By Don C. Reed
March 1, 2002, opening day of the Roman Reed lab at the University of California at Irvine. I held in my hands a laboratory rat which had been paralyzed, but which walked again. Under its sleek white coat, I felt tiny muscles struggling to be free.
The rat’s name was Fighter, and she was part of an experiment to ease paralysis. I had seen video of her dragging her useless hindquarters — and then, after a stem cell transplant — she scampered tail-high across a purple plastic swimming pool, which was her play area.
And this while my paralyzed son sat in his wheelchair, a few feet away.
Paralyzed movie star Christpher ‘Superman’ Reeve joined us by telephone, saying, “Oh, to be a rat this day!” My wife Gloria was so excited — she photographed the phone!
First funding for that research was provided by the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, a program named after my son, and sponsored by Assemblyman John Dutra of Fremont, with science by Dr. Hans Keirstead, MD, PhD, then working at the University of California at Irvine. (1)
That was just the beginning. Additional research funding was provided by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), our state’s magnificent stem cell research program. That funding brought us to human trials, wherein 5 patients recovered function of their hands and arms. (2)
For years, funding for American science depended largely on the National Institutes for Health (NIH), often called the jewel of American science.
Sadly, the Trump Administration is now reducing the size of the NIH, cutting it by hundreds of millions of dollars, cancelling thousands of research grants. (3)
The NIH should have its funding increased, not the other way around!
Chronic disease and disability are devastating to America’s economy.
Do I exaggerate?
Last year alone, our country spent $4.4 trillion on chronic illness. (4) This mountain of money is more than the cost of all food and drink consumed in America in a year ($2.63 trillion). (5)
Where does your Senator and Representative stand on this important issue?
It might be a good idea to find out — especially if you are one of America’s 70 million citizens with a chronic disease or disability. (6)
Remember: no research funding, no research — no cures.
Support the NIH!
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2aaOFz8J8&ab_channel=NextMedHealth
3. https://www.science.org/content/article/supreme-court-upholds-trump-cancellation-nih-grants
4. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
6. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s0716-Adult-disability.html