Olivier Elemento, Director of Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“New York’s biomedical research enterprise is at an inflection point
As Director of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, I see the effects of federal funding uncertainty every day. This moment calls for bold state action.
The Associated Medical Schools of New York, led by Jonathan Teyan, has proposed exactly that: the Empire Biomedical Research Institute (EBRI), a $6 billion, 10-year state investment in biomedical research. A grassroots coalition called NY-CURES, organized by Shruti Naik and colleagues, is building momentum for it.
The proposal documents the damage: grant reviews have slowed to 30% of prior year levels, PhD programs are cutting admissions by 30-100%, and Europe and China are actively recruiting American scientists. New York has been hit harder than any other state.
The scale of what’s at stake
New York receives $3.6 billion in NIH funding annually, supporting over 6,000 research projects. More than 35,000 New Yorkers work in federally funded biomedical research. Our medical schools alone generate $8.3 billion in economic activity.
But over 90% of foundational research at our institutions is federally funded. That concentration of risk is the problem.
Other states are moving fast
California just introduced a $23 billion bill for scientific research. Texas has invested $6 billion in CPRIT and is adding $3 billion for dementia research. Massachusetts committed $1.9 billion. New York’s per-capita state investment lags significantly behind.
Building on existing infrastructure
I think what makes EBRI compelling is how it connects to what New York has already built. Empire AI provides computational resources. The Life Sciences Initiative and NYFIRST support startups and recruitment. But these need sustained research funding to drive discoveries through them. EBRI closes that gap.
What happens next
Governor Kathy Hochul’s FY2027 budget will determine whether New York competes or concedes. States investing now will recruit the scientists. States that wait will lose them to California, Texas, or overseas.
99% of FDA-approved therapies from 2010-2019 originated from publicly funded research. We cannot let that pipeline run dry.
Proposal.”
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