People, Place and Health Collective

Thank you all the program officers at NIH that persisted through the 2025 fiscal year and were able to fund 99% of the total FY2024 budget. I know this has take a toll on everyone at NIH. Thank you for supporting important health and behavior science and helping to keep the U.S. a leader in science.

The Forces Finally Driving Down Deaths from Overdose After more than 1 million deaths, opioid mortality is dropping fast.

Collective member Abdullah Shihipar spoke to Governing about the drop in overdose deaths and why funding cuts could interrupt that progress.

www.governing.com/magazine/the...

Earlier this month, Professor Brandon Marshall spoke to the Hartford Courant about overdose prevention centers.

“They are highly effective in other countries in communities where there is a very high level of overdose risk,” he said.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...

Doctoral candidate Leah Shaw and co-authors wrote a blog post a few weeks ago to accompany their study on Rhode Island's Harm Reduction vending machines. They found that these were used significantly on the weekends (30%) and outside regular business hours (50%).

jphmpdirect.com/what-we-have...

Hey there. Today was terrible. I’m grieving for all who will get hurt, sick and die from what the #GOP has done. But I remember dark days in the past during the AIDS epidemic in the US in the 80s, in South Africa in the 2000s. Things looked bleak then. Though me and my friends would be dead. 1/

"en español 这是网站的中文版" A green background with all sorts of people in different colored shirts and pants.

Our information based resource on overdose prevention centers - opcinfo.org - is now available in Chinese and Spanish. With the exception of legislative updates & the literature database, the website and its materials are available in these languages. Use the menu to switch between languages.

A blue background with the image of lab visible. In white text, it says: “HOW NIH WORKS: aka how biomedical research in the United States is funded”.

Blue background. A pixelated scientist (90s video game style) wearing a white lab coat says “My PhD may have made me cry but I’m ready to work”. In white text it says: “YOU ARE A BUDDING YOUNG SCIENTIST LOOKING TO STUDYA PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM — LIKE OPIOID USE DISORDER.” ITS NOW TIME TO WRITE YOUR FIRST GRANT. THIS GUIDE WILL WALK YOU THROUGH HOW MEDICAL SCIENCE (TYPICALLY) GETS FUNDED IN THE UNITED STATES.”

Blue background. The scientist stands next to a green video screen that contains a list of NIH institutes. There is an image of the NIH logo with the words “NIH” replaced by a smiley face. Text: “First, you have to pick from one of NIH’s 27 institutes. Each one of these has priorities that are outlined by congress. They also put out notices to highlight certain topics of interest.” “YOU HAVE SELECTED THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE. LETS GET TO WORK.”

Blue background. The scientist stands before a long desk with a laptop — dotted lines emit from the laptop to a large piece of paper with a spreadsheet on it. There is a bookshelf in the background. The text says that grant applications can be over 100 pages Text: NOW TIME TO WRITE YOUR GRANT. This Outlines: — The aims & goals of the study. — How the study will be run. — What the money will be used for. — Who will be working on it. — The timeline

We have created a set of slides that explains how NIH works aka how biomedical science is funded in the United States. Enter our game where you "play" as a budding young scientist who is looking to get a grant studying opioid use disorder funded -- will he get it funded? Click through!

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the National Institutes of Health | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

Tomorrow (Tues, June 10) at 10AM ET, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya will be testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the NIH budget. 1/

NIH scientists publish declaration criticizing Trump's deep cuts in public health research Scores of National Institutes of Health researchers and staffers have come forward to send their Trump-appointed leader a letter challenging policies they say undermine the NIH mission.

“Ian Morgan, a postdoctoral fellow with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, also signed… “We have a saying in basic science,” he said. “You go and become a physician if you want to treat thousands of patients. You go and become a researcher if you want to save billions of patients.”

An Interview With A Public Health Researcher Whose Funding Was Terminated By The Trump Administration | Defector In a third-grade classroom exercise, Patrick Kelly wrote that he wanted to become a scientist when he grew up. With that interest came an attention to the people that science can help. “I’ve just alwa...

"Boy, has it been a learning curve, because not a lot of people navigate a termination at all in their careers, let alone for their first grant." — BSHS PhD student Patrick Kelly discusses his grant cancellation, its impact on his work, and on the populations he serves defector.com/an-interview...

How NIH works An explainer on how biomedical research is funded in the United States

Find the images for download and a booklet here:
medium.com/pphc/how-nih...

A green background with cash visible in the background. In white text: “BEFORE YOU GET YOUR GRANT. KNOW THE RULES! Scientists & their institutions are accountable to NIH for the money they spend. Every purchase needs to be logged & all progress on a study needs to be documented in yearly progress reports. NIH also distributes awards yearly; rather than all at once.”

A boat is on a rocky pixelated sea, on its mast is the American flag. Storm clouds are ahead and there is lightning. The text says: “that is how the process is supposed to work. Since January 2025, American science has faced an unprecedented disruption. Billions have been cancelled or delayed. This independent process is under threat. Jobs lost. Cures not discovered. Drugs delayed.”

Blue background. A group of 3 pixelated scientists stands before a long table. The NIH logo delivers them the grant. Before them are two pieces of paper, one with a grant score and one with notes. Elsewhere in the page is a scientist working a table and another one napping. TEXT: “SENDING GRANT.. YOUR GRANT HAS BEEN DELIVERED TO A STUDY SECTION. This is a committee of scientists in the field who have all been awarded NIH grants in the past. This is a volunteer, appointed position. All grants are reviewed before a study section meeting and receive a score & comments. But not all grants get discussed at the meeting. The top scoring grants then go on to a separate council meeting for a final decision. GRANT REVIEW IS TOUGH WORK! Hours are spent reviewing before a meeting & discussing during a meeting.”

Blue background. At the top stands a pixelated scientist who is crying because his grant did not get funded. At the bottom is a pixelated scientist who is happy because his grant did get funded. TEXT: “YOUR GRANT WAS NOT FUNDED. Most grants that are submitted to NIH do not get funded. Success rates vary per institute but on average only 18% of grants are funded. You got feedback and can try again if you want. A lot of good science is not funded because there is a finite amount of grant money provided by Congress. PLAYER UPDATE — (inside a green text box, in black text) — YOUR RIVAL — DR. SEXYSCIENCE HAS HAD HIS GRANT PROCEEDTO THE COUNCIL MEETING. LETS HEAD THERE NOW.

A pixelated image of NIH’s Bethesda campus is visible. In a green box is the text: “It’s a beautiful day in Bethesda, Maryland.The council meeting is about to begin.”

Blue background. In front of a table are pixelated wizard sprites, who represent NIH advisory council members. They also have sheets of paper in front of them with notes and scores. Text: “The advisory council of an NIH institute is made up of external experts in the field who take into consideration the rankings of the study section members and then make final recommendations for funding. These recommendations are then sent to the institute director who may approve the grant. THE COUNCIL HAS DECIDED YOUR FATE.THE GRANT IS RECOMMENDED FORFUNDING.”

A blue background with the image of lab visible. In white text, it says: “HOW NIH WORKS: aka how biomedical research in the United States is funded”.

Blue background. A pixelated scientist (90s video game style) wearing a white lab coat says “My PhD may have made me cry but I’m ready to work”. In white text it says: “YOU ARE A BUDDING YOUNG SCIENTIST LOOKING TO STUDYA PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM — LIKE OPIOID USE DISORDER.” ITS NOW TIME TO WRITE YOUR FIRST GRANT. THIS GUIDE WILL WALK YOU THROUGH HOW MEDICAL SCIENCE (TYPICALLY) GETS FUNDED IN THE UNITED STATES.”

Blue background. The scientist stands next to a green video screen that contains a list of NIH institutes. There is an image of the NIH logo with the words “NIH” replaced by a smiley face. Text: “First, you have to pick from one of NIH’s 27 institutes. Each one of these has priorities that are outlined by congress. They also put out notices to highlight certain topics of interest.” “YOU HAVE SELECTED THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE. LETS GET TO WORK.”

Blue background. The scientist stands before a long desk with a laptop — dotted lines emit from the laptop to a large piece of paper with a spreadsheet on it. There is a bookshelf in the background. The text says that grant applications can be over 100 pages Text: NOW TIME TO WRITE YOUR GRANT. This Outlines: — The aims & goals of the study. — How the study will be run. — What the money will be used for. — Who will be working on it. — The timeline

We have created a set of slides that explains how NIH works aka how biomedical science is funded in the United States. Enter our game where you "play" as a budding young scientist who is looking to get a grant studying opioid use disorder funded -- will he get it funded? Click through!

Overdose Deaths Declined in 2024 but Progress Is at Risk The CDC reports that fatal overdoses dropped 27% in 2024. Progress has been made, but proposed budget cuts may hamper future responses.

The prevention & response investment that helped lower overdose deaths last year is at risk Abdullah Shihipar MPH'20 warns: "As Congress debates the proposed federal budget, it’s important that we don’t take recent progress for granted." @psychologytoday.com www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/figh...

A red image in white text says: lets talk about medicaid & substance use

It's time to talk about medicaid and substance use and how cuts to care will impact people's ability to access care and treatment.

Gutting the Government Could Reignite the Drug Overdose Epidemic A small federal agency tasked with mitigating the impact of addiction is facing deep cuts on multiple fronts, threatening to roll back years of lifesaving work.

Collective members Professor Brandon Marshall and Abdullah Shihipar wrote more about this in an article for The New Republic, warning about the consequences cuts would have on tackling the overdose crisis.

newrepublic.com/article/1930...

This was echoed by more than 300 experts in the addictions and substance use field who wrote a letter to Congress warning about the impacts cuts to HHS and Medicaid would have.

prod-i.a.dj.com/public/resou...

Fatal Overdoses Fall to Prepandemic Levels A significant drop in deaths tied to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids fueled the decline.

This is all happening as overdose deaths finally decline.

“We can’t mistake this progress for victory. Sustained investment is essential if we want to build on this momentum instead of backsliding.” Professor Alex Macmadu told the WSJ.

www.wsj.com/health/drug-...

white text on red: Cuts to Medicaid will force 8.6 million off coverage. This could means thousands if not millions of people who will no longer have access to treatment for opioid use disorder.

Once again - 8.6 million people could lose their care. That's bound to include thousands, if not millions of people who access substance use treatment.

White text on red background: People on Medicaid have a higher risk of overdosing compared to the general population. in other words, poverty is a risk factor for overdose.

People on Medicaid are at higher risk of overdosing than other groups (Medicaid being a proxy for poverty) — things are fragile. Pushing people off their care will only increase the risk of overdose and overdose death.

white text on red background: only 55% of people on Medicaid with an opioid use disorder receive treatment. Citation: Lindner SR, Hart K, Manibusan B, McCarty D, McConnell KJ. State- and County-Level Geographic Variation in Opioid Use Disorder, Medication Treatment, and Opioid-Related Overdose Among Medicaid Enrollees. JAMA Health Forum. 2023;4(6):e231574. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1574

Despite this, only 55% of people with a SUD on Medicaid get care. This tells us that we need to improve access to treatment — that can’t happen if people are being thrown off their insurance.

White text on red -- a little image of a piece of paper with a circle with a check box in it. 93% of insurance claims for substance use treatment were from Medicaid. Citation: Walker LS, Cui M, Cantor J, et al. Disparities in Substance Use Disorder Telehealth Services. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(2):e2459606. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.59606

Medicaid covers a vast majority of people who are enrolled in treatment for substance use disorder — 93% of claims for treatment were covered by Medicaid according to a recent analysis of national claims data.

What is medicaid? Medicaid is a government health insurance program that provides health insurance for people who are low income (up to 133%-138% of the federal poverty line). Eligibility can vary from state to state depending on if a state has expanded Medicaid. Medicaid covers the majority of substance use treatment in the US.

Currently, Congress is considering a bill that would slash Medicaid by billions of dollars. This would result in 8.6 million people losing their care. Medicaid is a government health insurance plan provides health insurance for low income people.

A red image in white text says: lets talk about medicaid & substance use

It's time to talk about medicaid and substance use and how cuts to care will impact people's ability to access care and treatment.

Disaster Awaits Us if the NIH Dies We need to be sending more federal research dollars to more people in more places. Instead, the government is doing the opposite.

You might think that people working on NIH-supported research are highly compensated, overpaid, or pursuing science for financial gain. But this is a myth.

America’s College Towns Go From Boom to Bust Enrollment is plummeting at lesser-known universities, taking down the local businesses they had fostered.

When we think of communities that will suffer from these cuts we should think of Birmingham, Alabama (home to UAB) and Morgantown, WV (home to WVU). Public university budgets have been stressed even before this cut and this will further hurt communities.

www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Science is still way too exclusive despite these efforts. Research assistants are not paid well. And those with parents with a graduate degree are 25% more likely to score a tenure track position than those who don't. The way to combat this is with: more funding, more diversity, more unions etc.

Received a pell grant? Have parents who didnt go to college? Ever been homeless? On SNAP/WIC? From a rural area? Received free lunch? In addition to being from a underrepresented racial/ethnic minority, these groups are all part of what NIH considered underrepresented.