WASHINGTON: Nobel medicine laureate Mary Brunkow has emphasised the crucial importance of United States public financing for scientific research.
Her comments come as President Donald Trump slashes millions of dollars in federal funding for such work.
Brunkow stated that federal funding has been incredibly important for promoting and supporting science.
The American researcher received the top prize on Monday along with two colleagues for their work on the human immune system.
She revealed that the majority of research conducted at her workplace, the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington, is supported by federal funds.
Brunkow added that any loss to that funding obviously hurts scientific progress.
She stressed that she cannot emphasise enough how important federal funding has been for medical and basic science advancement.
Since January, Trump has significantly reduced United States funding for research institutions and universities.
His administration has also overseen mass layoffs of scientists at federal agencies.
These cuts have raised concerns about the United States potentially losing its position as the world leader in research.
James Heath, president of the Institute for Systems Biology, noted that five of this week’s six Nobel laureates are based in the United States.
He stated that this achievement is something Americans should be celebrating rather than undermining.
Heath criticised the pressure facing his field by declaring science as the one thing the United States does better than anybody else in the world. – AFP