ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society, on behalf of its members in the U.S. and around the world, is alarmed by the ongoing reductions in force (RIFs) and how those reductions will impact the ability of federal research funding agencies to support the missions outlined by Congress. For decades the U.S. has been a world leader in critical and emerging technologies; which has attracted the best and brightest around the world to matriculate and engage in new discoveries, develop critical technologies and advance scientific research. The utilization of RIF initiatives to roll back the federal workforce threatens to have a chilling effect on development of future basic and biomedical researchers, and also jeopardizes the scientific, technological and economic advancements that have made the U.S. a global leader in scientific enterprise.

A team of researchers from the Rice Biotech Launch Pad at Rice University has developed an implantable “cytokine factory” that safely triggers potent immune responses against hard-to-treat cancers, including metastatic melanoma, pancreatic and colorectal tumors.