Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Michelle Heritage, Executive Director of the American Brain Foundation
Jul 31, 2025
In this engaging conversation, Michelle Heritage, Executive Director of the American Brain Foundation, dives into vital funding initiatives for brain health research. She discusses the potential impact of the Big Beautiful Bill on scientific discovery, particularly for rural healthcare access. Heritage emphasizes the urgent need for sustained investment in neuroscience to combat diseases like Alzheimer's and ALS. With a mix of humor and seriousness, she also touches on the 'brain drain' challenge in medical research and its implications for innovation in treating brain diseases.
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Funding Launches Scientific Careers
- Early career researchers face the toughest funding challenges but are essential for long-term neuroscience progress.
- The American Brain Foundation helps launch their careers, leading to major federal grants and scientific breakthroughs.
Impact of NIH Funding Cuts
- NIH budget cuts disrupt ongoing neuroscience research and threaten the U.S. global leadership in science.
- Early career scientists question their future and the loss impacts decades of scientific achievement.
Healthcare and Rural Hospital Cuts
- The Big Beautiful Bill allows large Medicare cuts threatening 8.7 million people's health coverage over the next decade.
- Rural hospitals may lose up to 21 cents on every dollar, making care access cruelly difficult for vulnerable patients.