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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently testified before a House committee to defend cuts at the National Institutes of Health, the world’s biggest funder of biomedical and behavioral research. The agency going forward “will focus on essential research at a more practical cost,” the secretary said. His plan would end taxpayer support for “wasteful” academic areas, including certain gender-related topics. (7/22)

As someone who has spent many years studying and responding to viral threats, I’m deeply concerned that we face an unprepared future again. Significant cutbacks in medical science funding, especially in global health, research, and surveillance, leave us vulnerable as new threats emerge. (Robert C. Gallo, 7/22)

Thanks to decades of sustained federal investment, Chicago, Cook County and Illinois are on the cusp of ending the HIV epidemic in our city, county and state. This remarkable progress is a testament to programs such as the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, established in 1990 to provide crucial health care to those living with HIV and AIDS. (Olusimbo Ige, Kiran Joshi and Sameer Vohra, 7/21)

As an oncologist and a leader at a national cancer organization, I have the privilege of hearing countless stories. My favorites are ones of triumph: a parent celebrating after finishing treatment, a child hearing they’ve achieved remission, or a father who made it to his son’s birthday because of a new, promising treatment. Yet, for each story that brings a smile to my face, another reminds me of how far we have to go. (Gwen Nichols, 7/22)

It’s not every day that scientists uncover a way to improve cancer survival by 37 percent, as reported in a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Even more astounding, that finding was not the result of a breakthrough drug or advanced technology. (Leana S. Wen, 7/22)

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia, and there are more than 7 million Americans living with it. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 54,500 of them are in Kansas. That comes to about 11% of adults older than 65. (P.J. Reddy, 7/22)