Right now, the New York Governor is deciding whether to invest billions of dollars into state-funded biomedical research. More than 1,000 NY researchers have signed an Open Letter supporting this proposal.
After a year of attacks on science and higher education, we now have an opportunity to protect and establish new funding for research in New York through the Empire Biomedical Research Institute (EBRI), which would dedicate $500 million in the first year, followed by $6 billion over the next ten years to establish a state-based funding mechanism similar to the NIH.
Please take 1 minute to make sure we can win this expanded funding, by taking part in the following actions:
1. RSVP for the Virtual State-wide Town Hall on January 9 with elected leaders and possibly Governor Hochul. The more of us who RSVP, the more likely we can bring key elected leaders together to hear directly from researchers.
2. RSVP for the State Legislator Phonebank on January 5, to call representatives ho have influence with the Governor, and must ultimately approve her budget.
3. Like and follow the campaign on Social Media – we are posting on X, Bluesky, and Instagram. Tune in for updates and stories from researchers about why it’s important to expand state funding for science.
4. Share the Open Letter from Researchers – more than 1,000 of us have already signed, but we can show even more support by sharing the letter with colleagues.
5. Sign this NY-CURES Petition – unlike the Open Letter, this is anonymous and can be signed by anyone, not just researchers.
Governor Hochul will announce her budget in just a few weeks, and the more of us who participate in the Town Hall and other actions, the more likely it is that the Governor will include state funding for science in her budget.
Best,
Juliane Grimm, Cell Biology
ERU-UAW Bargaining Committee