CIDRAP Federal investment in RNA vaccine research has supported nearly three decades of scientific work spanning infectious diseases, cancer, and vaccine development, but recent and proposed funding cuts threaten to stall that progress, according to a cross-sectional study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.
Led by a team at Northwestern University, researchers identified 178 active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants related to RNA vaccines from 1997 through 2025. Together, the grants represented $1.65 billion in funding.
Many grants focused on viral vaccines (42%), including those for COVID, HIV, and highly contagious tropical diseases, while substantial investment also supported RNA technology and cancer research. Overall, the grants produced 2,342 publications and nearly 150,000 citations, highlighting what the authors describe as clear clinical impact.
RNA tech ‘could impact virtually every aspect of human health’
“The grants we analyzed have resulted in strong scientific output,” the researchers write. “The clinical impact of this work was apparent, with 10% of publications classified as [sic] and 35% being cited in clinical trials or practice guidelines.”