Science Caught in the Crossfire of Federal Funding Freezes

Federal funding freezes to universities are being portrayed by the new presidential administration as a temporary measure to force policy changes and address antisemitism on campuses, but scientists see long-term negative impacts on a tradition of partnerships between the government and university researchers dating back to World War II that made the U.S. the most technologically powerful country on earth. “Researchers get a short-term punishment, but the long-term costs, the real punishments, are for the public who will not get the benefits of the discoveries,” said Ronald Collman, MD, a professor of Medicine and director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research.