The University of Georgia is a Carnegie Research 1 institute, yet the Trump administration’s cuts to national grants threaten the integrity of research. Consequently, the future of research has remained unclear since the beginning of these targeted initiatives in February. “The best course of action research institutions such as UGA can take to fight back against the Trump Administration is unclear and dangerous,” Managing Editor Jane Ripps wrote. Illustration by Sylvia Robinson
Research is imperative for societal progression, yet the push for funding cuts from
politicians has national and global consequences.
When the COVID-19 virus barged into the homes of people around the world in 2020, promptly taking an uninvited seat at the dinner table, the negative implications of the respiratory disease showed no mercy.
According to the World Health Organization, there were approximately 85 million reported cases globally by the end of 2020 and 1.8 million deaths.
In the face of this mysterious and contagious disease, scientists wasted no time manufacturing an effective vaccine in just 12 months — the fastest vaccine ever created.
Only five years later, politicians have clearly forgotten this reality.
On Feb. 9, United States President Donald Trump and his administration issued the first of many cuts to Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to research facilities and universities across the nation.
One order issued a 15 percent cut to indirect costs for covering facilities and administrative goods on both future and existing grants. This means that money typically allocated towards the actual research would be forced to cover indirect costs, fostering inefficiency and limiting funds to make progress.
From Feb. 28 to March 28, KFF Health News found that the NIH terminated about 780 grants or parts of grants.
This direct attack on science raises questions on what kind of reality the world would face without the prioritization of research in all fields. Here’s a hint: it’s dangerous.
The trickle-down implications of the lack of research fester in the very community that hosts UGA: Athens.
In Athens-Clarke County – the home of the University of Georgia, a Carnegie Research 1 Institution – research across all disciplines is what shapes the innovation of education. Regardless, many professors find their work being scrapped due to funding cuts.
Erin Dolan, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, is one. In early March, Dolan’s two NIH grants were cancelled, one of which was a $1.25 million grant funding the study of how faculty could improve their efficiency as mentors for graduate students.
“$600,000 have already been invested in doing all the design work, doing all the careful testing and refinement to be able to do the full robust test. But, because we don’t have the last two years of funding, we can’t do that, so it’s a waste,” Dolan said.
The trickle-down implications of the lack of research fester in the very community that hosts UGA: Athens.
According to Online Athens, UGA generates “an estimated economic impact of $290 million each year in Clarke County alone. UGA is the county’s top employer, with nearly 5,000 of its employees residing in Clarke County.”
Cutting research would just be the beginning of the attack on the very infrastructure of the Athens community.
However, the best course of action research institutions such as UGA can take to fight back against the Trump administration is unclear and dangerous.
Harvard University – which resisted government control in its education – is facing the freeze of $2.2 billion in federal grants because of noncompliance. In response, the university has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to challenge the funding freeze.
But this should not be used as an excuse to not fight back. Even in unpredictable and unprecedented times – in fact, especially in them – research is crucial in ensuring the livelihood and well being of Americans. As such, research institutions need to tread lightly, but fight to continue their research and maintain their integrity.
It is an imperative battle for everyone who believes in the future.
