The Dire Consequences of Science Without DEI

► For more, visit Mother Jones

The Trump administration is coming after science.

All sorts of research—on topics the administration may deem inappropriate, or conducted by scientists on “DEI” grants—appears to be on the chopping block. Isabel Low, for instance, a neuroscience postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University, says her funding is set to dry up in about a year. In preparing for her next career step, she was looking to apply for three grants, two of which were open to researchers from underrepresented backgrounds, including women: NIH’s MOSAIC and BRAIN Initiative awards. Now, she’s not sure those awards will be available. After the inauguration, “the web pages for these grants were just disappearing in real time,” she says. (Applications for these grants appear to have been restored, for now.)

Low’s research, which focuses on how memories form in the brain, isn’t related to DEI as a subject area. “I’m just an underrepresented person in academia trying to do this work,” she says, adding, “This just hurts research broadly across the board.”

One professor at a Midwestern university, who also spoke anonymously, says he recently drew upon NIH’s supplement to enhance diversity to hire a postdoc at the end of January. But as of this week, the money hasn’t yet arrived. “If I had to bet,” the professor says, that money probably isn’t going to show up.” While he plans to continue supporting the postdoc, he says, at a public university, “There’s only so much moving around money one can do.”

Research on topics like women’s health, health disparities, environmental justice, or historic inequities may be especially vulnerable, researchers worry. The Midwestern professor, for instance, has a grant proposal up for review at the NIH related to women’s health. Now he’s concerned the grant won’t get green-lit by the administration, at least in full. “I’m not sure studies of women’s health are going to fit broadly into what they want to fund,” he says.

#science #research #health

--

For more awardwinning independent reporting, visit Mother Jones