
The Perelman School of Medicine has paused institutionally funded pilot grants in response to federal funding cuts, according to a Feb. 28 email obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Managing Director of Research Programs at Penn Medicine Bridget Dougherty wrote that pilot grants "supported by institutional funds will be paused until there is clarity about the resources needed to manage gaps in NIH support over the next few months" in a message sent to the Perelman School of Medicine's faculty and staff. These grants range between $25,000 and $200,000 and are designed to help researchers gain preliminary data to establish the importance of their field of inquiry before gaining additional, more substantive funding.
A Penn Medicine spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A request for comment was left with Dougherty.
"[Pilot grants] support junior scientists to get their careers launched. They are a key signal of support from the institution and a way to launch innovative projects nimbly," a Penn Medicine professor — who requested anonymity due to fear of retribution — wrote in a statement to the DP.
Director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research and professor of medicine Ronald Collman similarly characterized the purpose of the grants, and told the DP that they "enable you to get funded for the next stage" and "help people get started."
At Penn, these grants are sponsored by various institutes and centers within Penn Medicine. The funding is directed towards specific areas of study, including cardiovascular research, epigenetics, and AIDS research.
On Feb. 7, the NIH proposed a funding cut that could cost the University $240 million. While a judge temporarily halted the changes after Penn and 12 other universities brought a lawsuit against the NIH, the cut — a 15% cap on indirect costs — leaves the future of federal funding at Penn uncertain.
“NIH-funded research at Penn has enriched the world in innumerable and lifesaving ways,” said Interim Penn President J. Larry Jameson in a Feb. 11 message to the Penn community. “The reduction in funds announced by the federal government would blunt this critical, lifesaving work.”
Perelman School of Medicine professor and PennCHOP Microbiome Program Co-Director Frederic Bushman attributed the University's decision to pause pilot grants in order to "reserve the funds for helping faculty who really have run out of money" in light of "the present climate."
He added that pilot grants make up a "small piece" of research funding at Penn and while pausing them is "not ideal," the impact did not compare to the "massive loss" of the NIH cuts.
Both Bushman and Collman agreed that communication from the University remains difficult as Penn responds to decisions "coming out of Washington."
“University leadership — in this incredibly challenging time — is doing a really good job of trying to do their best to plan for the short term future,” Collman said. “[Senior] leadership communicates with the department chair, center, and institute heads who then communicate with the faculty."
However, Collman added that he was "not sure" that communication was taking place "across departments.”
Both faculty members asserted that due to federal funding cuts, Penn may not be able to maintain the same levels of funding as it did in past years. Bushman noted that the effects of "large budget cuts" were "inevitable" and would "affect everybody."
“The University cannot generate money out of thin air. Philanthropy can help some, but it can't replace it all,” Collman said. “The endowment is used for other things like scholarships and you use up an endowment pretty quickly.”
Earlier this month, the DP reported that Penn was instituting cuts to graduate admissions — including a 35% cut to graduate admissions at Penn Medicine — in response to recent federal actions.
"We will update you as further guidance emerges," Dougherty concluded in her message. "Our sincerest apologies for this change. We look forward to reviewing your proposals at a future date."
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