Grant cuts may cause many graduate students to continue their studies abroad, putting future cures and scientific discoveries in jeopardy, one University of Maryland professor says.
Anne Simon, a professor whose grant to study a disease killing citrus trees across the country has been paused, said some of the college seniors she teaches have had their graduate school acceptances rescinded.
Many don鈥檛 know what to do next, she said, and some may consider looking at overseas programs, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e not going to be coming back. It鈥檚 devastating for science.鈥�
The Department of Government Efficiency, a commission President Donald Trump created in his second term tasked with slashing federal spending, has spearheaded changes to the federal workforce that have also come with pauses or cancellations for grants and cuts to the programs that they pay for.
Research grants fund graduate students, Simon said, so when there鈥檚 a pause or cancellation tied to research funding, 鈥渆specially in the medical fields, we are not going to be training the students of the future, who are going to be the people working at biotech companies, working in other industries, faculty at universities. And right now, we鈥檙e literally stopping the training of these students.鈥�
As a result, Simon said people are 鈥渓ooking abroad right now,鈥� and there aren鈥檛 ongoing searches to fill faculty positions.
Students from around the world attend American colleges and universities with the hope of advancing research and unlocking new discoveries, but Simon said there may not be funding for those roles, so 鈥渘ow those students won鈥檛 be coming, and instead, it鈥檚 going to be exactly the opposite.鈥�
The cuts, Simon said, are 鈥渄evastating for graduate education,鈥� because graduate programs
“can only take maybe 25% of the students we would normally take.鈥�
A postdoctoral researcher she works with, who鈥檚 from India, was offered a job at USDA, Simon said. His wife was offered one too, and they bought a house, eager to start in their new roles.
鈥淭hey were thrilled and then they were fired. 鈥� It鈥檚 almost impossible for these people to find jobs, because there鈥檚 so many people who鈥檝e been let go,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e losing this amazing brain drain right now, because if we can’t find jobs here in the U.S., people are going to go overseas and they’re not going to come back,” Simon added.
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