Funding and policy

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Stories about research grants, funding models and the business of science

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Two fingers turning a small dial.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 5: The war dial

“You have to reshape the whole system.” Tempest McDonald earns a measure of peace.

By Brady Huggett
2 July 2026 | 42 min listen
Photo collage featuring a portrait of Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 4: How did things unfold?

Tempest McDonald sues Vanderbilt University Medical Center through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her published NIH paper finds allies.

By Brady Huggett
25 June 2026 | 27 min listen
Photo collage featuring Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 3: Would there be data?

Tempest McDonald takes a postdoctoral position at Vanderbilt University. Researching her paper accusing the National Institutes of Health of discrimination threatens everything she has built.

By Brady Huggett
18 June 2026 | 27 min listen
Photo collage of Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 2: “You need to go to college”

With just a high school equivalency degree and struggling as a single mother, Tempest McDonald is forced to shift her priorities.

By Brady Huggett
11 June 2026 | 28 min listen
Burke Neurological Institute.

Exclusive: Brain and spinal cord institute halts research, citing funding problems

The Burke Neurological Institute, which calls itself “the only research institute in the U.S. dedicated to finding treatments to repair the brain and spinal cord,” ceased research operations on 22 May.

By Lauren Schenkman
4 June 2026 | 5 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

How energy determines where proteins are produced in neurons

Tatjana Tchumatchenko explains how mathematical modeling elucidates whether ion-channel proteins are produced locally in the soma or in the dendrites.

By Gaute Einevoll
26 August 2026 | 104 min listen
A brown mouse between a red cube and blue cylinder looks curiously at the top of the cylinder, standing on hind legs.

Wouldn’t you like to know? A mouse would

Mice seek information for curiosity’s sake—and their desire for knowledge versus a payout is represented distinctly in the brain, new findings suggest.

By Sarah Thau
26 August 2026 | 5 min read
Covers of The Transmitter's summer book picks.

Five new neuroscience books, and other notable titles from 2026

The Transmitter’s summer reading list includes an autopsy of the Human Brain Project, an overview of the neuroscience of motherhood and a memoir from a pioneer in Huntington’s disease research.

By Francisco J. Rivera Rosario
25 August 2026 | 7 min read