US universities say rescue medical research threatens fresh federal funding up to four billion dollars a year announced by Trump administration.
National Health Institutes (NiH), which pays off nearly $ 50 billion a year, has announced leadership Saying that it will reduce this from Monday “indirect” support to 15 percent from current average of 27 percent, and in some cases above 60 percent. Financing covers administrative costs of research projects.
He said that “it is vital to ensure that the more funds go according to the direct cost of scientific research, not administrative directing.”
But universities claim that they rely on this financing for the construction and maintenance of the laboratory and cost covering. They say that tuition raising or employment of additional students would be not enough to cover the gap.
The Association of American Medical Faculty warned that the cuts would “Umammals national research ability, slowing down scientific progress and denial of patients, families and communities throughout the country of new treatments, diagnostics and preventive interventions. “
Nick Dirks, President of the New York Academy of Sciences, said: “This will be devastating and will explore. Without enough indirect recovery of costs, universities and hospitals, he will not be able to launch many of their most critical research programs.”
US universities are already facing temporary freezing of federal funding announced by President Donald Trump, as well as a ban on diversity and work on “Justice for Environmental Protection”, an alleged anti -Semitism test on campus and threatening a new borrowing tax.
Although the executive command for freezing all scholarships was abolished after the legal challenge last month, the universities are not sure if the funding will continue.
Todd Wolfson, President of the University Professors’ Cooperation, said: “This is purposeful chaos. People said they stop their research, some colleges said they had to fire postdoxes and closed their laboratory, which means that materials sensitive will no longer be anymore usable. “
Adam Bauer, a PhD student at Illinois University at Urban Champaign, said he would only know next week if he would get his next monthly life allowance now that his funding for the National Science Foundation was questioned.
His research is focused on the physics of thermal waves and how they affect crops, people and energy demand. But fears the topic related to the climate, as well as his proposal to help retain scientists in his field, leads to risk. Trump administration is targeted by climate and diversity programs, equality and inclusion.
“After the freezing, I was winding and our group chat became a little crazy,” he says.
“I can imagine the situation if they execute control and want to cancel support, they will come up with a way.”
Harold Varmus, Nobel Prize -winning former head of the National Institute of Health and National Cancer Institute, which is a professor at the Weil Cornell Medical School of Medicine, said that even several weeks of uncertainty will significantly delay the studies of research, reconsideration of appointments for granting funds, reconsideration For grant award, review applications for grant award, reconsider applications for grant award, examine applications for granting grants, reconsider the award fee for awarding awarding awarding awarding awarding and delaying clinical trials.
“It’s not long before things can be really messy,” he said. “It’s worrying because money is tight and could lead to real failures for science and the public awaiting results.”
He is among the biggest federal research donors, and the biggest share goes to top universities that led Johns Hopkins and the University of California.
Although some of the greatest recipients have other sources of revenue from research and significant endaires, others are more vulnerable at the time of slowing students’ complaints.
Barbara Snyder, president of the Association of American Universities, Universities of Leading Research Universities, said: “Even the temporary stopping of critical scientific research is a self -defense, an indispensable mistake. . . If you race your neck and neck, departure from the path of any time, the gift is your competitors. “
Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of College and University, warned that a wider threat of “government incursion and unnecessary political influence” risked the “integrity of American higher education and scientific research”.
“Freezing signals the growing politicization of higher education,” she said.
“[It] It risks to increase scientific progress and interfere with the research of life rescue. “
Bauer, a student at Illinois, is looking for academic jobs focused on private universities that may have more resources than more vulnerable public.
“It was hard,” he said. “The labor market is dry for climate projects because it is not clear to what extent Trump’s administration is ready to go.”
