“These People Are Among the Best and the Brightest”

The federal government has terminated numerous federally funded grants and contracts to Harvard and is scaling back investments in scientific and medical research across the country. In this series, Harvard Medical School scientists discuss how these actions are affecting their research and their labs.

Rachel Wilson’s lab is working to assemble the first wiring diagram of the entire central nervous system of a fruit fly, enabling researchers to concretely link the brain to behavior. Her work is now at risk due to federal actions against Harvard.

Wilson worries about the international scholars in her lab. “These people are among the best and the brightest,” she says. If international scholars are unable to come to the United States, it could have a devastating impact on the research."

“I’m worried that the next generation of discoveries in my field are going to be happening mainly in other countries and not in the U.S.," she adds. Learn more about her work in the video below.