Comment from Rebecca Hough

I am an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and a physician–scientist who cares for critically ill children and studies the mechanisms of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a frequently fatal condition in children and adults. My work focuses on understanding the basic biology of this disease so that we can develop targeted, life-saving therapies. My research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and foundation funding. Federal investment through the NIH is essential to my work and to the broader U.S. biomedical research enterprise. The NIH peer review system, driven by expert scientists, is fundamental to ensuring that funding decisions are based on scientific merit, innovation, and potential impact. I am deeply concerned about proposed changes that would shift funding decisions away from expert peer review and toward political appointees without the specialized expertise needed to evaluate complex scientific research. Weakening peer review risks undermining the quality and integrity of federally funded science and diminishing the return on taxpayer investment. I am also concerned about restrictions on international scientific collaboration. Biomedical research is inherently global, and partnerships across countries enhance innovation, rigor, and the speed of discovery. Limiting these collaborations would reduce U.S. leadership in science and delay advances that benefit patients worldwide. The consequences of these changes are significant. U.S.-funded research has driven many important medical advances in history. Most recently, decades of federally supported work enabled the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, saving millions of lives. Today, we stand on the brink of further transformative breakthroughs in areas such as mRNA technology, precision cancer therapies, and treatment of inflammatory diseases like ARDS. This proposed rule puts that progress and the lives it will save at risk. I urge the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to preserve expert peer review and support international collaboration. These principles are essential to maintaining the strength, integrity, and global leadership of U.S. biomedical research and to improving health outcomes for patients in the United States and around the world.