Research can seem like something that happens far off, but doesn’t affect us on a daily basis. Nothing could be further from the truth! How does what we breathe cause disease? Can we intervene? If I have to choose, should I buy an air purifier or an air conditioner? How much does that help? What about if I have a family member with lung disease? Does it matter if I’m healthy? We need publicly funded research to answer questions like these that are of interest to the public, not only research of interest to private industry. We also need people who have the skills to answer those questions and avoid pitfalls and bias that can plague bad research. Join me today to learn how changes at the National Institutes of Health affect all of us and what we can do!

Dr Mary Rice, MD, MPH is a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician and the director of the Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She is the chair of the Environmental, Occupational and Population Health Assembly of the American Thoracic Society and leads the environmental health research program of the American Lung Association Lung Health Cohort and is an NIH funded researcher.

To Do

Speak up about the value of research- contact your elected officials about the importance of the NIH and publicly funded research
If you or a loved one suffers from a chronic disease, share how important it is to fund research into disease prevention and treatment. Find the organization that advocates for those with that illness and work with them to raise the issue to decision makers and funders.
If you work in research, share your story and help people understand how the scientific method, though not perfect, is one of our best tools in moving human health forward
Learn more about the cuts from a former program officer at the NIH as well as a pediatric pulmonologist that was recorded at the ATS meeting in 2025 for the ATS Breathe Easy podcast
If you work in healthcare, get engaged with your professional societies to advocate for the importance of research.
Consider a donation to the American Thoracic Society, which also funds research to help the world breathe

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