Novel therapeutics for lethal, chronic diseases. Containment of a particularly aggressive brain cancer. Technology that helps to determine the habitability of Europa. Imaging techniques to uncover tectonic activity deep beneath our feet.
This is just a tiny sample of the UC Santa Barbara research projects abruptly terminated by a slew of deep budget cuts to the federal agencies that support them. These and future budget cuts for science research were the topic of discussion at a Unite for Science and Research town hall meeting sponsored by the United Academic Workers local 4811 along with the campus, and featuring a visit by Rep. Salud Carbajal and comments from UCSB Vice Chancellor for Research Rachel Segalman.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen at this point,” said Lisa Månsson, a materials graduate-student researcher who was working on a promising potential treatment for glioblastoma — an aggressive type of malignant brain tumor — when both of her labs’ funding was cut. “All of a sudden there is no money left for me to continue this project, and there is no one else after me to take over this work. To watch science like this stagnate is really devastating.”
Research at universities across the nation is threatened by Trump Administration cuts.