Johanna Folk: We needed science when I was a kid, and we need it now

I discovered my love of science through the Long Beach Middle School science fair. Luckily for me, my grandfather was a federally funded researcher, and agreed to help me develop my project. He astutely recognized that I wasn’t excited about anything that would take time away from my new puppy, so together we raised the question, whose mouths are cleaner, dogs or humans?

We swabbed the mouths of the residents of East Penn Street and their dogs, spreading the samples in Petri dishes and tracking their growth with Polaroid pictures each day. I didn’t win the science fair, but the experience taught me that science could be fun, and a way to lean into my curiosity.

As I was growing up, a career in science is not where anyone thought I would end up. I wasn’t in advanced science or math classes, refused to dissect a frog, and broke a fair share of test tubes in chemistry. To be honest, my friends and family were very surprised that I didn’t return to become the band teacher at Long Beach High School. Ever since I started playing flute at East School, music was my passion, my escape, and a major source of social connection.

It took me a lot of time and exploration to land on a research-focused career path. It wasn’t until college, when I was studying music education at SUNY Potsdam, that I realized I was passionate about supporting young people and their well-being through mental health care. I landed a summer internship at Northwell Health’s Zucker Hillside Hospital, in Glen Oaks, working on a mental health-focused clinical trial, and haven’t looked back since.

I now have a career as a clinical psychologist and a National Institutes of Health funded researcher, working to improve access to mental health and substance-use treatment for adolescents and families who are impacted by the legal and child welfare systems. Our Juvenile inJustice behavioral health team at the University of California, San Francisco, works directly with families to co-create interventions that are accessible, culturally relevant and responsive to their needs. I’ve been privileged to receive over $1 million in NIH funding over the past 10 years to support my research, including through programs to help repay my educational loans. My work is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of the 27 institutes and centers of the NIH, focusing on advancing science on the causes and consequences of substance use to improve individual and public health.

My story isn’t unique. In 2024, NIH awarded $3.55 billion in grants and contracts that directly supported 30,522 jobs and $8.27 billion in economic activity in New York. Of these grants, over $157 million was awarded to institutions on Long Island.

Federal funding has been vital to the Long Island economy.
Recent executive orders, however, are threatening to disrupt public agencies that fund research, like the NIH. The proposed changes and budgetary cuts have the potential to negatively impact all our health and well-being. This is an issue for all of us — for the cancer patient looking for a potentially lifesaving clinical trial, the new graduate seeking a job in the health care industry, and those living in areas where coastal erosion threatens our homes.

When I was growing up in Long Beach, summers for me meant spending long days on the east end beaches, riding bikes on the boardwalk and taking trips to Marvel. None of this would have been possible without science: the jetties to manage beach erosion, sunscreen to avoid serious sunburns, clean water to drink, and the list goes on. No matter your political party, we all benefit from scientific advances.

Government funding is essential to support scientific progress. It allows us not only to make cutting-edge discoveries and gain global recognition, but also to strengthen communities like Long Beach. If you’re concerned about the harm that budget cuts to agencies like the NIH will have, please join me in taking action. Contact your representatives and tell them you oppose science budget cuts. The 5calls.org website and app make it easy by providing their phone numbers and sample scripts to follow.
I hope you will join me in being a science advocate.

Dr. Johanna Folk is a clinical psychologist on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco.