Federal Funding Cuts Impact U.S. Universities and Research Institutions
By Bhanu Sontela
Federal proposals to cut grant funding for medical research institutions are having widespread effects on universities and research centers across the United States.
The majority of those impacted are researchers and students whose grants and fellowships are funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest funder of biomedical research globally. In response, the agency announced on Monday that it would cut more than $250 million in funding.
As a result of these funding reductions, several major institutions have been forced to make difficult decisions. Johns Hopkins University, the leading recipient of research funding and NIH grants, is eliminating nearly 2,000 positions worldwide, including around 250 in the U.S.
“The funding that we are meant to be getting that normally we would have gotten, very likely, is now just indefinitely paused,” biology third-year Ph.D. student Gracie Siffer said to The Daily Northwestern. “It creates a sense of uncertainty. It creates a sense of tension. Everyone’s kind of on edge and stressed out all the time.”
This follows a loss of over $365 million in grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Among the projects being cut at Johns Hopkins are international initiatives on tuberculosis, AIDS, and cervical cancer, along with programs that directly support residents of Baltimore.
“The situation is jeopardizing our Nation’s ability to stay at the forefront of science and engineering by reducing or eliminating a generation of young technical talent,” Fiona Harrison, the chair of Caltech’s division of physics, mathematics and astronomy, writes in an email.
Other universities have also felt the financial strain. Harvard University has temporarily frozen faculty hiring, while Columbia University faces a $400 million reduction in federal funding. The California Institute of Technology has opted to leave postdoctoral positions vacant due to the cuts.
In response to the funding reductions, people gathered at Federal Plaza in Chicago on March 9 to protest the federal cuts to research funding. They joined thousands of others across the country in voicing their concerns. Among the groups participating in the demonstration were Northwestern University Graduate Workers.
Now, the current Stand Up for Science 2025 movement has organized demonstrations of scientific communities throughout the United States in response to threats to scientific research.
