UCSD preps for slashed budget amid research funding cuts
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UC San Diego is bracing for a bleak financial future as new federal policies, spending cuts and grant freezes threaten the university's public health research engine.
Why it matters: UCSD drives medical innovation and treatments of diseases, educates health professionals, and provides health care and thousands of jobs that boost the local economy.
Driving the news: The National Institutes of Health has terminated millions of dollars in research grants at UCSD and San Diego State University.
- In the past month, 50 research grants at UCSD have been disrupted, along with a concerning rise in payment delays, according to Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.
- The university has frozen hiring, delayed construction of research buildings, and is preparing to lose more than $500 million annually with up to a 12.5% cut to its $9 billion budget. That hit would hurt research and teaching, and threaten campus expansion, per the Union-Tribune.
- UCSD was also forced to stop guaranteeing research funding for incoming graduate students, the U-T reported.
Zoom in: Some of the affected grants include clinical trials and studies related to HIV treatment and prevention, domestic violence against pregnant women and LGBTQ+ health, as reported by the U-T.
- Researchers at other universities, a public health advocacy organization and a higher education workers union have since sued the NIH over the cuts targeting diversity, equity and gender.
The big picture: "Science is under attack," particularly research related to infectious diseases, UCSD professor and researcher Dr. Davey Smith told Axios.
- Those diseases hit racial, ethnic and gender minorities and low-income communities first, so eliminating these research grants further alienates those people, but it doesn't stop there, he said.
- "When you take away the research that aims to help the most vulnerable communities to be healthier … Then you make us all less safe."
The other side: The NIH told Axios it is terminating research funding that is "not aligned with NIH and HHS priorities," to restore the agency's tradition of "upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science."
- "As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it's important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans. We will leave no stone unturned in identifying the root causes of the chronic disease epidemic."
Threat level: University of California researchers conduct nearly 9% of all U.S. academic research, and federal funds account for more than half of UC's research awards, per the university.
- UCSD is one of the top recipients of NIH money in California.
Friction point: California is one of 22 states suing to block caps on NIH grants covering overhead at universities and medical research centers. A federal judge has granted a temporary freeze.
- A federal judge also halted the Trump Administration's plan to cut more than $11 billion COVID-era public health grants in response to a lawsuit filed by California and other states.
- The UC Board of Regents, along with other universities, also filed suit against NIH over funding cuts.
What we're watching: While taking legal action is a tool to protect the research, Smith said the effectiveness is limited as students are questioning their futures in public health, work is already halted and other grants won't progress as scientists move on.
- "The damage is already being done," he said.