UCLA researchers denounce Trump administration for cutting funding amid protests

Hundreds of protesters from UCLA traveled through part of Westwood on Tuesday to meet the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Institutes of Health, greeting hundreds of protesters from UCLA on the streets.

The “Kill Cut” gathering organized by the Union Alliance was held in 37 locations across the country. They were supposed to draw attention to President Trump’s decision to pay billions of dollars from the NIH. Like other higher education institutions, the University of California relies on these and other federal funds to power research for cancer, diabetes and many other diseases.

At UCLA, researchers come out of their labs and offices and gather in Bruin Plaza to talk about how cutting, including diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, can affect their livelihoods. Elisa Pabon said she is Colombian-American and received funding through the NIH initiative, a scholar in a diverse and underrepresented community — a plan she said has been canceled by Trump.

“If these funding mechanisms were not present, I wouldn’t have stood in front of you today,” said Pabon, 30. “It’s devastating.” Because these plans are investments in people – in their future, potential. They were deprived. ”

And, she said, her work will soon be on ice. Pabon, a subsidiary of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, is on the way with an Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award Scholarship. But she learned this month that financial support will end in August.

“I’m very upset,” Paben told The Times before the protest. If she can’t find another source of funding, she said, “would probably file for unemployment – ​​no one would hire a postdoctoral fellow.”

The targeted study of LGBTQ+ health, HIV, gender identity and vaccines has been studied. Many cuts are related to programs that directly or tangentially promote researcher diversity or affect minorities.

In the theatrical speech, Pabon and others mocked the Trump administration but also urged attendees to take action, saying lawmakers need to hear about their horrible situation and the consequences of inaction. The signs hidden in some of the audience were circulated by organizers, which read: “Kill the cuts, save science.” There are also homemade versions, such as one saying, “Science. You haven’t died yet.” Throughout the rally, the speaker paused, when the crowd shouted, “Shameful! Shameful! Shameful!”

In response to the cuts, UCLA, USC and other campuses canceled some research efforts or some PhD candidate and postdoctoral research positions. A wide range of government funding, a comprehensive reduction in government funding, potential tax increases in donations and a decline in international student enrollment under the Trump administration, and the campus has also established a board-wide recruitment freeze.

In a statement, a spokesman for the University of California said, “It values ​​federal investment in research and its role in driving economic growth and innovation across the country” and urged the Trump administration to “restore funding for these research grants and allow Congress to continue to provide strong funding for federal research institutions to improve and save lives.”

NIH did not respond to a request for comment.

The biggest cut in the Trump administration was on February 7, when the NIH said it would reduce $4 billion in annual indirect funding to provide medical research grants to universities. The institution limits “indirect” funding to 15% of grants, down from about 60% of what many California universities receive. In addition to every $100,000 grant, the expenses will be reduced to $15,000. The university uses such funds to cover electricity, the Internet, maintenance, management help, and in some labs, the food and cages of mice are cleaned.

The “Kill Cut” protests at UCLA are part of a National Day condemning the Trump administration’s cuts to NIH funding.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

The Trump administration believes that overhead is a waste, meaning universities can use donations to make up for losses. Campus leaders responded that their donations had limitations because many donors contributed only to specific majors or departments.

Sydney Campbell, a cancer researcher and postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, said Monday that she had begun to worry about the fate of February’s research when she saw an article on social media about the 15% cap. Campbell, who studies how diet affects cancer development, said it is not clear how the cuts will affect the lab she works in — and no grants were lost — but she fears possible changes.

“Indirect aspects are really important to our scientific competence,” said Campbell, 34. “We have building spaces that don’t pay rent. There are some refrigeration services, and we need ventilation services needed for professional work. Our overhead costs support that.”

Michael Chwe, a UCLA political science professor, held a sign during the protest saying that the university’s faculty and staff stood with students. “Science, STEM funding and health research funding cuts do have the potential to undermine scientific, medical and health advances throughout the generation,” he said. “We do need to maintain the health of the university.”

Legal challenges in nearly twenty countries are trying to reverse the huge scale of NIH funding. California, a Democratic-led state and academic group sued the government in February in Massachusetts federal court, winning the NIH cut shutdown. On Tuesday, the Trump administration said the decision appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

But the ongoing uncertainty angered the researchers.

Tara Kerin, a project scientist who works in pediatric infectious diseases at the Geffen School, told the crowd: “These cuts are done without thought, without vision and without reason.”

Project scientist Tara Kerin spoke at a rally on the UCLA campus on Tuesday.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

“It’s a scientific and health attack on all of us,” said Kerin, 47, who focused partly on preventing HIV and HIV in young people. “Today, the research we all do here has helped billions of people around the world. …Canceling these NIH grants will not only impact current developments, but will delay future innovation.”

Prior to the demonstration, Karin told the Times that she had received several NIH grants as of the end of last year. But all of her ongoing people have been cancelled and her annual contract expires at the end of June, she said.

“I won’t renew this year because I don’t have the funds,” she said. “I’ve been working in…public health for over 20 years. It’s going to be my first time losing my job since I was 16. It’s a little scary.”

The rally ended with a procession of federal buildings on Wilshire Boulevard near Highway 405. The scene became very angry when the group started a demonstration at the intersection from Senior Avenue across Wilshire. The beeping of the car once showed any signs of support and would become more persistent. About eight minutes later, protesters left the road and called in front of the 17th-story tower, where they continued.

A dog participated in a “kill layoff” protest at UCLA on Tuesday.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Traffic along the busy corridor began to flow again, but a driver (in Tesla model) rolled down the window and trained anger at the crowd.

“I hope they’ve shut everything down!” the woman yelled as she was obscene.

But protesters were listening to another speech and no one encountered her gaze as she accelerated.