In the midst of Trump’s cuts, this scientist lost a subsidy of $ 53 million at NIH. Then he recovered it: NPR
The Trump administration dismissed a subsidy of $ 53 million in NIH to study how alteration of blood flow in the brain can lead to dementia. The main scientist fought the decision and recovered the money.
Mary Louise Kelly, host:
The Trump administration has ended the hundreds of scientific research subsidies, but in a few cases, it restored funding. Jon Hamilton of NPR reports how a scientist lost, then found a subsidy of $ 53 million to study a form of leader.
Jon Hamilton, Byline: It is called vascular dementia, and this can happen when a stroke or another condition alters the blood flow in the brain. It is the most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.
Charles Decarli: This is the only study that was funded to do this.
Hamilton: Dr. Charles Decarli is the main investigator and neurologist at the University of California in Davis. He says that the plan was to register more than 2,000 blacks, white and Latinos ages 65 and over which had noticed a drop in their memory or their thought. The team would use MRI analyzes and blood tests to see if it could predict that would continue to develop vascular dementia. In March of this year, the study was carried out about two -thirds. Then Decarli received a call from the NIH.
Decarli: My program agent called me. And he had been told on Friday, and she called me a Monday to say that he had been dismissed.
Hamilton: the official opinion would come later.
Decarli: It took us a few days to get the letter because they sent it to the bad person (laughs).
Hamilton: The letter was read like other sent to scientists funded by NIH across the country. He criticized research programs that study various populations and said that the grant in question was not aligned with NIH priorities. Decarli was perplexed. The NIH had insisted that the study includes high -risk populations, and black and Hispanic individuals are at least 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia. In addition, said Decarli, the study fulfilled a mandate in the congress to improve the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
Decarli: The reasons for the notice of dismissal were not relevant to my study, and the advice of the lawyer that I agreed with this. And so we had more – if you call it – lever.
Hamilton: Decarli and a team of scientists and university lawyers spent three weeks preparing a call, and that worked. The NIH has restored funding. Decarli told the experience at a meeting organized by the McKnight Brain Research Foundation. Without the restored funding, the team would not have been able to continue to follow the participants in the study, and Decarli says that it would have made almost impossible to determine who was most at risk.
Decarli: But the ability to predict because we needed follow -up, this opportunity would probably have been lost.
Hamilton: and millions of dollars have been wasted.
Jon Hamilton, NPR News.
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