Safeguarding academic medicine in times of challenge and change

The National Academy of Medicine awarded the Adam Yarmolinsky Medal to Ruzena K. Bajcsy in October 2025 for her extraordinary scientific work conducted at the interface of medicine and engineering over more than 50 years.1 At the awards ceremony, she spoke eloquently about her discoveries, collaborations, and mentees. At the end of her remarks, she took the opportunity to ask those assembled not to be thwarted by anti-science forces. She said simply, “I survived Stalin.” As I sat in the audience, I felt her message was clear. Even in difficult times, including periods of human history far darker and more disruptive than today, the creativity and the imperative to pursue scientific questions of significance to human health are not easily vanquished.