From the Nominator

On February 7, 2025, $4 billion in funding for medical research was cut by the federal government. Less than two weeks later, Johns Hopkins University responded to these cuts by launching our Research Saves Lives (RSL) awareness campaign. This multichannel campaign positioned the Johns Hopkins community—faculty, students, staff, providers, and patients—to stand up for the value of academic research and the university’s mission to “bring the benefits of discovery to the world.” Our focus was on showing the real-world impact of research on society. By featuring outcomes and patient stories, we humanized the often-ambiguous topics of scientific discovery and medical research. This is a long-term effort to educate voters about the impact of research and influence future policy decisions on funding. We used our flagship social media channels, Hub news center, alumni magazine, JHU.edu domain, and strategic media placements to amplify this content. Through integration in the university's divisions, institutes, and events, the campaign increased social media following and web traffic. The Research Saves Lives campaign was designed to be “white label,” or institution-agnostic, because the impacts of federal funding cuts extend far beyond our university. To that end, Johns Hopkins created a toolkit of assets not just for itself but also peer institutions and research advocates. Research Saves Lives has inspired similar campaigns and been championed by our peers in the Association of American Universities.

From the Judges

The judges saw this as a powerful, rapid-response, cross-channel campaign, with strong messaging and a valuable toolkit that extended beyond Johns Hopkins to peer institutions. The “institution-agnostic” strategy, multimedia assets, speed of execution, and sector-wide usefulness were major strengths.