Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash. Chanelle Case Borden, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the National Cancer Institute’s Experimental Immunology Branch, pipetting DNA samples into a tube for polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, a laboratory technique used to make multiple copies of a segment of DNA.
Earlier this week, I wrote in my Togetherhood newsletter about the history and scientific research of Gila monster venom that led to Novo Nordicks’s medications Ozempic and Wegovy. This research began at the National Institutes of Health and led to some of the most profitable and promising drugs. These types of advances are now in danger because the Trump administration has frozen much of the $47 billion the US spends annually on biomedical research like this through 60,000 NIH grants.
The US houses the world’s leading medical labs that research cancer, dementia and Alzheimer’s, heart disease, child health, and diabetes to name just a few. NIH grants provide significant funding to these labs. To make sure the grants are used efficiently and ethically, there’s an extensive review process of grant applications. When the Trump administration froze the funding, they stopped all these review processes. These frozen funds also caused many research labs and universities that house them to halt hiring and PhD and post-doc admissions. Even if they released the funding today, it would take weeks or months to restart all these processes.
Additionally, freezing these funds is negatively impacting the economy and US competitiveness on the world stage. Every $1 of NIH spending generates more than $2 dollars in US economic activity. Healthcare is the biggest industry in the US. Without the foundation of NIH-funded research, the industry is in crisis. The US produces more influential health science research than the next 10 leading countries, combined. Every day that goes by, lives and livelihoods of Americans are in jeopardy. Please call your reps today and tell them to fight to restore NIH funding. Your life and the lives of those you love depend on it.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
I'd love to know what you think of this post! Please leave a reply and I'll get back to you in a jiffy! ~ CRA Cancel reply
