A University of Rhode Island biomedical research program for disadvantaged first-year and second-year students stands on uneasy ground after the Trump administration froze funding under the National Institutes of Health, which the program receives funding through.
Research funding cuts are projected to result in an annual loss of $4.8 million for URI, according to a Tuesday press release from the Rhode Island Senate. The press release overviewed the impact the recently proposed NIH funding caps may hold on institutions like URI.
URI has already lost millions of dollars of funding under NIH, putting the Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Educational Diversity program at stake for a possible loss of funding in the future, according to program director Samantha Meenach.
An NIH cut would completely wipe the program away, because ESTEEMED is run entirely off of grant money, according to Meenach.
Each ESTEEMED program grant year runs from May 1 to April 30, according to Meenach. While this year’s grant is secured, there are no promises the program will still be intact come next year, with the deadline approaching in three months.
“It takes an extraordinary amount of work to even apply for one of these programs, let alone implement a program and recruit students and all the work that the students put into it,” Meenach said. “The thought of it going away is devastating.”
The goal of ESTEEMED is to provide disadvantaged students with support and opportunities for research they wouldn’t otherwise have access to, according to Meenech.
ESTEEMED has helped to provide students with career-altering opportunities, including Hamzeh Tanbakji, a second-year engineering major and first-generation college student.
“It’s sad, because this program has been a very big help, not only because of the mentorship, but also financially,” Tanbakji said. “[ESTEEMED] is basically what’s allowing us to attend the school.”
ESTEEMED not only provides resources for students interested in research, it also helps allow for students to understand what research is and how they can use it in the future, according to Shaily Quiroa Gamez, a second year electrical engineering major.
“I’m a first-generation college student, so I never had somebody tell me what research is,” Gamez said. “ESTEEMED kind of provides that exposure and gives out a lot of information for students.”
Before joining ESTEEMED, Gamez said she had no exposure to research. The program has given her an opportunity to understand how she can implement research into her future career as an electrical engineer.
“If the research funding is taken away, there will be less possibilities for freshmen and sophomores to be told that they should pursue careers in research,” Gamez said. “There will be less advocacy for minorities, to pursue PhDs or higher education in general.”
ESTEEMED is not the only URI program that is facing this worry, according to Meenach. The Maximizing Access to Research Careers Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research program, and The Hands-on Education and Research for Biomedical and Analytical Learning program are both NIH funded like ESTEEMED.
Program cuts for any of these groups would extend past students, impacting the University in whole including staff members at URI, according to Meenach.
“[Program cuts] are going to negatively impact the university’s faculty and staff,” Meenach said. “I have a program coordinator who will lose her job.”
With high levels of uncertainty, researchers and students are limited in what they can do, according to Meenech.
