06/14/2026
Listen to our Harvard researcher, Dr. David Corey, explain why cuts to U.S. research funding are putting America’s leadership in medical innovation at risk. As support for scientific discovery declines, China is rapidly expanding its investment and positioning itself at the forefront of biomedical research. The stakes are enormous—for patients, for innovation, and for the future of life-saving therapies.
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The U.S. used to be the research engine of the world. Now, China may be taking the dominant role, thanks to massive investment and a disruptive year for American universities. I'm going to tell you about this dynamic through two researchers, one in Boston and one in Shanghai, hoping for the same breakthrough - a gene therapy for deaf teens.
DAVID COREY: I mean, I've been working on the inner ear for close to 50 years now.
NADWORNY: David Corey is a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on how cells in the inner ear and the proteins within them translate sound to the brain...
COREY: This is a research program that we've been doing for 40 years, and now it's kind of cut off at the knees without any real reason.
The U.S. used to be the research engine of the world. Now China is taking the dominate role — thanks to excessive investment and a disruptive year for American universities.
