LETTER: UNLV researcher laments cuts to federal grants

I’ve dedicated my career to understanding and improving the lives of older adults, including veterans. That’s why it was devastating to learn that a $1.4 million research grant, approved by the Department of Defense to study Alzheimer’s disease among veterans, was suddenly no longer going to be funded, with no clear explanation other than that our work no longer aligned with “agency priorities.”

I come from a family of veterans. This study honored their service and focused on some of our most vulnerable, those facing compounded risks from PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and discrimination. We aimed to shine a light on the unique experiences of veterans, including those from unrepresented populations and the LGBTQIA+ community whose health outcomes have too often been overlooked or dismissed.

That work is now on hold. Additionally, nearly $3 million in federal funding from the National Institutes of Health has been terminated. I spent more than a decade building a team that includes veterans, health-care providers and early-career scholars. They now face job uncertainty, as do five graduate students at UNLV whose futures are tied to this research. Across the country, around 700 NIH grants have been canceled, many targeting Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS and cancer in marginalized populations.

I will not rewrite my research to exclude the communities who need this work most. Science must reflect those it aims to serve. Our veterans deserve care informed by rigorous, inclusive research — not exclusion due to the rollback of DEI policies. I urge our elected officials and federal agencies to restore funding to these projects. We cannot let exclusionary policies dictate science, especially when lives, and futures, are at stake.