"America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives, is under threat in one of its most productive moments."
"Rachael Sirianni first learned her lab might be in trouble just a few weeks into the new year. A professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, in Worcester, Sirianni focuses primarily on an aggressive form of pediatric brain cancer known as medulloblastoma. Researchers have made great strides in treating these tumors, but they are still often fatal, and even successful treatments can come with devastating side effects. Sirianni had spent the last several years working on a potentially transformative approach to treating the most malignant type of medulloblastoma and was making real progress.
Pediatric brain cancer research is expensive. UMass Chan pays for some of Sirianni’s work, but most of her funding comes from the federal government. Entering 2025, she had three active grants at the National Institutes of Health that were all set to expire either this year or in 2026. She was prepared. In 2024, she submitted two new applications to continue her research. Both proposals had cleared the first hurdle at the N.I.H., earning strong scores from a panel of independent experts in the field. They were scheduled for another review at the agency in late January.
But then, in the days after Trump’s inauguration, Sirianni started hearing rumors that he was planning to disrupt the N.I.H.’s grant-making process. As it turned out, he did much more than that. In late January, his administration ordered the N.I.H. to cancel meetings to consider pending grant applications."
Jonathan Mahler reports for the New York Times Magazine September 14, 2025.
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