The University of Wisconsin offers a wide range of research programs for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in each summer. These programs typically provide either academic credit or pay to their researchers, but recent federal funding cuts leave those receiving compensation unsure.
In April, President Donald Trump terminated about $12 million in research funding, through executive orders, that had contributed to UW research, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
A federal lawsuit was filed against the National Institute of Health and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by the Attorney General of Wisconsin, Josh Kaul. The lawsuit argues that the NIH cut four research grants that accounted for nearly half of UW’s research budget, according to WPR. Kaul, along with 15 other states have filed to restore the funding for each respective university’s programs.
With this, the National Science Foundation also canceled thousands of grants. This means that over $1 billion in grant money is no longer being awarded to research institutes to keep their labs running, according to Urban Institute.
Due to the unexpected budget reduction, programs at UW have faced challenges. Specifically, research in areas on COVID-19 vaccine development, transgender youth mental health and social media’s impact on adolescent physical and mental wellbeing have experienced a delay in progress, according to WPR.
For UW research students, the effects of these grant terminations are immediate and more personal. Many students use these paid positions to gain experience, academic credit and support themselves.
Research positions at UW have long been a competitive opportunity to come by, and now students may be navigating a tougher landscape, UW staff member Bryan Wakefield said.
“Getting undergraduate research spots is very competitive. [My job] is to give them a bit of a leg up,” Wakefield said.
Knowing this information, and the recent cuts, it is very likely that securing undergraduate and graduate research spots will be a bigger challenge than it already is, Wakefield said.
For UW student researcher Lexi Sevart, her work at the Social Kids Lab has exposed her to the changing student work scene.
“I think in general there are more research assistants getting unpaid, which can be difficult,” Servart said.
She explained that while she is fortunate enough to work in a lab without needing financial compensation, others may not be in the position to do so. Some research assistants, specifically students, may not have the availability to take on research jobs without pay due to tuition payments and monthly bills.
Further, grant removals are impacting how labs function.
“One of my professors was talking about their lab — they were having to deal with their grants being taken away, and definitely [having to] make some changes to the way they run their studies,” Sevart said.
She said these changes can cause a full reshaping of how labs will be run, the amount of staff able to be taken on and more.
This cuts mainly impact principal investigators, but also trickles down to undergraduate and graduate students who rely on these labs for compensation or field experience.
Junior undergraduate researcher at UW Natalie Hanka works at the Daniel Matson Lab, where she is researching cancerous tumors — carcinomas — that are located on a layer of the uterine lining called the myometrium. While her lab has not been directly affected, Hanka said the focus of the lab may incur funding threats.
“It is a woman only cancer,” Hanka said. “So there is a kind of that implication [it could be defunded].”
According to Urban Institute, these grant cancellations have been primarily focused on defunding DEI related labs. Thus, Hanka’s research being more specific to one gender could cause funding cuts to come in the future due to the NIH and NSF budgets likely being lower for a few years.
Nonetheless, research labs at UW anticipated these cuts coming. Hanka said the NIH told research labs to use their budgets to full potential as funds from fiscal year 2023-2024 would likely not roll over to the present year.
“All of these labs just kind of drained out all their funding [in preparation],” she said. “But, it obviously doesn’t make the repercussions any less challenging.”
Both student researchers acknowledged they were not facing funding limitations as of the present, but there is no stopping them from rapidly approaching. Organizations like the NIH and NSF forecast more challenges in the coming fiscal year, Hanka said.
During these times, UW has given undergraduates resources to assist in entering research labs.
UW’s Bryan Wakefield highlighted his event, Intro to Research, that aims to help students get a coveted research position.
Each fall and spring semesters, the workshop helps students improve their resumé, research faculty members when applying to their labs and following up to secure their research seat, according to the UW website.
Undergraduate and graduate research opportunities are designed to provide students with valuable field experience, but securing a position can be highly selective.
“There are a lot of people who would love to get involved in research, but unfortunately [cannot],” said Sevart.
With tools such as the Intro to Research, UW aspires to help ease this taxing process, according to Wakefield.
