Well, that didn’t take long. After the past several weeks of upheaval at research institutions across our country, Europeans are taking note – and taking advantage.
The New York Times reported this week that European universities are recruiting “scientific asylum seekers” from U.S. research institutions.
As countless research grants have been canceled by the federal government here in the U.S. and future funding is in jeopardy, researchers are looking for safe places to call home for their work.
And who can blame them? The research community has been met with not just uncertainty, but outright distain and disrespect from those in the federal government who should be championing their work.
According to reporting by The Baltimore Banner, the termination letter of one grant stated:
“This award no longer effectuates agency priorities. Research programs based primarily on artificial and non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness.”
The letter went on to say that “worse, so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics, which harms the health of Americans. Therefore, it is the policy of NIH not to prioritize such research programs.”
Research grants go through rigorous vetting. For most, it takes nine months to a year to write a grant proposal. Once submitted, the grant goes to a peer review committee composed of scientists from all over the country where it is scrutinized and many are rejected. Only the best and most promising grants are funded after then going to an additional council for final approval.
To get a sense of what sort of grants are being defunded and terminated, here’s a list from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. At Columbia University, for example, the list details $2 million cut from the “Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center,” another $2 million cut from their “Cancer Center Support Grant” and $176,000 cut from “Training in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.”
UNC-Chapel Hill is the 9th-largest research university in the country and received over half a billion dollars in NIH funding last year. Carolina is home to some of the world’s most renowned researchers in the fields of HIV/AIDS, autism, cancer and brain and behavioral sciences. UNC’s dominance in research has been great for the university and the state – but it also means UNC has a lot to lose as more and more researchers are receiving letters terminating their grant funding.
We talked a couple weeks ago about what these kinds of reckless cuts would mean for the future health and wellbeing of our communities, the country and the world. The clock is ticking – there is serious, irreparable damage being done right now to our universities and our future. The Europeans see it. We see it. Make sure our leaders see it, too. They need to hear from you:
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6342
U.S. Senator Ted Budd
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3154
If you live outside of North Carolina and want to contact your home state senators, you can find their info here.
You can find your representative in the U.S. House here. If you already know who your representative is, you can call their office directly or ask to be connected to their office by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A full list of House member websites can be found here. You can typically find a mailing address at the bottom of a member’s website or on a contact page on their website.
This is bigger than Carolina. It’s about safety and defending our future. But defending the work of research institutions like UNC-Chapel Hill is where it starts. Thanks for your continued support and being part of this Coalition.