Cambridge Day does not endorse candidates or positions. Views expressed in this letter are those of the writer.
When the Trump administration moved to gut National Institutes of Health funding in February 2025, affecting scientific researchers in Cambridge, Boston, and around the country, I was a senior aide to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and we knew we needed to act immediately. I helped build a coalition of more than 40 mayors and civic leaders from across the country and filed an amicus brief in federal court. We helped stop that order, but attacks on science and universities from the federal government have only intensified.
Here in Cambridge and across the Commonwealth, our scientific community is under siege, a calculated effort that threatens our economy and life-saving research. From the development of the COVID-19 vaccines to groundbreaking cancer therapies to energy and climate technology, Massachusetts is a global leader in science and innovation.
Our State Senate should be defending biomedical research. But when Governor Healey proposed providing $400 million in essential funding to keep labs running and our scientific researchers employed, the legislature cut that fundingin half.
We cannot wait for the federal government to regain its senses about the importance of research, while young scientists leave the field or take their talents abroad, and our global leadership in innovation erodes.
In the State Senate, I will fight to protect our future by
Passing and funding the DRIVEAct to provide immediate state-level grants for researchers losing federal support.
Tackling our affordability crisis so scientists and innovators can build and scale companies here in Cambridge.
Our community deserves urgent leadership that won’t watch from the sidelines while our future is dismantled. I promise to fight for the science that saves lives and creates opportunity.
Daniel Lander is a candidate for State Senate in the Suffolk and Middlesex District
(Disclosure: Lander’s mother, Lori Lander, is on the Local News Fund Advisory Board at the Cambridge Community Foundation, which has given financial support to Cambridge Day.)
Like this:
LikeLoading…
Related Stories
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Protecting our engine of innovation
Share this:
Cambridge Day does not endorse candidates or positions. Views expressed in this letter are those of the writer.
When the Trump administration moved to gut National Institutes of Health funding in February 2025, affecting scientific researchers in Cambridge, Boston, and around the country, I was a senior aide to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and we knew we needed to act immediately. I helped build a coalition of more than 40 mayors and civic leaders from across the country and filed an amicus brief in federal court. We helped stop that order, but attacks on science and universities from the federal government have only intensified.
Here in Cambridge and across the Commonwealth, our scientific community is under siege, a calculated effort that threatens our economy and life-saving research. From the development of the COVID-19 vaccines to groundbreaking cancer therapies to energy and climate technology, Massachusetts is a global leader in science and innovation.
Our State Senate should be defending biomedical research. But when Governor Healey proposed providing $400 million in essential funding to keep labs running and our scientific researchers employed, the legislature cut that funding in half.
We cannot wait for the federal government to regain its senses about the importance of research, while young scientists leave the field or take their talents abroad, and our global leadership in innovation erodes.
In the State Senate, I will fight to protect our future by
Our community deserves urgent leadership that won’t watch from the sidelines while our future is dismantled. I promise to fight for the science that saves lives and creates opportunity.
Daniel Lander is a candidate for State Senate in the Suffolk and Middlesex District
(Disclosure: Lander’s mother, Lori Lander, is on the Local News Fund Advisory Board at the Cambridge Community Foundation, which has given financial support to Cambridge Day.)
Like this:
Related Stories
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.