some sort of teacher but you come across as a buffoon.

Thankfully, unlike you, others will do the needful to cut down useless spending in academia. You and your buddies can fund their so called basic research.
 
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I'm in the industry. I bet I have a tad better grasp than you do. I will also tell you that there is a ton of waste of money and resources in academic research. I will also tell you that the rate of return for funding academic research is very low, in so far as fda approved drugs are concerned. Lastly, having indirect costs in the range of 55 to 65 percent is laughable.

And wtf is wrong with profits? It allows us to hire the best talent, upgrade equipment and facilities. Next time you go to UI Healthcare, tell the Healthcare team you don't want anything made by big pharma, because they have a profit motive. We can then take you to Bowen Science Building to find therapies that are purely driven by the love of science. Do you see how absurd that sounds?
Oh, thanks. You seem tense and a little snippy tonight.
 
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Dude, I know you're some sort of teacher but you come across as a buffoon.

Thankfully, unlike you, others will do the needful to cut down useless spending in academia. You and your buddies can fund their so called basic research.
LOL..."in the industry" yet this clueless? Probably not.

Let's take a look at one of the more transformative drugs of the 21st century. Sofosbuvir revolutionized treatment of Hep C. It led to the development of a number of antiviral treatments. WHO has declared it an "essential" medicine. And its development was based on decades of publicly funded research coming at a cost to the American taxpayer of at least $61 million. Gilead then marketed it at a cost of $84,000/year...to those same taxpayers. So not clueless. I suppose you must be in that private sector and have a need to pretend you do it all on your own but the rest of us know that's not really true.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7528745/

BTW...10% of NIH grants lead directly to a patent. Not a bad track record for basic research.
 
LOL..."in the industry" yet this clueless? Probably not.

Let's take a look at one of the more transformative drugs of the 21st century. Sofosbuvir revolutionized treatment of Hep C. It led to the development of a number of antiviral treatments. WHO has declared it an "essential" medicine. And its development was based on decades of publicly funded research coming at a cost to the American taxpayer of at least $61 million. Gilead then marketed it at a cost of $84,000/year...to those same taxpayers. So not clueless. I suppose you must be in that private sector and have a need to pretend you do it all on your own but the rest of us know that's not really true.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7528745/

BTW...10% of NIH grants lead directly to a patent. Not a bad track record for basic research.
Just because you get a patent, doesn't mean the tech is commercially viable. There are countless patents that are utterly useless.

The very drug you've highlighted was discovered by a researcher in a pharma company, not academia.
 
Just because you get a patent, doesn't mean the tech is commercially viable. There are countless patents that are utterly useless.

The very drug you've highlighted was discovered by a researcher in a pharma company, not academia.
Can’t read a research paper provided with my post? The one documenting the $61M in public money that “discovery” was based on? Like I said, your devotion to your private enterprise has been duly noted.
 
I can see the Stead Family Children’s Hospital as I type this. So, let’s all do the wave for the sick kids, but let’s slash research funding…

Gov. Kim Reynolds is working with her lackeys in the Iowa Legislature on a big that would outlaw the Hawkeye Wave and replace it with a new tradition: the MAGA Middle Finger, which would be given to pediatric patients at the end of each quarter.
 
I will also tell you that the rate of return for funding academic research is very low, in so far as fda approved drugs are concerned.

Of course it is.

Most of the basic science work isn't going to lead to any benefit. But a decent percentage will, and you have no idea where things will lead until you try them.

Companies will not take on any of this basic-level stuff, EXACTLY BECAUSE the probability of blockbuster returns are low. They'll wait until that research is done, then build on top of it.

There was no "market" for quantum physics 100 yrs ago. Today, that research work is the foundation of all your flatscreen TVs, computers and smartphones.​
There was no market for mRNA technologies; now that is the fastest way to create new vaccines.​
There was no market for CRISPR research when it was being analyzed and studied. Today, that makes genetic editing a benchtop enterprise that someone can do in their kitchen.​


The "hit rate" for basic research can be "very low"; but when it hits big, the rate of return on the hits makes up for all the misses, and benefits the economy many many times over
 
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HBOT was asked for comment

All we could muster was a "that's kinda not cool" from @hydro2.0

BREAKING: Research into Pediatric Brain Cancer is essentially being shutdown by a brilliant research team because of Trump’s actions against the NIH.

Vice Chair of Research for Neurosurgery at UMass Chan Medical School, Dr. Rachael Sirianni just published this letter to the public:

“This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH. Want to keep clarifying that my lab is not closing, and I am not leaving academia. We are stopping most of our experimental work.

“What’s happening to our country is inexcusable and much of the damage is already irreparable. We will continue with data collection for a recently funded grant that came from a private foundation. There will be no pursuit of new ideas for now. We will continue with data collection for a recently funded grant that came from a private foundation. There will be no pursuit of new ideas for now.”
Joe, would you be fine with unbiased reseach on the impact of cell phones on pediatric brains?
 
Of course it is.

Most of the basic science work isn't going to lead to any benefit. But a decent percentage will, and you have no idea where things will lead until you try them.

Companies will not take on any of this basic-level stuff, EXACTLY BECAUSE the probability of blockbuster returns are low. They'll wait until that research is done, then build on top of it.

There was no "market" for quantum physics 100 yrs ago. Today, that research work is the foundation of all your flatscreen TVs, computers and smartphones.​
There was no market for mRNA technologies; now that is the fastest way to create new vaccines.​
There was no market for CRISPR research when it was being analyzed and studied. Today, that makes genetic editing a benchtop enterprise that someone can do in their kitchen.​


The "hit rate" for basic research can be "very low"; but when it hits big, the rate of return on the hits makes up for all the misses, and benefits the economy many many times over
The whole point is that things need to be streamlined and costs reduced. This happens in industry _all the time_. It must happen in academics also. Research can and should be triaged by relative importance. It's not a credit card with no limit type of situation. By the way, when you can do CRISPR in your kitchen call me. Your kitchen must be a sophisticated lab.
 
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The rate of return from academic research is abysmally low. It's a cash hog and it's about time it was streamlined.
Yes. It is low because it is a shot in the dark for many of these things and half the time we discover things by accident. That's why private companies don't fund this kind of research. But someone has to because it is also key to innovation. Now I'm not saying that there can't be some streamlining in the process, but that "streamlining" can't mean "less research being conducted". Since we don't know where the next big breakthrough will come from I like to cast the largest net possible.
 
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Yes. It is low because it is a shot in the dark for many of these things and half the time we discover things by accident. That's why private companies don't fund this kind of research. But someone has to because it is also key to innovation. Now I'm not saying that there can't be some streamlining in the process, but that "streamlining" can't mean "less research being conducted". Since we don't know where the next big breakthrough will come from I like to cast the largest net possible.
It's not less research, it is the right research. Academic research is very lax in what it actually produces. And 65% indirect cost is a joke.
 
Again: That's not what DOGE is doing here.

Congress could limit those costs thru legislation on grant awards.
But congress won't. Spending has gotten out of control. Iowa has empty research facilities with empty labs and no staffing. There is no need for 16 assistants to the dean or 15 vice presidents, all making high 6 digits. This has to stop.
 
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