Purdue University researcher Danzhou Yang is exploring a natural check on cancer that could be used to stop the disease. Yang’s work is partly funded by a current grant from the National Institutes of Health. She is not on the list of recipients with canceled grants. Photo from Charles Jischke, Purdue University.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

BETHESDA, MD. — The nation’s largest scientific research funder abruptly canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in grants earlier this year, specifically targeting projects that addressed diversity, inclusion or vaccines.

Combined, the 21 grants across four Indiana higher education institutions total $24.5 million in federal dollars from the National Institutes of Health, as detailed by Grant Witness, an independent tracking effort. The project partly relies on self-submitted cancellations, meaning the losses could be higher.

More than half of the canceled project dollars from the NIH, or $14.3 million, were dedicated to projects at Indiana University in Indianapolis, specifically the School of Medicine. University officials didn’t respond to emails or phone calls requesting comment.

Purdue University lost nearly $6.2 million, followed by Notre Dame University’s $3.2 million. Indiana University’s main campus in Bloomington had just three projects for a combined $641,000 — but two of those projects may be restored following legal battles.

A separate Purdue project, which started in 2020 to study COVID-19 vaccines, was potentially reinstated in a separate lawsuit filed by several Democrat-led states. That lawsuit focused on projects with appropriations from various COVID-19 laws.

A KFF Health News story found that blue states, many of which filed lawsuits challenging the cancelled NIH grants, were more likely to see reinstated funding — meaning that red states like Indiana that didn’t challenge the move lost out.

The Canceled Projects

Submitted projects spanned the gamut, from kidney disease and substance abuse prevention to studying pediatric cochlear implant users and preparing minority undergraduate students for rigorous research programs.

In all, four projects sought to either support underrepresented minority groups in their education or combat sexual harassment. These studies were flagged for including specific references to gender, sex, race, inequality, inclusivity or diversity in their projects.

Several of the projects sought to build upon prior studies, adding to ongoing treatment research. These studies include a $2 million award to University of Notre Dame chemistry professor Juan Del Valle, who is studying a type of molecule bonding common in certain Alzheimer’s patients and finding ways to selectively disrupt it. His colleague Mayland Chang received an award for $771,000 to study an aspect of Clostridioides difficile, or c-diff, infections. The deadly bacteria doesn’t have an antibiotic treatment and kills thousands of Americans every year.

“The NIH is an important partner in helping to advance critical research at the University of Notre Dame — research aimed at fostering new discoveries in the biomedical sciences and health that contribute to the common good,” a Notre Dame spokesperson told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “Recently, the agency updated its mission and priorities in alignment with the new administration. As a recipient of NIH funding, we are actively monitoring the situation and working to understand the impact thus far.”

The school noted that two other projects weren’t included in the Grant Witness database, meaning their total grant loss was closer to $4.7 million, not $3.2 million.

Del Valle’s research was flagged by the NIH for the words “trans” and “diverse,” according to Grant Witness. The project’s abstract refers to cellular transmission at various points and “diverse modes of b-sheet packing.” Chang’s research, on the other hand, doesn’t have any flagged words.

The use of the word “barrier” might have sunk a $5.7-million Indiana University School of Medicine glaucoma study. Professor Jason Meyer, a molecular geneticist, sought to identify ways to replace certain cells within the eye’s nerve that are damaged by glaucoma, which is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.

His project’s title? “Overcoming barriers to retinal ganglion cell replacement in experimental glaucoma.”

Another biochemistry study was flagged because of its focus on triple-negative breast cancer, which researchers identified as “the deadliest form of breast cancer, (affecting) Black-African American women at twice the rate of white women.”

The team identified a certain type of enzyme — Adensine Deaminase Acting on RNA, or ADAR — required to grow these cancer cells and sought to explore potential treatment avenues.

“This work will advance our understanding of ADAR- dependency such that we can accurately classify ADAR-dependent (triple-negative breast cancer), thus opening the door to treating this deadly form of breast cancer…” the study’s abstract reads.”Developing an effective targeted therapy for (triple-negative breast cancer) is essential to reducing the disparate effects of this disease on Black-African American women.”

However, many research projects are still ongoing. A Sept. 5 research update from Purdue University notes that 97% of its $1 billion in research funding “remains intact.” Additionally, the school reported receiving $74.9 million in grants in July, a 20% increase from the previous fiscal year.

NIH grants do more than provide funding. For students and researchers breaking into their respective fields of study, these dollars also support the next generation.

Speaking about his mentee’s grant to study the relationship between substance use and chronic pain, Indiana University’s Patrick Quinn praised Alynna Summit’s NIH award that would “jumpstart” her academic career. Summit received a two-year fellowship grant totaling $97,948 last September. She already spent the first year of funding, but the second year has been canceled.