Testimony on NSF and NASA Funding

Testimony submitted on behalf of the American Physiological Society by Dennis Brown, PhD, Chief Science Officer.

The American Physiological Society (APS) thanks you for your sustained support of science at the NSF and NASA. In this statement we offer our recommendations for FY 2021 funding levels for these two agencies.

• The APS urges you to fund the FY 2021 NSF budget at a level of at least $9.4 billion to prevent further erosion of program capacity and allow researchers to take advantage of scientific opportunities.
• The APS urges you to restore cuts to NASA’s life sciences research budgets and to increase funding for the Human Research Program.

NSF and NASA support scientific research and technology development programs essential to the future technological excellence and economic stability of the United States. Federal investment in this research is critically important because breakthroughs in basic and translational research provide the foundation for new technologies to fuel our economy and make it possible for the United States to remain a global leader in science, technology and engineering. According to The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2020 report from the National Science Board (NSB), in the global science and engineering enterprise “the United States is seen globally as an important leader rather than the uncontested leader.” Another report from the NSB notes that while the US remains the world’s top research and development performer, the annual growth rate for research and development expenditures in China is nearly three times higher than that of the US. Sustained increases in the federal investment in basic research are needed if the US wants to remain a global leader in research and development.

NSF Funds Outstanding Research and Education Programs

NSF provides support for 25% of all federally funded basic science and engineering as well as 67% of the support for academic basic research in the life sciences. NSF invests in basic biological research across a broad spectrum of sub-disciplines along with the equipment and other infrastructure scientists need for their work. Time and time again we have seen that knowledge gained through basic biological research provides the foundation for more applied studies that sustain the health of animals, humans and ecosystems. Moreover, NSF-funded research has led to countless new and unexpected discoveries that could not have been envisioned when the research began. These unforeseen applications have had enormous impacts on science, health and the world’s economy.

The majority of the NSF funding is awarded in the form of grants selected through competitive, merit-based peer review. Merit review ensures that the best possible science is supported. Both the scientific reviewers and NSF program staff consider not only the intellectual merit of each research proposal, they also consider its broader impacts. NSF’s criteria for these broader impacts address the potential for the research to benefit society or to achieve specific outcomes. NSF has an exemplary record of funding research with far-reaching potential. Since its inception in 1950, NSF has supported the work of 242 Nobel Laureates, including the 2019 winners of the Chemistry, Physics and Economics prizes.

Biological research is just one part of the NSF portfolio. Each of NSF’s directorates support research that is critical to the agency’s mission “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…” Collaboration among scientific disciplines is increasingly recognized as the best and most efficient way to advance science. This will only be possible with strong support for all disciplines of research.

To cite but one example of the critical role played by NSF-funded research, as cases of the novel coronavirus multiplied in several states, NSF acted swiftly to issue a call for proposals “to conduct non-medical, non-clinical-care research that can be used immediately to explore how to model and understand the spread of COVID-19, to inform and educate about the science of virus transmission and prevention, and to encourage the development of processes and actions to address this global challenge.” Using a Rapid Response Research (RAPID) mechanism to speed the review and funding of proposals, NSF will be on the front lines helping to address this emerging threat to public health.

In addition to funding innovative research in labs around the country, NSF’s education programs support the next generation of scientists. The APS is proud to have partnered with NSF in programs that provide training opportunities and career development activities to enhance the participation of underrepresented minorities in science. Because NSF is uniquely suited to foster science education programs of the highest quality, we recommend that Congress continue to support science education and training through the NSF.

The APS joins the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) in recommending that the NSF be funded at a level of at least $9.4 billion in FY 2021. The NSF budget has been flat in real terms for more than 15 years. When NSF Director Dr. France Cordova testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science on March 26, 2019, she stated that each year the NSF receives approximately $4 billion worth of well-rated proposals that the agency is unable to fund within its current budget. The NSF is poised to address major challenges facing our nation and our world in the 21st Century, but it needs adequate resources to continue to carry out its mission.

Support for Life Sciences Research Should Be Increased at NASA

NASA sponsors research across a broad range of the basic and applied life sciences, including gravitational biology, biomedical research and the Human Research Program (HRP). The gravitational biology and biomedical research programs explore fundamental scientific questions through research carried out both on Earth and aboard the International Space Station, which provides an environment for the conduct of experiments in space. NASA’s HRP conducts focused research and develops countermeasures with the goal of enabling safe and productive human space exploration. The program funds approximately 200 research grants that go to academic researchers around the country.

During prolonged space flight, the physiological changes that occur due to weightlessness, increased exposure to radiation, confined living quarters, and alterations in eating and sleeping patterns can lead to debilitating conditions and reduced ability to perform tasks. Scientists are actively engaged in research that explores the physiological basis of these problems with the goal of contributing to the identification of therapeutic targets and development of novel countermeasures. The knowledge gained from this research is not only relevant to humans traveling in space, but is also directly applicable to human health on Earth. For example, some of the muscle and bone changes observed in astronauts after prolonged space flight are similar to those seen in patients confined to bed rest during periods of critical illness as well as during the process of aging.

NASA is the only agency whose mission addresses the biomedical challenges of human space exploration. Over the past several years, funding for conducting this kind of research at NASA has stagnated. As NASA sets its sites on returning to the moon with the goal of future manned spaceflights to Mars, this type of research is more important than ever. The APS recommends increased funding for peer-reviewed life sciences research so NASA-funded scientists can conduct research that will be critical in not only supporting the success of future long-range manned space exploration but also leading to innovative discoveries that can be applied to Earth-based medicine.

As highlighted above, investment in the basic sciences is critical to our nation’s technological and economic future. This innovative engine of research fuels our world leadership and our economy. The APS urges you to make every effort to provide these agencies with increased funding for FY 2021.

The APS is a nonprofit devoted to fostering education, scientific research and dissemination of information in the physiological sciences. The Society was founded in 1887 with 28 members and now has over 8,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in physiology, medicine and/or other health professions.