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MLIVE: Ann Arbor congresswoman honored for support of scientific research amid federal cuts

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell tightly clasped a wooden plaque affixed to a small 3D-printed microscope early Friday afternoon, waving one hand as she listed the benefits of supporting scientific research with federal funding.

Her staff had gathered for a retreat in a side room at the University of Michigan’s Ruthven Building when UM officials popped in to present her with this year’s Champion of Science Award.

Issued annually by The Science Coalition, a non-partisan nonprofit of more than 50 research institutions, Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said being the 2025 recipient meant the world — and jokingly warned that she may tear up.

“It was in this room that I had … one of the best meetings I’ve ever had with the actual researchers talking about the work that they were doing,” she said.

Dingell admitted there have been a lot of those meetings.

Now, however, she said those conversations carry a bigger sense of urgency as institutions across the country increasingly find their federal research grants on the chopping block under President Donald Trump.

UM topped $2 billion in its annual research volume in 2024, close to $1.2 billion of which was federally sponsored.

That total was up from just over $1 billion in 2023 and $973 million in 2022, according to the university.

Dingell said she appreciated having UM in her district, while refraining from listing too many examples of research her office has helped support. She held back, she said, out of fear of further making researchers a target.

Several examples still arose in discussion Friday were in healthcare, engineering, climate change and advocacy around the Great Lakes.

“I’m really worried when we put a freeze (on) or stop funding vaccine development,” Dingell said. “Because it’s going to not only result in (the) spread of disease — we’re going to start to see it — but people don’t understand the kind of work that is being done is critical (for areas like) cancer research.

“So, we’ve got to support scientific research.”

David Miller, CEO of Michigan Medicine and the executive vice president for medical affairs at UM, said a lot of “frontline staff have been blown away” when their connection to Dingell “gets translated into policy and action.”

He pointed to conversations earlier this year during visits to several UM medical facilities, where he said they had “really authentic conversations.” Then, he said, there was a sit-down a year ago when the U.S. representative listened to a dozen UM obstetrics and gynecology faculty talk about their portfolio of work.

“Taking that back (helped) inform a research agenda, including access, greater and expanded access to clinical trials for women, expanded access to funding through the National Institutes of Health,” Miller said. “That level of commitment is something that, I think, has to be identified, called out and celebrated and recognized and championed. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

In all, federal funding at UM has yielded partnership research spanning the NIH, the National Science Foundation, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Champion of Science Award was originally announced July 31.

The Science Coalition credited Dingell with helping to shape “landmark science and technology legislation” like the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act and the 21st Century Cures Act.

In separate statements, Interim UM President Domenico Grasso cited Dingell’s “unwavering support” of the university and the broader research community, while Abigail Robbins, president of the coalition, said Dingell had the ability to “bring people together, champion new ideas and secure critical funding” to open doors for researchers.

The coalition has honored more than 100 congressional representatives in the past. Dingell was nominated by a member institution.

Dingell similarly appeared in support of research at a UM site earlier this summer when environmental advocates trumpeted work done through Great Lakes research labs. That work is backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration but endangered under proposed federal funding cuts.

All of the work, she said on Friday, is important to support a healthier environment and a healthier constituency.

But federal research funding also means keeping the country competitive.

“One hundred years ago, Germany led the world in innovation and technology,” Dingell said. “The United States has led, (in) the last few decades, the world in innovation and technology.

“And I’ll be damned if we’re going to concede that to China or any other country.”