U of T emergency fund offers ‘lifeline’ to researchers facing U.S. funding cuts

A person walks on the University of Toronto campus in Toronto, on Sept. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

TORONTO — The University of Toronto has created an emergency fund to support its researchers who are facing unexpected losses in funding due to cuts and policy changes at U.S. federal research agencies.

Announced earlier this month, the measures come after significant cuts to agencies like the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation under U.S. President Donald Trump left dozens of U of T researchers facing sudden shortfalls.

Leah Cowen, the university’s vice-president of research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, says the new fund will help ensure research continuity while researchers look for other funding sources.

She says the university usually receives about $20 million annually from U.S. federal research agencies or through partnerships with American universities.

Paul Fraser, a medical biophysics professor who works with scientists at New York City’s Columbia University and Sloan Kettering Institute to develop a new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, says he lost NIH funding after the agency stopped issuing foreign subawards to scientists outside the U.S. working with American researchers.

He says he was “devastated” upon hearing the news, and the emergency funds from U of T will give him the “lifeline” he needs to look for alternative funding for the project.

The Canadian Press