Driven by federal efforts to reduce government spending, cuts to federal research funding from the National Institute of Health and for the National Science Foundation have impacted faculty and student researchers. Some researchers at Ithaca College said this could limit opportunities for practical research, disrupt ongoing projects and potentially discourage future scientists from entering the field.

As part of a broader initiative to reduce spending, NIH has lowered its reimbursement rates for funds that help maintain lab facilities and administrative support. Simultaneously, NSF has faced budget reductions and hiring freezes.

Lisa Corewyn, associate professor in the Department of Biology, said federal research funding is essential to affording resources like specialized lab equipment in need of maintenance or travel funds for fieldwork in research projects. 

“Much of our research that we do in the sciences costs money to conduct,” Corewyn said, “I particularly do research in both a field setting in Costa Rica, for example, I study wild howler monkeys … and I do lab work, we collect fecal samples and other biological samples and analyze them in our lab. So students get an opportunity to do two things, and that is rare.” 

Te-Wen Lo, associate professor in the Department of Biology, said research initiatives could be forced to shrink or close entirely. She said this could especially be concerning for students looking to gain research experience before applying to graduate or medical school. 

“The grants … help contribute to the resources that are used in the lab,” Lo said. “It helps support students to go to conferences, present their work. Some research would have to be scaled down or stopped, and some graduate programs … they would not be able to accept as many graduate students.”

Sophomore biology major Ava Remoll said NIH funding helps the college support events where students can get experience in scientific work like the Department of Biology’s annual undergraduate research conference.

“Getting hands-on experience is crucial for students like me who want to pursue research in the future,” Remoll said. “That’s a really good opportunity for us to get comfortable presenting and talk to other people who do similar work. … Without the NIH, we would have a hard time paying for that kind of stuff.” 

Sophomore biology major Sophia Politano said research experience is crucial for students planning to apply to graduate programs as the admissions process is competitive. She said that without these opportunities, students may struggle to differentiate themselves, making it harder to secure spots in graduate programs. 

“I plan on getting a higher education, a PhD, soon after I finish my undergraduate … and those sorts of degrees help students such as myself who want to have better positions in the STEM field,” Politano said. “So the possibility of me not being able to get that is pretty stressful, and it just kind of not only impacts students who want those higher up positions in the field, but anyone who wants to even just go to school.” 

Corewyn said it is important for students to not lose hope despite the uncertainty around research funding making it harder for students to decide whether they want to stay in science.

“Fight, fight, fight,” Corewyn said. “You have a voice, we need to fight against these kinds of actions as a scientific community, whether we’re undergraduates, graduate students or faculty researchers. I think a lot of … potentially brilliant students and scientists will probably not even enter the field or any of these fields, given the current landscape going forward, and that will be a huge loss.”