Nation & World
Freezing funding halts medical, engineering, and scientific research
Projects target issues from tuberculosis and chemotherapy to extended space exploration, pandemic readiness
The Trump administration’s choice to suspend more than $2 billion in long-term research funding to Harvard has halted efforts across a diverse array of medical, engineering, and scientific disciplines. This move followed the rejection of White House requests for modifications that the University contends violate its autonomy and constitutional liberties, exceeding the permissible authority of the administration.
We spoke to several researchers whose endeavors have been halted or now face an uncertain future.
Sarah Fortune
John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, and chair of the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Research disrupted: A $60 million, seven-year cooperative project to investigate how the immune system manages tuberculosis.
“It is estimated that approximately one-third of the global population is infected with TB and carries the pathogen, yet most individuals will remain asymptomatic. Nonetheless, each year, 10 million individuals fall ill, and 1 million succumb to the disease, making TB the foremost infectious cause of mortality worldwide. We are striving to comprehend the distinctions between effective and ineffective immunity against TB to enhance the identification of TB patients and ultimately prevent TB, ideally through the development of a potent vaccine.
“This consortium was envisioned at the National Institutes of Health as their moonshot initiative to significantly advance TB research. The objective was to unite the finest researchers from across the nation and worldwide to apply the best cutting-edge technologies and scientific methods to decode TB immunity. If this project is halted, all our progress will be lost.
“I have been establishing this consortium since around 2014. For me, this represents more than a decade of dedication. Achieving scientific knowledge and expertise is an art. If this effort is dismantled, you cannot simply rehire personnel and recreate it—it will be lost forever.”
[Open Philanthropy, a philanthropic organization based in California, has approved a $500,000 grant to enable researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to continue an ongoing tuberculosis vaccine research, The Boston Globe reported Monday. This research is just one component of the larger project Fortune is directing as a principal investigator.]
Donald E. Ingber
Founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School
Research disrupted: Two contracts totaling under $20 million: one aimed at testing and developing therapeutic agents for long-term radiation exposure, including chemotherapy, and another to investigate the impacts of microgravity and radiation in space on human cells to aid astronauts journeying to Mars.
“Both initiatives were contracts overseen by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is tasked with creating countermeasures for biological, radiation, and chemical threats for the U.S.
“The larger BARDA contract emphasizes the development of human organ-on-a-chip microfluidic culture models of human lung, intestine, bone marrow, and lymphatic tissue to simulate human response to gamma radiation exposure and to pinpoint effective radiation countermeasure drugs. Considerable advancements have been made in this project.
“The BARDA project under NASA’s support is designed to utilize human organ-on-a-chip technology to produce living ‘avatars’ of astronauts by configuring the chips with cells from the astronauts and transporting the chips alongside them during space missions. The intention is to utilize these experiments to discern the effects of microgravity and radiation (which currently renders long-duration space travel, such as to Mars, unfeasible) and, once again, create countermeasures. This initial undertaking serves to validate the viability of this methodology.
“The radiation countermeasure drugs we are developing would not only benefit cancer patients—many of whom undergo radiation therapy and face side effects (higher and more robust therapeutic doses could be administered with reduced toxicity)—but they would also be stockpiled to safeguard against a nuclear crisis or attack; furthermore, they could facilitate long-duration space missions, thus enabling the exploration of Mars, which is currently not achievable.
“Regarding the consequences, it means that this type of research will cease but, more crucially, the livelihoods of nearly 20 students, fellows, and staff members are at risk if this halt is not overturned swiftly.”
Duane Wesemann
Associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School
Research interrupted: A $10 million project grant to support a significant consortium of laboratories examining the immune system and its capacity to react to various coronaviruses in preparation for potential future pandemics.
“What we glean from coronaviruses is applicable to other infections as we seek to understand the functioning of the immune system.
“We were concluding our third year of a five-year initiative. The termination was unexpected.
“There are numerous levels of loss. On one level, these federal grants from the NIH undergo rigorous evaluation by independent scientific committees, and only a minor fraction are ultimately funded due to the thorough review process. Grants like this and others that are…terminated, which have been evaluated, rated, and considered significant, thorough, and deserving to proceed, signify a loss of all the work invested in the procedure.
“For our laboratory, it represents a significant loss of potential. Over many years, we have been gathering longitudinal blood samples from various individuals to comprehend the prolonged impacts of immunity to the virus, infection, as well as vaccination, to investigate the durability of these responses and what influences the persistence of the immune reaction.
“We might have to halt the collection of blood from this group. Witnessing this occur in our lab and seeing it affect other labs nationwide is heartbreaking.”
Subhash Kulkarni
Assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School
Research in jeopardy: A $3.5 million neuroscience research initiative that examines how neurons in the gut transform with aging and ailments such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
“My research endeavor has not been halted yet. Whether it will be suspended or not is something I cannot foresee.
“My project is based at my research facility, which is a neuroscience laboratory focused on the gut. We investigate the neurons located in the gut that govern human functions related to consumption, digestion, and excretion.
“Understanding how these neurons change with aging or conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or irritable bowel syndrome is crucial. Our lab’s work revolves around deciphering how the neurons in our gut age, and what measures can be taken to rejuvenate them.
“This project is ongoing. Our capacity to continue relies on our ability to secure grants and funding as we are nearing the end of our grant cycle. If our funding applications do not succeed, all that research will come to a halt, and years of effort will be squandered. We are in the final year of a five-year grant, and any reduction in funding before the term concludes would result in an immediate cessation of the work.
“One key aspect to remember is that when we receive funding, a portion goes towards salaries, but a substantial amount is allocated to purchasing reagents and chemicals from American producers and acquiring mice from U.S. businesses. Every single dollar of federal funding is directed towards salaries and materials that are sourced within the United States.
“Our ability to mentor undergraduate students, who are American, will stop entirely if our funding is interrupted.”
“There is currently a sense of unpredictability. We do not know how things will unfold.
“We hope that pivotal research does not come to a standstill because every investigation we undertake at HMS and elsewhere emerges from a highly competitive selection process. This funding is not granted due to the generosity of the federal government. We must compete with every single lab across the nation, and it is through this competitive framework that we obtain grants to conduct our work.”