The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, is the second richest medical foundation in the world.Credit: ImageBroker / Alamy
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) – One of the largest private donors to the world of basic biomedical research – suddenly canceled an initiative of 60 million US dollars aimed at stimulating the diversity of sciences in universities. He also rubbed the mention of the program for his website.
`Éhurissant ”: American CDCs order gender -related terms in scientific articles
In doing so, the donor ended subsidies at 104 US universities approximately in the middle of a six -year financing cycle without any explanation. This decision has disrupted many scientists, who are in shock after US President Donald Trump has issued an order flow in recent weeks Targeting diversity, policies and “illegal”, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the country, affirming that they decrease “the importance of individual merit, ability, hard work and Determination when selecting people for jobs and services in the key sectors of the American company ”. In the wake of these orders, American scientific agencies have ordered staff members to strip Dei’s mentions on government websites and examine federal research subsidies This violates decrees in order to revise or cancel it.
The fact that a so -massive private funder, who does not receive federal funding, reduces support at such a sensitive moment “is so disappointing”, explains Danielle Beckman, neuroscientist at the University of California in Davis. “It is now the moment when we need private donors to fill the void that the new administration has left” by threatening the funding of public sciences.
An HHMI spokesperson confirmed that the institution had ended the initiative, called inclusive Excellence 3, on February 5, adding that HHMI “remains determined to support exceptional scientists and talented students to become scientists” to through its other programs. The spokesman did not respond to NatureThe questions about the reasons why IE3 was canceled, why HHMI deleted all of its web pages referring to the program or on the distress of scientists during termination.
A “refuge”?
With an endowment of $ 24 billion, HHMI is the second richest medical research in the world. Its prominent investigative program offers each of its winners $ 11 million on a renewable seven -year term to conduct revolutionary research.
RNA biologist loses a disability file against Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Its IE3 initiative organized its winning universities in seven different “learning communities” to encourage collaboration on projects. Each community of around 15 American institutions received nearly $ 9 million and was responsible for deciding how and where it wanted to invest this money. For example, one of these communities was trying to create more robust mentoring programs that would help stimulate students’ results.
Although Hhmi did not say why it ended ie3, Trump’s January 21 order on Dei Could have played a role. He called on the American agencies to encourage the private sector to end “illegal discrimination of Dei”. He ordered each agency, within four months, to produce a list of nine companies, non -profit organizations, “foundations with assets of $ 500 million or more” or other private institutions for any civil compliance surveys.
To understand the importance of IE3, Nature contacted nine researchers listed as a principal researcher on one of the program’s subsidies. Some did not respond, and the others refused to comment or asked for anonymity because they feared draw attention to their university in the current political climate.
In the United States, “we know that we have a problem to keep students STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), in particular with the way schooling is comfortable”, and this money helped bring together institutions for Solving the problem, says that one of the researcher members. “All the time we had built – gone.”
The decision has left the scientists in an obligation, because it seems that federal funding for research linked to any way to diversity and inclusion will be dried up after Trump’s repression. “There were rumors that this would happen to the subsidies funded by the federal government, but many people thought that private foundations could be a sure refuge of all this,” said the same researcher.
The fact that HHMI has not only ended the program but also suffered ie3 of its website was particularly discouraging, says Beckman. “It is as if it had never existed.” In the past six months, HHMI has also deleted a destination page where it has declared its commitment to Dei and published demographic data on its beneficiaries and staff members.