One year ago today, the federal government suspended $584 million in UCLA’s research grants.
UCLA researchers said the effects of the Trump administration’s reductions to federal science funding are still being felt, including career setbacks and funding delays.
The federal government froze hundreds of UCLA’s grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy, after alleging that the university allowed antisemitism, illegal affirmative action practices and “men to participate in women’s sports.” Chancellor Julio Frenk denied the federal government’s allegations in a January interview with the Daily Bruin.
[Related: Federal government suspends research funding to UCLA]
A federal judge restored the bulk of the grants in August and September. The same judge ruled separately in November that the federal government could not suspend or threaten to suspend UCLA’s research grants.
[Related: Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore $500M of UCLA research grants]
Carrie Bearden, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences whose NIH training grant was suspended, said the postdoctoral researchers and graduate students in her neurogenetics lab lost their salaries until the grants were restored. The UCLA Bearden Lab studies brain changes related to mental health conditions in young people.
“A lot of junior faculty left because they did not feel in this climate that they were going to be able to sustain their research,” she said. “People are still leaving now.”
The distribution of NIH grants was delayed because of the funding freeze, Bearden said. She added that some researchers awarded grants a year ago are still waiting to receive the funds.
Many lab animals died after experiments lost funding, Bearden said. Certain supplies needed to keep lab animals alive are impossible to acquire without federal grants, according to LAist.
The UC seeks to advance its education and research mission while navigating an uncertain federal landscape, a UC spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“The University has worked aggressively to preserve the federal research funding that supports our faculty, students, California, and the nation,” the spokesperson said. “UC remains open to engaging in a constructive dialogue with the federal government but will not compromise its core values, academic freedom, or independence. ”
The Trump administration proposed sweeping revisions to the United States Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Guidance, a framework for managing federal grants, in May. The changes would require political appointees to approve research grants and could reduce funding for certain projects.
The UC urged community members to sign a petition against the proposal and submit public comments by July 13, according to the UC Advocacy Network’s website.
[Related: How the Trump administration’s revamp of funding guidelines could threaten research]
Dimitri Shlyakhtenko, the director of the UCLA Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics, said travel grant suspensions created uncertainty for researchers who collaborate with other research institutions.
Shlyakhtenko, a professor of mathematics, said the university’s grants were suspended while he was planning a three-month-long electrochemistry program where researchers from around the world participate in a seminar series and workshops.
The program – titled “Bridging the Gap: Transitioning from Deterministic to Stochastic Interaction Modeling in Electrochemistry” – was able to run after its grant was restored, he added.
Professors made plans to stay on UCLA’s campus, and a longer suspension could have affected their ability to travel for the program, he said.
The NSF has granted 39% fewer new awards this year than in previous years, according to a letter addressed to California congressional representatives from UC President James Milliken.
“The NSF has suffered tremendously as an organization, both in terms of manpower and in terms of having some kind of clear procedures and clear rules,” Shlyakhtenko said.
Hiring freezes have reduced opportunities for graduate students and positions for researchers completing their postdoctoral work, he added.
Despite the setbacks, Anna Markowitz, the president of the UCLA Faculty Association, said she believes research institutions can still bounce back through UC-wide and statewide solutions.
Markowitz, a professor of education, said people should push for solutions similar to California Senate Bill 895, which is a $12 billion research bond sponsored by the UC.
SB 895, which would have created a foundation to distribute the $12 billion to scientific research projects across California, missed the deadline to appear on the November ballot and no longer qualifies for an extension.
[Related: $12 billion UC-sponsored research bond misses deadline to appear on ballot]
Federally funded research tackles unique topics in scientific research that private companies often neglect, Shlyakhtenko said.
It’s led to several lifesaving discoveries, including cancer and mental health treatments, Bearden added.
“Even from an economic and competition standpoint, why would we give up this incredible investment in science?” she said. “It’s just really baffling.”
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