Policy

Recent articles

People help each other climb up a supersized human brain.

As federal funders desert mentorship programs for marginalized students, trainee-led initiatives fill the gap

Grassroots organizations, led by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, are stepping up to provide neuroscience career training and guidance for students from marginalized backgrounds—and they need your support.

By Christian Cazares, Maribel Patiño
11 April 2025 | 5 min read
Screenshot of NeMO website with banner reading This repository is under review for potential modification in compliance with Administration directives.

U.S. human data repositories ‘under review’ for gender identity descriptors

Researchers associated with the repositories received an email from the U.S. National Institutes of Health in March noting that they must comply with a 20 January executive order from President Trump that recognizes only two sexes: male and female.

By Angie Voyles Askham
9 April 2025 | 4 min read
Coins flow from a spigot.

Newly awarded NIH grants for neuroscience lag 77 percent behind previous nine-year average

Since President Donald Trump took office on 20 January, the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke and the National Institute of Mental Health have awarded one quarter as many new grants as during the same two-month period, on average, since 2016.

By Natalia Mesa
4 April 2025 | 5 min read
Glitchy image of a stamp.

Coding error caused layoffs at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke this week, source says

Thirty employees—including 11 lab heads—at the institute should “immediately return to work,” according to an email the institute’s Office of Human Resources sent to top administration at the institute Wednesday evening.

By Sydney Wyatt
3 April 2025 | 3 min read
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke building.

U.S. health agency purge includes 10 lab heads at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

The reasons for selecting these researchers—who have led work on neuronal migration, dopamine receptors in neuronal signaling and the structure of ion channels, among other areas—remain unclear.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Sydney Wyatt
2 April 2025 | 5 min read
A hand holds a magnifying glass over a sheet of paper.

Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated

If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.

By Calli McMurray
2 April 2025 | 7 min read
University of Puerto Rico building.

The future of neuroscience research at U.S. minority-serving institutions is in danger

Cuts to federally funded programs present an existential crisis for the University of Puerto Rico’s rich neuroscience community and for research at minority-serving institutions everywhere.

By Carmen S. Maldonado-Vlaar
28 March 2025 | 5 min read
University of Puerto Rico building.

El futuro de la investigación neurocientífica en instituciones que sirven minorías está en peligro

Los recortes a los programas financiados con fondos federales representan una crisis existencial para la rica comunidad neurocientífica de la Universidad de Puerto Rico y para la investigación en instituciones que atienden a minorías en todo Estados Unidos.

By Carmen S. Maldonado-Vlaar
28 March 2025 | 7 min read
NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Acting NIH director dismisses five neuroscientists from advisory boards

The letters they received this week did not include a reason for their termination.

By Calli McMurray, Angie Voyles Askham
25 March 2025 | 5 min read
Illustration of a face covered by several black rectangles.

Keep sex as a biological variable: Don’t let NIH upheaval turn back the clock on scientific rigor

Even in the absence of any formal instruction to do so, we should continue to hold our ourselves and our neuroscience colleagues accountable for SABV practices.

By Rebecca Shansky
25 March 2025 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of two mouse brain slices.

Split gene therapy delivers promise in mice modeling Dravet syndrome

The new approach overcomes viral packaging limitations by delivering SCN1A piecemeal and stitching it together in target cells.

By Holly Barker
10 April 2025 | 5 min read
Detailed image of neurons in the mouse visual cortex.

Inhibitory cells work in concert to orchestrate neuronal activity in mouse brain

A cubic millimeter of brain tissue, meticulously sectioned, stained and scrutinized over the past seven years, reveals in stunning detail the role of inhibitory interneurons in brain structure and function.

By Katie Moisse
9 April 2025 | 6 min read

Aran Nayebi discusses a NeuroAI update to the Turing test

And he highlights the need to match neural representations across machines and organisms to build better autonomous agents.

By Paul Middlebrooks
9 April 2025 | 104 min listen