Many of the nation’s treatments for cancer, brain disorders and infectious diseases began in a Maryland laboratory.
The largest source of funding for this work has come from the National Institutes of Health – including some $2.4 billion last year. Johns Hopkins University topped the list of recipients that also included the University of Maryland and more than 140 others. Nih himself is housed in Bethesda.
So when President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 21 that essentially freezes the short-term grant process and limits other scientific communications and publications, it sent shivers down the collective spine of the research and biotechnology communities .
Although pauses in agency activities are common during a change in administration, this directive, which lasts until February 1, struck the scientific community as broader. The ripple effects could be lasting, said Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist and senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
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“It’s easier to break something than to fix it,” she said. “There may be justifiable panic.”
Gronvall noted the implications for the country as a whole, with research dollars going to every state. She said the United States is “unparalleled” in scientific research that results in new vaccines, disease treatments and other health defenses.
During the most acute part of the coronavirus pandemic, for example, she said that meant that “countries that didn’t have such a company weren’t going to be near the line to get therapies and medicines.” vaccines. It can be terrible, but it’s reality. »
The executive order from Dorothy Fink, the acting chief of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, does not stop research if it has at least partial funding. Outside of the lab, there are currently more than 2,400 clinical trials underway that are based in Baltimore or among locations included in a larger study.
The orders say a pause will give the new administration time to “Consider his plan for managing federal policy and public communications processes. “
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Andy Pekosza flu and covid researcher at Hopkins who receives funding from the NIH, said the pause includes sections of the study, which he said are not responsible for “marking” the grant proposals. No scores, no subsidies.
“It’s meant to be temporary, which won’t have a huge impact on grant reviews,” said Pekosz, professor and vice chair of Hopkins’ department of microbiology and molecular immunology. “But if the grants are not reviewed and marked, then they cannot be funded, so a long-term pause on the study sections could be devastating.”
Kim Hoppe, a Hopkins spokeswoman, said, “We are reviewing NIH’s actions to understand their implications for our institution and those we serve – our students, faculty, staff and patients.”
There are other moves by the Trump administration that could affect the scientific community, such as a review of how many scientists can continue to work for the NIH and efforts to end DEI, or diversity, actions and to inclusion measures. Many scientists consider these efforts essential to understanding whether therapies work on everyone.
Health secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized vaccines and suggested focusing on chronic diseases over infectious diseases, such as the strain of bird flu currently circulating.
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A long-term pause on research dollars could not only delay or end some scientific discoveries, but hurt the economy. In Maryland, NIH dollars produce some $5.7 billion in economic activity, according to United for medical researcha coalition of research institutions and advocates for NIH funding.
State records show the state, which has worked to foster the biotech industry, now includes 3,600 life sciences and related organizations and companies, including giants like AstraZeneca, with 50,000 direct jobs .
Many public and private institutions obtain at least some NIH funding, including Morgan State and Towson Universities; Medstar Health; and the Lieber Institute for Brain Development. Several University of Maryland campuses receive funding.
“We are closely monitoring this situation and hope it will be resolved quickly,” said Michael Sandler, a spokesman for the University System of Maryland. “Academic researchers rely heavily on the federal grant process for their work, which is essential to the health and well-being of our nation.”
The University of Maryland, Baltimore, has just opened A new building in its Baltimore bioparkwhere system researchers collaborate on new technologies that can be transformed into therapies and devices. He joins similar work at Hopkins and other incubators around the state.
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Local business leaders often tout the growing industry, which they often credit with federal funding.
“We are a global leader in life sciences for many reasons,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “But federal investment in our innovation is one of those critical drivers.”
Daniel Leaderman, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Commerce, said officials don’t yet know the impact of the executive orders.
But, he said, “there is bipartisan support in Congress for biomedical research and continuing these investments is essential to maintaining American leadership in this area.”