Critical health and science research is on the chopping block as Trump actions trigger shutdowns and confusion

Universities that do breakthrough-level studies are scrambling to understand the effects as their funding agencies slash their budgets.

Scientists, faculty and staff at Emory University received an alarming email Saturday: An announcement of funding caps from the National Institutes of Health meant scientists and their labs at research institutions across the US would need to tighten their belts. For the Atlanta-based school, a preeminent research university that specializes in health and medicine — including cancer, vaccines and drugs to prevent and treat HIV — the new federal cap will decrease funding by $140 million a year. “To put it simply, this development could affect nearly every academic unit at Emory, with both immediate and long-term consequences for our scientific research, clinical trials, patient care, and other academic pursuits,” the memo said. It’s just one of the far-reaching, trickle-down effects of President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive actions that threaten to slow or halt health and science research in the United States, risking Americans’ well-being and putting the country at risk of falling behind on critical advances. Across the many federal agencies that fund or conduct scientific research — or use science to make rules affecting human health, the environment and public safety — multiple scientists describe to CNN and on social media a fear of staff getting laid off or losing funding. Universities that do breakthrough-level studies are scrambling to understand the effects as their funding agencies slash their budgets.