The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted today to approve a resolution opposing sweeping federal cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), warning that the proposed changes would dismantle San Diego’s innovation economy, stall medical breakthroughs, and eliminate thousands of high-wage local jobs.

San Diego is the third-largest NIH recipient in the country, securing $1.1 billion in NIH and NSF funding in 2024 alone. That investment fuels a regional $31 billion innovation economy, supporting more than 164,000 jobs—including 40,000 scientists and R&D professionals working at world-renowned institutions like UC San Diego ($561M), Scripps Research ($163M), and the Salk Institute ($66M).

“These proposed cuts would gut cancer research, cancel clinical trials, and push young scientists out of the field,” said Acting Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “San Diego leads the nation in life sciences—we’ve spent decades building this infrastructure. We cannot afford to recklessly dismantle it.”

With support from UC San Diego and voices across the region, the resolution sends a unified message to Congress: NIH cuts would have catastrophic consequences for San Diego’s health, economy, and scientific leadership.

The resolution cites staggering impacts already underway:

● A $2.3 billion drop in NIH grantmaking compared to last year.

● Nearly 800 canceled or frozen NIH-vetted grants, including clinical trials at UC San Diego.

● UC San Diego projects a $150 million hit from changes to NIH reimbursement rules.

● A 15% cap on indirect cost reimbursement, potentially costing the region over $448 million annually

● 1,200 NIH staff terminated, including scientific reviewers, slowing review cycles and delaying research.

● Canceled fellowships and layoffs disrupting labs and scaring young researchers out of science.

“Make no mistake—this is a full-scale retreat from science,” Lawson-Remer said. “It threatens the medical breakthroughs our families count on, the jobs our economy relies on, and the future our region is helping to build.”

Leaders from across the research community joined the County in sounding the alarm.

Dr. Corinne Peek-Asa, Vice Chancellor for Research at UC San Diego, warned of significant risks:

“Cuts to NIH funding disrupt clinical trials and biomedical discoveries, stall critical scientific breakthroughs, and undermine the future scientific workforce needed to address tomorrow’s most pressing challenges. This erosion puts America’s leadership in innovation at risk—and directly impacts the health, jobs, and future treatments that San Diegans count on. UC San Diego joins partners across the region in urging the federal government to protect these critical investments in scientific discovery.”

Dr. Roman Szkopiec, a retired physician and clinical trial participant, shared how an NIH-funded immunotherapy trial gave him seven extra years of life—and now helps thousands of patients around the world.

“None of this would have been possible without NIH funding,” said Szkopiec. “When we talk about cuts like this, we’re not just talking about numbers. We’re talking about people. I’m one of them.”

Dr. Kurt Marek, Chief Business Officer at Sanford Burnham Prebys and a former NIH program director, explained that institutions are already seeing ripple effects: paused hiring, suspended grant opportunities, and canceled research programs.

“The proposed cuts to NIH funding will have devastating consequences for San Diego’s economy—but more importantly, for the health of our region, the nation, and the world,” said Dr. Marek. “The NIH has been incredibly successful for 80 years—eradicating diseases like polio, reducing millions of deaths from cancer, and powering U.S. innovation and leadership. These current and proposed cuts are arbitrary and capricious, but their impacts are real—for our health and our economy.”

UCSD Graduate Student Researcher Sarah Van Dijk spoke of the impacts to her research. “If we want a future where pregnancy is safer, where care is more equitable, and where science keeps moving forward—we need to invest in NIH, not dismantle it.”

The County’s resolution has received grassroots support from over 1,300 local residents, who signed a petition urging San Diego leaders to speak with one voice in defense of medical progress, economic stability, and future cures.

Read the full resolution and Board Letter: Here