‘Incredibly worrisome’: Canadian research facing uncertainty after U.S. funding freeze

Immunologist Dr. Dawn Bowdish explains how Canadian researchers could be affected by U.S. medical funding uncertainty.

A freeze on U.S. federal funding for scientific research has derailed studies north of the border, creating what one immunologist calls an “incredibly worrisome” state of affairs.

“Uncertainty is really problematic in research,” said McMaster University professor Dawn Bowdish in a Wednesday interview with CTV Your Morning.

“They’re targeting specific types of research, including things that most of us find pretty important, like differences in diseases between men and women,” she said. “This uncertainty has meant that Canadian researchers and researchers all over the globe just don’t know how to plan for the future, and what kind of research will be allowable.”

The uncertainty on research funding began earlier this year, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the U.S. federal government. Among the policies feared to be impacted was funding for studies focused on specific identity groups.

Vast amounts of research funding were thrown into limbo in January when the Trump administration announced a freeze and review of federal grants over their compliance with the new president’s executive orders, including the move against DEI policies.

U.S. courts have since intervened and the freeze has been rescinded, but scientists are questioning whether they’ll have the resources to do their work, going forward.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s largest public funder for biomedical research, according to its official website, and funds a wide variety of Canadian studies.. With the delivery of that funding suddenly unclear, Bowdish says Canadian institutions are urging caution.

“Institutions are sending out messages to researchers like me, basically saying, ‘Don’t spend more money than you can absorb, because we’re not 100 per cent sure if you’ll be paid for that research,’” she said. “It’s a very confusing time.”

Bowdish says the uncertainty comes amid heightened financial strain for universities across Canada, due in part to recently tightened limits on international students. Alternative sources of funding, such as the NIH’s equivalents in other countries, bring their own logistical barriers.

“There isn’t a university in Canada right now that isn’t financially stressed,” she said. “Delivering basic services is challenging, let alone subsidizing research projects like mine.”

Bowdish’s own research looks at the differences in the human immune system between men and women; an understanding that can help to more effectively meet the needs of different patients, but also work that could be affected by an anti-DEI freeze, she says.

Earlier this month, lists circulated on social media featuring words rumoured to disqualify research projects, should they appear in applications for grants.

“Anything that addresses sex differences, or includes the word ‘female,’ is now on one of these lists,” Bowdish said. “I’m not exactly sure how we … do research that just acknowledges basic biological truths.”

That said, Bowdish notes that even basic information on why some research may be impacted is out of reach.

“It’s really unclear right now,” she said. “It’s hard to know if this is going to stick.”