This past week, America’s most notable scientists gathered in Phoenix, Arizona for the 2026 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the world’s largest scientific society and has a yearly meeting for researchers, science policy experts, and members of the public. This year the conference’s theme was how scientific research can continue to flourish despite facing some of the most severe funding uncertainties in history.
Over the past year, more than 7,800 research grants have been terminated or frozen across federal agencies. Of those, 5,844 grants at the National Institutes of Health and 1,996 at the National Science Foundation were cancelled or suspended. Additionally, around 2,600 grants remain not reinstated, which all adds up to $1.4 billion in research funding cuts. When looking at what projects were being terminated, more than 800 cancelled projects were related to researching cures for infectious diseases.
The effects extend beyond grants. Across federal science agencies, approximately 25,000 scientists and personnel have quit or been terminated. This has resulted in a 20% reduction in staff for these federal agencies in 2025 when compared to 2024. Unfortunately for many of the scientists attending the conference in Phoenix, these numbers are not just statistics but sad realities. For these attendees, delayed grants, cancelled research trials, closed labs, and colleagues leaving or being laid off are all now a fact of life.
The pipeline for future scientists is narrowing as well. Preliminary data from the Institute of International Education shows a 17% drop in new international student enrollment from 2024 to 2025, marking the steepest decline since the pandemic. Meaning that these funding cuts don’t just affect the present state of American science, but are also actively discouraging the next generation of scientists from pursuing a path in STEM.
The 2026 AAAS meeting became more than a showcase of discovery, instead being centered on survival in these trying times. Panels focused on communicating why investing in
science is essential, protecting early-career researchers, and discussing how to rebuild trust for credible sources in an era of mass misinformation.
American science has faced disruption before. During wars, economic recessions, and political shifts, laboratories have gone dark and budgets have tightened. Yet each time, the scientific community has adapted, and while the current moment is severe, with thousands of grants halted, billions of dollars withheld, and tens of thousands of bright minds gone, science lives neither through checks, nor money. Science lives in students who are taught to question their surroundings, in science fair competitors designing experiments with limited resources, and in the human desire to conquer the unknown.
Today, despite the funding cuts, papers are still being published, data is still being analyzed, and vaccines are still being improved upon, making it obvious that the exploration of knowledge does not halt; it accumulates, even when slowed.
Ultimately, the strength of science lies in its permanence. If the current moment tests the endurance of American science, it also reveals its foundation. Science persists because it is not merely a place to dump money into, it’s a promise. And as long as there are people willing to ask questions and demand the answers, the work of discovery will continue, steadily no matter how slow, shaping the future long after the uncertainty of the present has passed.
