For Defne Bayik, an assistant professor at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and a 2023 ABTA Discovery Grant awardee, the path to better brain tumor treatments is paved with rigorous science, collaboration, and reliable funding.
But the path for Bayik and thousands of other brain tumor researchers in the US continues to be thwarted amidst ongoing federal funding changes, putting research at risk, slowing the progress of critical brain cancer research nationwide.
Bayik studies cancer immunology, which aims to determine how a patient’s immune system interacts with cancer and to use immunotherapeutic drugs to destroy cancer cells. Launched just three years ago, the Bayik lab also studies sex-specific differences in glioblastoma (GBM) Sheo, and others in the field, have found differences in immune responses between females and males diagnosed with GBM, an aggressive brain cancer with limited treatment options.
The current administration has made several significant cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s and world’s largest funder of biomedical research, and the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget will deepen these cuts. Dr. Bayik’s lab has already had to cut back on their research due to the cancellation of a specific research supplement that acts as a sub-grant to help scientists from underrepresented backgrounds in academia, whether that’s due to race, ethnicity, disability, rural upbringing, or socioeconomic challenges, pursue research careers. These supplements were tied to existing federal grants, allowing the primary grant holder to expand their work in a new direction while supporting the career development of a student.
“In our lab, the research supplement supported a postdoctoral fellow studying sex differences in the immune system’s response to GBM. We were building toward a better understanding of how these differences influence tumor growth and treatment response,” explains Dr. Bayik.
But in March, that support was suddenly in question. By June, Dr. Bayik received official notice: the research supplement mechanism had been terminated entirely.
How one funding cut ended an entire research arm
Without the research supplement, the lab scrambled to keep the project alive—analyzing broad immune-regulation mechanisms in GBM. Dr. Bayik tapped into her own start-up funds from the University of Miami, but those resources were limited.
“We had to cut that arm of the research entirely,” she says. “It’s heartbreaking, because we were making real progress, and it takes so long to get back on track once work is interrupted.”
President Trump has proposedsuggested further cuts withto the administration’s proposed budget of $27 billion for NIH funding, a 40% decrease in comparison to the 2025 budget. If passed, this reduction would likely lead to lower paylines and overall, fewer research projects being funded. However, the Senate Committee on Appropriations rejected this proposal in July and proposed a 1% increase to NIH funding. If a continuing resolution is passed, end the current government shutdown, funding levels will remain equivalent to last year until FY26’s budget approval.
While NIH funding for brain cancer research has been steadily increasing for decades, a significant drop in funding has already occurred. From 2024 to 2025, there was a 28% reduction in total funding for brain cancer. This drop in funding, despite a full-year continuing resolution for FY2025 , which keeps funding levels the same as the year before, may be due to the Trump administration’s cuts to diversity, equity, and inclusion grants and programs as well as the pauses in federal funding that began in January 2025.
Beyond NIH, a cut to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) has already slashed $10 million in appropriations for GBM research.
What’s at stake for brain cancer patients
Cuts to federal funding for brain cancer research have a clear and immediate impact:
- Fewer research projects
- Fewer clinical trials
- Fewer new treatments reaching patients
“About 95% of drugs used in the U.S. are supported in some way by NIH funding,” says Dr. Bayik. “When that support shrinks, so does the pipeline of potential treatments for brain tumor patients.”
This affects not just basic science—the kind that uncovers how brain tumors develop and grow—but also translational studies and clinical trials that aim to improve patient outcomes. The current government shutdown also has an immediate impact on research, with no new grants being funded and agency staff not able to work.
Why patients and caregivers matter in the fight for funding
For Dr. Bayik, the link between funding and hope is direct: “More federal support means more advancements. It’s that simple.”
She encourages patients, caregivers, and advocates to speak up for sustained biomedical research funding. “We apply to philanthropic grants, but nothing comes close to the scale of NIH support,” she says. “When researchers spend more time writing and re-writing grants, we spend less time at the bench and less time making the discoveries patients need.”
How you can take action
One of the most powerful ways to advocate for more brain tumor research funding is to contact your state representative or senator. You can find their contact information by visiting house.gov or senate.gov and entering your ZIP code.
When you reach out, share your personal connection to brain cancer, explain why sustained federal research funding is critical, and ask them to support increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and brain tumor research programs.
Your voice can help ensure policymakers understand that funding research isn’t just about science—it’s about saving lives.
Below is a script you can personalize to let your congressperson know about the importance of sustaining federal research funding:
Hello Representative/Senator [Representative/Senator NAME],
I am a resident in your from [CITY/TOWN] and am writing/calling to urge Representative/Senator [NAME] to support federal funding for biomedical research. As a [your connection to brain cancer (e.g. patient, caregiver, family member, survivor, researcher)], I am deeply concerned about the proposed budget cuts to NIH and other agencies that fund brain cancer research. I encourage you to oppose any budget cuts that would harm the cancer research community.
Thank you for your time,
[YOUR NAME]