By Christian Tanner
I’ve had life-threatening food allergies my whole life.
I’m always careful, but it’s hard to avoid common ingredients like dairy and eggs — and the chances of mistakes and miscommunications get worse when I’m eating out or traveling. On several occasions after eating the wrong thing I’ve gone into anaphylactic shock, a type of allergic reaction that results in life-threatening throat swelling or drops in blood pressure.
Luckily, each time, I’ve had an EpiPen, an auto-injector that quickly delivers adrenaline needed to counteract anaphylaxis. This technology has saved my life multiple times, and roughly 3.6 million Americans rely on EpiPens the same way I do.
Without federal funding, EpiPens wouldn’t exist. The technology was developed using funding from the U.S. government in the 1970s and was eventually approved for commercial use by the FDA in 1987.
The development of new lifesaving technologies like the EpiPen are now at risk. President Trump has cut science funding to its lowest levels in decades, and has called for billions more in reductions. These cuts will set back science research and the breakthrough technologies that rely on it for many years to come.
As a postdoctoral scholar at New York University, my research could one day be used for better drug delivery methods or new and more efficient energy sources. My work is funded by the U.S. government through the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, both of which are slated to be cut by up to 14 and 56 percent, respectively, if Congress follows Trump’s proposed budget for 2026.
These major cuts to U.S. government-funded research will directly impact the ability of scientists like me to continue our work. These disruptions will result in multiyear delays to new medical treatments and technologies. Many cannot afford this delay.
I owe my life to scientific research. If science funding is protected, it could one day save yours, too.
Christian Tanner grew up in Rye and is now a postdoctoral researcher in physics at New York University.
Christian Tanner grew up in Rye and is now a postdoctoral researcher in physics at New York University.
