New York Times Magazine cover story features UMass Chan on impact of federal research funding delays

The New York Times Magazine is the latest national media outlet to shine a spotlight on the impact delays and cuts in federal research funding have had on the UMass Chan Medical School campus. 
 
In the cover story on the state of funding for cancer research that hit newsstands on Sept. 14, Rachael Sirianni, PhD, professor and vice chair of neurological surgery, detailed for reporter Jonathan Mahler how the slowdown in National Institutes of Health research funding is affecting her pediatric brain cancer research. UMass Chan pays for some of Dr. Sirianni’s work, but the magazine notes that most of her funding comes from the federal government. Sirianni said she had to suspend one of her most promising studies and lay off staff helping to run it. 
 
“I believe I am one of only a small handful of labs in the country that specializes in drug-delivery barriers in pediatric brain cancer,” Sirianni told The New York Times Magazine. “When you remove me from the ecosystem, you are removing something that can’t be replaced.” 
 
Chancellor Michael F. Collins explained the timeline of what has been going on behind the scenes since policy changes at the NIH were announced and relayed his concerns for the future of biomedical research in the article. 
 
“I’m trying to get people to be worried about this,” Chancellor Collins said, “and it’s hard. We could lose a generation of scientists in a very short time.” 
 
Journalists from The New York Times Opinion Video team, including video journalist Francesca Trianni, and science reporter Carolyn Johnson with The Washington Post, have also profiled UMass Chan researchers in recent months and detailed the impact that NIH funding uncertainties and cuts have had on their work. 
 
Explore the recent media coverage by following the links below:
Please note: some links are behind a paywall.