{"id":377969,"date":"2025-05-12T08:32:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T06:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=377969"},"modified":"2025-05-12T08:42:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T06:42:30","slug":"steve-milloy-what-exactly-have-nih-grants-got-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=377969","title":{"rendered":"STEVE MILLOY: What Exactly Have NIH Grants Got Us?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DAILY CALLER<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Daily<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Steve Milloy<\/strong>
Contributor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US is by far the world\u2019s leading funder of biomedical research. But the Trump administration reportedly<\/a> plans to ask Congress to cut the budget of the National Institutes of Health from $47 billion to $27 billion as part of its effort to rein in out-of-control federal spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not unexpectedly, grant recipients and their support communities are up in arms. They claim that the proposed cuts would deprive researchers of the funding they need to find cures. They say the US will lose its global dominance in the field, along with enormous profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the critical questions are: \u201cWhat does NIH-funded research actually accomplish?\u201d and \u201cAre the accomplishments worth the money?\u201d The answers, at least according to NIH itself, seem to be shockingly little for the vast sums spent. (RELATED: STEVE MILLOY: Trump\u2019s EPA Is Right To Be Skeptical Of \u2018Sun-Blocking\u2019)<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On its website, NIH divides its accomplishments for 2024 under three headings: (1) \u201cHuman Health Advances<\/a>\u201d; (2) \u201cPromising Medical Findings<\/a>\u201d and (3) \u201cBasic Research Insights<\/a>.\u201d Under each heading are five NIH-touted accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first item listed under \u201cHuman Health Advances,\u201d a category that represents the latest and greatest from NIH research, is \u201cAccurate blood test for Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d After listening to a leftist talking head attack<\/a> President Trump and Elon Musk for \u201csetting back Alzheimer\u2019s research 20 years\u201d with funding cuts, I looked into the Alzheimer\u2019s advance that NIH had touted at the top of its list of accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advance referred to a July 2024 study<\/a> published in the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em> reporting on a new blood test that had, with 90 percent accuracy, correctly diagnosed Alzheimer\u2019s among 1,213 Swedish Alzheimer\u2019s patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that may sound impressive, the study authors qualified their results with two key caveats: (1) More testing was needed in other cohorts of patients to confirm their results; and (2) \u201cFuture studies should evaluate how the use of blood tests for these biomarkers influences clinical care.\u201d Far from being a \u201cHuman Health Advance\u201d, the researchers admitted that they still needed confirmation of their results and that they\u2019re not sure the blood test will have any usefulness even if the results are confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As to NIH taking credit for the \u201cadvance,\u201d such as it is, NIH was just one of 20 different funders of the research. It awarded a total of $993,478 to two Swedish researchers. The other 14 Swedish researchers on the study were apparently funded by the other 19 or so Swedish funders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study is really only noteworthy because NIH anointed it as the top \u201cadvance\u201d for 2024. But what does that say about the other $36.8 billion NIH spent on 60,000 other grants? A not-ready-for-prime-time Alzheimer\u2019s blood test is its pride and joy among all that funding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent Washington Post<\/em> op-ed entitled \u201cScience needs more shrimp on treadmills\u201d opined that \u201cthe National Institutes of Health isn\u2019t funding too much silly science. It\u2019s not funding enough.\u201d The author tried to credit NIH with the development of weight loss drugs like Ozempic. In 1984, an itinerant NIH researcher published a study<\/a> on Gila monster venom. After four decades of research elsewhere, others used the finding to develop the now blockbuster GLP-1 drugs. In some ways, that\u2019s an amazing story. On the other hand, it\u2019s not evidence that NIH\u2019s huge spending is producing results for taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Nixon launched the \u201cWar on Cancer<\/a>\u201d in 1971, Every President since has tried to make his mark in that effort, but breakthroughs have limited. In 1986, all-star biostatistician John Bailar observed that cancer remained undefeated<\/a>. In 2018, cancer researchers reported<\/a> in the British Medical Journal<\/em> that the expensive drugs recommended by US cancer treatment guidelines were based on \u201cweak evidence.\u201d President Biden\u2019s \u201cCancer Moonshot\u201d has produced essentially zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NIH mentioned no cancer progress under \u201cHuman Health Advances\u201d or \u201cPromising Medical Findings\u201d for 2024. The sole mention of cancer comes in \u201cBasic Research Insights\u201d under \u201cMapping how cancers form and spread.\u201d Fifty-four years after the War on Cancer was launched, that is where we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of this is to say that NIH shouldn\u2019t fund medical research. But if NIH continues spending taxpayer money, there must be some auditing of expenditures and reconciling of accomplishments. We are $36 trillion in debt and cannot afford to spent never-ending billions of dollars on non-productive research in hopes that something will eventually turn up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And no, there is no need to worry about foreign competition. We spend about 18 times more<\/a> than the UK, our nearest competitor with respect to medical research. It may be that the rest of the world is free-riding on the backs of US taxpayers. It may also be that the rest of world has realized that there are more productive ways to spend their taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Milloy is a biostatistician and lawyer, publishes JunkScience.com and is on X @JunkScience.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US is by far the world\u2019s leading funder of biomedical research. But the Trump administration\u00a0reportedly\u00a0plans to ask Congress to cut the budget of the National Institutes of Health from $47 billion to $27 billion as part of its effort to rein in out-of-control federal spending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":377971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691835009,691832863,691835010,691833487,691821729],"class_list":{"0":"post-377969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-journal-of-the-american-medical-association","9":"tag-nih","10":"tag-promising-medical-findings","11":"tag-us-president-donald-j-trump","12":"tag-washington-post","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0iStock-1291108057_2.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Akh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":419541,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=419541","url_meta":{"origin":377969,"position":0},"title":"The Trump Administration\u2019s Fight to Fund Scientists","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Trump Administration\u2019s Fight To Fund Scientists is a December 2025 investigative article by Paul D. Thacker. The piece argues that the Trump administration's efforts to reform federal research funding\u2014particularly by capping indirect costs (overhead rates) in NIH grants\u2014aim to redirect more money from university administrators to actual scientists conducting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"European Commission\"","block_context":{"text":"European Commission","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=european-commission"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ChatGPT-Image-28.-Mai-2025-09_53_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ChatGPT-Image-28.-Mai-2025-09_53_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ChatGPT-Image-28.-Mai-2025-09_53_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ChatGPT-Image-28.-Mai-2025-09_53_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ChatGPT-Image-28.-Mai-2025-09_53_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":363447,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=363447","url_meta":{"origin":377969,"position":1},"title":"The Tide of Accountability is Finally Rolling In","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/01\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"What a spectacle! As the Trump administration reclaims the reins of power, the scientific elite are reacting with utter dismay to policies that prioritize accountability, budgetary discipline, and a reevaluation of priorities. Judging by the tone of despair emanating from recent articles, you\u2019d think the very foundation of science had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"NIH\"","block_context":{"text":"NIH","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=nih"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Back-to-the-Future-2-SMS-2019-f9f40b8c2b.jpg?fit=1200%2C710&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Back-to-the-Future-2-SMS-2019-f9f40b8c2b.jpg?fit=1200%2C710&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Back-to-the-Future-2-SMS-2019-f9f40b8c2b.jpg?fit=1200%2C710&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Back-to-the-Future-2-SMS-2019-f9f40b8c2b.jpg?fit=1200%2C710&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0Back-to-the-Future-2-SMS-2019-f9f40b8c2b.jpg?fit=1200%2C710&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":199879,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=199879","url_meta":{"origin":377969,"position":2},"title":"Would $350 million from Big Pharma be enough to buy Fauci and NIH approval \u2014 Who knows, it\u2019s a secret","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Swamp is not even hiding the corruption, just the exact dollar figure Anthony Fauci is effectively King of the National Institute of Health. He gets paid $450,000 a year \u2014 the highest paid public servant in the United States. In just one year alone the NIH dished out $30\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/067_NIH_royalties.png?fit=800%2C449&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/067_NIH_royalties.png?fit=800%2C449&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/067_NIH_royalties.png?fit=800%2C449&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/067_NIH_royalties.png?fit=800%2C449&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":192731,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=192731","url_meta":{"origin":377969,"position":3},"title":"Military Arrests Dr. Fauci\u2019s NIH Assistant","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/03\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. Marines on Thursday arrested Patricia L. Conrad, special assistant to NIH Director Anthony S. Fauci, at her home in Bethesda, Maryland, after obtaining a military arrest warrant signed by Deputy Judge Advocate General Christopher C. French, a JAG source told Real Raw News. Military Arrests Dr. Fauci\u2019s NIH Assistant\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0image-119.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0image-119.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0image-119.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":375460,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375460","url_meta":{"origin":377969,"position":4},"title":"\u2018Flagrantly Unlawful Action\u2019: Universities Sue Trump\u2019s Energy Department Over Latest Funding Cuts","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Several universities and higher education associations filed a lawsuit Monday against the Department of Energy (DOE) over a new policy capping indirect research funding cost rates at 15%.","rel":"","context":"In \"American Council on Education (ACE)\"","block_context":{"text":"American Council on Education (ACE)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=american-council-on-education-ace"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0250211-donald-trump-oval-office-resolute-desk-ac-602p-b91b38.webp?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0250211-donald-trump-oval-office-resolute-desk-ac-602p-b91b38.webp?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0250211-donald-trump-oval-office-resolute-desk-ac-602p-b91b38.webp?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0250211-donald-trump-oval-office-resolute-desk-ac-602p-b91b38.webp?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0250211-donald-trump-oval-office-resolute-desk-ac-602p-b91b38.webp?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":377434,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=377434","url_meta":{"origin":377969,"position":5},"title":"STEVE MILLOY: Congress Must Repeal All Green New Scam Subsidies","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"President Trump campaigned on \u201cending the Green New Scam.\u201d That\u2019s the trillion dollar-plus climate spending in Joe Biden\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act. The repeal of the pointless and inflationary subsidies should be a no-brainer layup for congressional Republicans. The opportunity to do so is coming up as part of the President\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/016a29026-5dbf-4499-bb66-232e5dd751bb.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/016a29026-5dbf-4499-bb66-232e5dd751bb.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/016a29026-5dbf-4499-bb66-232e5dd751bb.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/016a29026-5dbf-4499-bb66-232e5dd751bb.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=377969"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":377974,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377969\/revisions\/377974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/377971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=377969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=377969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=377969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}