Education
University Health, Medical Researchers in Chicago Face Uncertainty as Trump Administration Aims to Cut Federal Funding
(Courtesy of Northwestern University)
Fears and frustrations linger among university researchers around the country, including in Chicago, whose research work is now in limbo as President Donald Trump’s administration aims to cut what it deems as “wasteful” federal spending.
“There’s just a lot of uncertainty and frustration,” said Northwestern University medical social sciences researcher David Victorson, who receives federal support from the National Institutes of Health for his research on improving the quality of life and well-being of cancer patients.
NIH serves as the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. Last fiscal year, the agency awarded more than $1.2 billion in funding to Illinois, most of which went to universities, but also to hospitals and other research labs.
Despite the Trump administration pulling back on its federal funding freeze directive earlier this week, the administration said it would still review and eliminate federal funding spent on diversity, equity and inclusion, transgender rights, climate science and environmental justice, which Trump targeted in an array of executive orders he signed his first week in office.
Victorson, who wrote an opinion piece on the health and medicine news website Stat after the announced funding freeze, said the best people to decide what should be researched are researchers. Victorson also worries about the long-term effects of federal funding cuts for research, especially as it relates to reducing health disparities in communities typically underrepresented in research.
“Guess who are the most common communities that are affected by health inequities?” Victorson said. “It’s people that are usually lumped under what we would call DEI. People with disabilities, survivors of color or BIPOC communities, people from the LGBTQ+ community.”
In light of the increased concerns regarding federal funding this week, Illinois’ largest research universities sent out statements, including at Northwestern, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois system, which oversees the University of Illinois Chicago.
“The broader landscape of federal funding for academic research remains uncertain, and in the days ahead we may face similar challenges to our core work,” University of Chicago Provost Katherine Baicker said in a statement to employees on Wednesday after the White House federal funding freeze memo was rescinded.
“We will continue to do all we can to protect and support your research and scholarship and minimize disruption to researchers, staff, and students, while striving to share clear information as we learn more,” the statement continued.
University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said in a Wednesday statement to faculty and students that he will be traveling to Washington, D.C., next week for meetings with the “federal relations team” and members of the Illinois congressional delegation to learn more about how the university might be affected by White House executive orders and other directives.
“We are working closely with the Illinois congressional delegation to understand this evolving landscape and to continue advocating for public higher education,” Killeen said in the statement. “Our elected leaders here in Illinois and their staffs, including the governor’s office, are also an invaluable resource for us right now.”
Last week, NIH canceled grant review meetings with little explanation, concerning health and science researchers across the country. The NIH was included in a memo that week to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ordering federal health agencies to halt communications with the public until they could be reviewed by a Trump appointee.
Victorson was among the researchers whose long-planned grant review meeting was canceled. While Victorson hopes it will be rescheduled, he said that those cancellations undid the work of many people involved in the planning and preparation of those meetings.
“It’s a huge waste of time, resources, and it delays good research from getting funded and getting into the pipeline for new discoveries to be made,” Victorson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: @eunicealpasan | 773-509-5362 | [email protected]
