Comment from Mary Dunlop

[200.205, 200.340] To Whom it May Concern: I am a Professor at Boston University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. I am writing in my personal capacity to oppose the proposed revisions to sections 200.205 and 200.340 that would undermine the integrity of federal grant review processes and federal science agencies' ability to identify and fund impactful research. I serve on a grant review panel for NIH. Scientific experts put great thought and care into identifying which proposals are the highest quality science and will have the greatest impact. It is critical that we preserve this process, as the experts that serve on these panels have a detailed and nuanced understanding of the research. Political decisions are likely to undermine high quality science and put us at a major disadvantage in the global research community. It would be shockingly difficult to make scientific progress if a grant could be terminated at any point for political reasons. Scientific projects take significant time investments and the personnel involved require specialized training. It would be akin to telling a doctor to stop operating on someone's heart mid-surgery.