Alyson Stevens: Federal investment in cancer research crucial (Opinion)
Alyson Stevens | 11.25.25
Recently, I joined pancreatic cancer researchers and the president and CEO of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Julie Fleshman, on Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress, including Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, both R-W.Va.
As an M.D./Ph.D candidate at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, my trip to Capitol Hill put my research into perspective and reminded me why I chose this career path. I want to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients. It also gave me the opportunity to deliver an important message to Congress: federal investment in cancer research saves lives.
Cancer is the nation’s No. 2 killer and will claim the lives of over 600,000 Americans in 2025, which is roughly 1,700 deaths per day. I am grateful to Capito and her leadership as the chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Committee that oversees funding for the National Institutes of Health, including cancer research funding. She recognizes the importance of this investment and the impact that years of bipartisan support from Congress has had in advancing progress for patients and saving lives.
My own research journey began at WVU, where I received my undergraduate degree and took advantage of the plentiful research opportunities at the WVU Cancer Institute. It was an easy decision to stay at WVU for my graduate education. I was recently honored to receive a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Cancer Institute to fund my work studying the effects of chemotherapy on the circulating immune cells of pancreatic cancer patients in West Virginia. As an R1 research institution, WVU prioritizes medical research and is especially focused on diseases that disproportionately affect West Virginians, like pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. and is on track to become the second by 2030. It remains the only major cancer with a five-year survival rate below 20%. Most patients are diagnosed late when the cancer has already spread. Of the five most lethal cancers, including lung, colorectal, breast and prostate, pancreatic cancer is the only one that does not have a standard screening strategy.
With few treatment options, it is a disease that needs more research and, importantly, more scientists to study the disease.
The uncertainty caused by unstable federal funding doesn’t just slow scientific progress, it could deter the next generation of scientists, like me, who want to pursue this work. In the past academic year, WVU, like many institutions around the country, reduced the number of incoming graduate students accepted into biomedical sciences PhD programs due to budgetary concerns from proposed federal research funding cuts. Funding cuts, spending freezes and the recent government shutdown have already slowed research nationwide.
New research grants have been delayed, laboratories with unstable funding and fewer graduate students risk going quiet, and critical scientific work may stall. For patients waiting for new treatment options — especially those battling a disease as aggressive as pancreatic cancer — every delay matters.
West Virginia has a proud tradition of resilience and innovation in the face of challenge. Our communities are deeply affected by cancer, and our state’s universities and hospitals are working tirelessly to change that. Capito has long recognized the importance of medical research to West Virginia’s health and economy. I urge her — and all members of Congress — to protect and strengthen federal cancer research funding.
When it comes to cancer research, we can’t afford to slow down.
