Professors shiver in the cold post-funding freeze

The National Institutes of Health has sustained scientific and medical research since 1887. In the past year, the NIH has federally decreased five billion dollars across all U.S colleges.

Due to the uncertainty of funding, many professors are speaking out against the feeling of being smothered in their research. The funding cuts have heavily impacted Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Now, researchers at these schools reflect on what happened to their money and what this means for their programs.

“ I've had a lot of funding throughout my career; there are always peaks and valleys, so we're always reassessing priorities,” Dr. Bloom, a professor and Chair of Biology at UNC, stated.

Public universities are struggling to combat the issue of decreased funding while keeping researchers employed. There is a large concern for the future of how colleges will operate.

“Pre-med track is still extremely attractive to students. Health care is something that, as a society, is not going away…, as we live longer and longer and face health crises and pandemics,” Dr. Bloom elaborated.

Healthcare is at the base of society's fundamental needs; therefore, prioritization of healthcare may change or sway, but it will always serve the people. UNC and Duke have relied on the NIH for countless projects, including their college-level summer education programs.

“The federal funding has been an excellent way to really understand what it is that we were trying to do, and to answer a lot of research questions and develop our models,” Dr. Kyle, a professor at Duke in the subject of Biomedical Engineering, explained.

Through the act of taking away funding, universities have had to scramble to get their projects and funds reinstated. Duke's multitude of summer programs, including Outreach Design Education (ODE), were able to survive due to the University's private funding.

“Our dean and our department chair made life so much easier for us. I’m tremendously grateful to them for just stepping in right away, saying, ‘Nope, we’ve got this taken care of.’ It wasn’t even a debate. This is a part of our school and our university, we’re not going to let it slide,” Dr. Kyle commented. 

The tight-knit monetary community within schools provides support and supplements the funds to bring the school’s wishes to fruition. This is important because schools become more appealing when they have the money to process these projects.

“Showing younger people, regardless of what school they come from, that they can do this sort of work and that this is why it's worthwhile to take your math and physics classes, because eventually you can do stuff like this with that knowledge that you are accruing,” Dr. Kyle mentioned with regard to the ODE program at Duke.

Grants and funding are still low; however, emails and contracts have been sent to the NIH in an attempt to instill higher funding for these universities. Funds can be difficult to secure for research, which is why universities are seeking resources that don’t depend on the state or the federal government.

“I’m continuing to explore federal funding opportunities, but looking more at philanthropic opportunities, looking more at foundations that are hopefully more sustainable and less dependent on what might go on with the federal government,” Dr. Kyle remarked.

In an instance of economic uncertainty, funding from alternative sources could provide the comfort of knowing medical problems are being solved to help those in need.

“I just got my notice that the grant was officially reinstated. That puts us in a much better spot for our old activities in general,” Dr. Kyle reported.

The federal funding only pays for a portion of the work done at Duke. So with the external funding, there will be a lot of movement in research.

“The content that we develop with [teachers] goes back to their schools and impacts a huge number of students. And this is how we have kind of an exponential return on what we do within ODE,” Dr. Kyle elaborated. 

Students are getting a higher education from teachers who attend these programs at Duke, which is all supported by Duke University. Even without the funding, Duke was still able to sustain and contribute back to the younger population.

“I see in your generation, you care about mankind and the earth, and about humanity. So I am hopeful that it will be a broader view of what's important in life that will take over in the next generation,” Dr. Bloom concluded.