Their work in peril, UCLA researchers decry Trump administration funding cuts at protest
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- About 250 protesters upset over the Trump administration’s cuts to National Institutes of Health funding marched through Westwood on Tuesday.
- Some UCLA scholars who spoke at a campus rally said their work is in jeopardy.
Ushered down the street by sympathetic drivers honking their car horns, hundreds of protesters from UCLA marched through Westwood on Tuesday as part of a national day of demonstration against the Trump administration’s cuts to National Institutes of Health research funding.
The “Kill the Cuts” gatherings, organized by a coalition of labor unions, unfolded at 37 sites across the country. They were meant to draw attention to President Trump’s decision to halt billions of dollars in funding from the NIH. As with other institutions of higher education, the University of California has relied on these and other federal funds to power research on cancer, diabetes and many other diseases.
At UCLA, researchers emerged from their labs and offices and gathered in Bruin Plaza to speak about how the cuts — many targeting programs that include diversity, equity and inclusion efforts — will affect their livelihoods. Elisa Pabon said she was Colombian American and had received funding via NIH initiatives meant to promote diversity and aid scholars from underrepresented communities — programs that she said have been eliminated by Trump.
“I would not be standing here in front of you today if none of those funding mechanisms existed,” said Pabon, 30, whose behavioral pharmacology research focuses on the effects of cannabis and cannabinoids from a women’s health perspective. “That’s devastating. Because those programs are investments in people — in their future, in their potential. And they’re being ripped away.”
And, she said, her work will soon be be put on ice. Pabon, who is affiliated with the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, is about midway through an Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award fellowship. But she learned this month that financial support will end in August.
“I’m devastated,” Pabon told The Times ahead of the protest. She said that if she cannot find another funding source, she “will likely file for unemployment — and nobody’s going to hire a postdoc.”
The reductions have targeted studies on LGBTQ+ health, HIV, gender identity and vaccines, among other areas. Many cuts are tied to programs that directly or tangentially promote diversity among researchers or the study of issues that affect racial minorities.
In searing speeches, Pabon and others excoriated the Trump administration, but also urged attendees to take action, saying that lawmakers needed to hear about their dire circumstances — and the consequences of inaction. Some in the audience held signs passed out by organizers that read, “Kill the Cuts, Save Science.” There were wry homemade versions too, such as one that said, “Science. The reason you’re not dead yet.” Throughout the rally, speakers paused as the crowd chanted “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
In response to the cuts, UCLA, USC and other campuses have canceled some research efforts or rescinded some doctoral candidate and postdoctoral research position offers. Anticipating broad, across-the-board reductions in government funding, potential increased taxes on endowments, and a decline in international student enrollment under the Trump administration, campuses have also instituted across-the-board hiring freezes.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the University of California said it “values the federal investment in research and its role in driving economic growth and innovation across the nation,” and urged the Trump administration to “reinstate funding for these research grants and for Congress to continue to provide robust funding for federal research agencies and programs that improve and save lives.”
Vianca N. Rodriguez Feliciano, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the NIH, said in a statement that the department “is taking action to terminate research funding that is not aligned with NIH and HHS priorities.”
“We are dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science — which is consistent with President Trump’s goals,” she said. “As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it’s important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans.”
As the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funds from universities, including for medical and scientific research, the University of California has announced a hiring freeze and additional cuts.
The Trump administration’s biggest slashing came Feb. 7, when the NIH said it would reduce by $4 billion the annual overhead funding given to universities for medical research grants. The agency capped “indirect” funding at 15% of grants, down from roughly 60% that many California universities receive. Instead of an additional $60,000 on top of every $100,000 grant, money given for overhead would go down to $15,000. Universities use such funds to cover electricity, internet, maintenance, administrative help and, in some labs, food and cage cleaning for mice.
The Trump administration has argued that overhead fees are wasteful and implied that universities could tap into endowments to make up the losses. Campus leaders have responded that their endowments had limitations because many donors gave money only for specific specialties or departments.
Sydney Campbell, a cancer researcher and postdoctoral scholar at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, said Monday that she had started to worry about the fate of her research in February, when she saw a social media post about the 15% cap. Campbell, who studies how diet affects the development of cancer, said it’s unclear how the cuts will affect the lab where she works — it has not lost any grants — but she is concerned about possible changes.
“Indirects are really important for our ability to do science,” said Campbell, 34, who attended the rally. “We have building space we don’t pay rent for. There are the refrigeration services and the ventilation services we need to do our specialized work. Our indirect costs go to support that.”
UCLA political science professor Michael Chwe held a sign at the protest that said the university’s faculty and staff stood with its students. “The cuts to science, STEM funding and health research funding really threaten to undermine entire generations’ worth of progress in science, medicine and health,” he said. “We really need to preserve the health of our university.”
A legal challenge from nearly two dozen states has sought to reverse the drastic scaling back in NIH funding. California, Democratic-led states and academic groups sued the administration in a Massachusetts federal court in February, winning a halt to the NIH cuts. On Tuesday, the Trump administration said it was appealing the decision to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.
But the ongoing uncertainty has riled researchers.
Tara Kerin, a project scientist who works in pediatric infectious disease research at the Geffen School, told the crowd that “these cuts were made with no thought, no foresight and no reason.”
“This is an attack on science and health for all of us,” said Kerin, 47, whose work has partly focused on HIV prevention and detection in young adults. “The research done by all of us here today help billions of people all over the world. ... The cancellation of these NIH grants will not only impact current developments, but also delays future innovations.”
Before the demonstration, Kerin told The Times that as of late last year she had multiple NIH grants. But all of her ongoing ones were canceled last week, she said, and her annual contract expires at the end of June.
“It will not be renewed this year because I have no funding,” she said. “I have worked in ... public health for over 20 years. It will be the first time I’ve been unemployed since I was 16. It’s a little scary.”
The rally ended with a march to the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard near the 405 Freeway. When the group crossed from Veteran Avenue onto Wilshire, where it began demonstrating in the intersection, the scene grew testy. The beep-beeps from cars, once signs of support, grew more insistent. After about eight minutes, the protesters left the roadway, convening in front of the 17-story tower, where the oratory continued.
Traffic along the busy corridor began flowing again, but one driver — in a Tesla Model Y — rolled down her window and trained her ire on the crowd.
“I hope they shut it all down!” the woman shouted while using an obscenity.
But the protesters were listening to another speech, and none appeared to meet her gaze as she sped by.
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