On Jan. 22, the Trump administration temporarily imposed restrictions on National Institute of Health (NIH) activities, including cancelling grant review panels, instituting a hiring freeze, pausing communications and banning travel. The Trump administration also attempted to put a pause on all federal grants and loans, excluding Social Security and Medicare, but two federal judges temporarily blocked the directive.
More than any other university in the country, Hopkins will be significantly affected by the pause on federal grants and the disruption to the NIH. Hopkins receives the most funding from the NIH of all universities in the nation, exceeding $800 million in 2023, causing research efforts to be acutely affected by the pause in grant funding. In addition to grants from the NIH, other Hopkins divisions, including the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute, have also received federal funding for initiatives ranging from research to academic programs.
With the pauses to grant review panels, researchers — who have often been waiting months for grant approvals — cannot access critical funding needed for their research, resulting in projects being delayed and underfunded. The consequences for scientific progress could be catastrophic, especially in fields like biomedical research, where timing and resources are often key.
Research is a selling point for students seeking a Hopkins education, and over 80% of Hopkins undergraduates participate in at least one research experience during their time here. Following the Trump’s administration's flurry of executive orders and the pause on grant money, Hopkins students have been impacted, with some losing post-baccalaureate jobs, student stipends or internship opportunities at federal health agencies. The loss of student stipends specifically undermines the democratization of research opportunities at the University, disproportionately affecting those who cannot afford to work without compensation.
A pause on some functions is not unprecedented, and has been done by previous administrations during the transition, but the Trump administration has implemented a longer and broader pause that has hindered research efforts and gone further than previous pauses, such as in pausing grant review panels, which has never been done before by executive action.
The Trump administration has claimed that the NIH pause is temporary and while that may be true, none of us should be surprised if after the pause, certain research and certain grants become politicized and discontinued.
In going further than ever before, Trump and his administration have shown a blatant disregard for the scientific process and injected politics into unbiased research. It should come as no surprise that the Trump administration has reportedly asked projects receiving federal funding if they participate in “illegal DEI” or “environmental justice”, promote gender ideology or promote or support abortion. Research considering how environmental issues disproportionately affect minorities, HIV/AIDS, transgender care or abortion medications will undoubtedly be targeted by the administration in a malicious move that ignores the thousands of people and critical research affected.
From dismissing complaints pertaining to banning books, labeling institutions of higher education as places of “radical Leftist indoctrination”, and now hindering research, Trump has repeatedly used politics and culture wars to erode intellectual and scientific curiosity.
For proof of what will happen to science, look no further than Trump’s first term. During his term, the Trump administration proposed steep cuts to NIH and National Science Foundation funding, restricted certain academics from sitting on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science and Advisory Board in favor of industry officials, and retaliated against scientists.
In addition to the pause and actions by the Trump administration, the rhetoric Trump has used to describe the scientific community and federal agencies signals a shift in how he views the role of science in our society. If allowed to continue unchecked, this will undermine research that drives progress and innovation.
The exodus of talent and expertise from federal institutions, as a result of the Trump administration's forthcoming research policies, will leave us less prepared to face future crises — be it health-related, environmental or technological. From the COVID-19 vaccine to CRISPR gene editing, scientific research has protected and improved countless lives. Scientists have done their job. Now, the government must do theirs and provide scientists with the tools and funding they need.
We cannot let political leaders stifle the pursuit of knowledge. This is a time for scientists, students and citizens alike to pay attention and speak up in defense of science.
