DEAR EDITOR:

I found Vaughn Smider’s article in The Vindicator very interesting, but at the same time very upsetting. Vaughn Smider is a former Jackson-Milton graduate who now does biomedical research. His laboratory studies antibodies which are the molecules in our blood that fight infection. He does research for all diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, cancer and many more. His research is funded by NIH, which is now being taken away by DOGE.

I have a relative who is being treated for cancer every four weeks with an antibody that attacks the cancer cells. It takes five minutes to inject this drug as opposed to four hours of chemo several times a week. Not to mention the sickness and side affects of chemo.

Why would President Trump and Elon Musk take this necessary funding away? It is a small amount of money compared to the lives that it saves. Stopping this research is the same as murdering our loved ones. This is just the beginning of the end for our country’s innovations. I hope it doesn’t affect your families.

IRENE ROBINSON

North Jackson