Georgia scientists ask Kemp, Carr to oppose research funding cuts

“In my six decades of working with NIH I have never seen that,” he told the AJC.

Albers and Krause teach and conduct research at GSU, but emphasized that they and others who have signed the letter are doing so as private individuals.

In early February, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to slash funding for NIH research programs at universities and medical systems. Those programs provide critical research on health discoveries such as cancer and basic science, the AJC reported.

Well over $100 million in Georgia research funds would have immediately been cut. Overall, Georgia receives about $700 million in NIH funding.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

On Feb. 21, a federal judge again blocked the Trump administration’s cuts in medical research funding that many scientists say would endanger patients and delay new lifesaving studies, the AP reported.

Krause said the cuts could mean an end to research projects that result in new medicines.

“It means cutting a staff veterinarian who oversees animal research, or a radiation expert who assures that teams working with radiation do so safely,” he said.

Academics who have not signed the letter say it can help lawmakers understand the importance of federal research grants to the state’s economy.

Dr. Amit Shah, a professor at Emory and cardiologist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, said doctors are trying to make the case to Republican politicians that their research saves lives.

“For me, the heroic event is the event that we can prevent from happening — rather than putting out fires, which is what policymakers seem to notice,” Shah said, adding the proposed NIH cuts could hamper a home-based cardiac care program that benefits Georgia veterans.

“In this program, we help the veterans with stress, sleep and risk factors,” Shah said.

Shah said he and his colleagues have been told there is a “hiring freeze” and doesn’t know if they can fill a health coach position for veterans.

“This has impacted our ability to serve our veterans,” Shah said. “It’s going to impact how long they will have to wait for services.”

Shah said two studies with which he is involved have been paused. One looks at PTSD and sudden cardiac death; the other is studying risk factors for heart disease in rural populations as it relates to stress, with a focus on the impact of stress and cardiac risk to women in rural areas.

“Accounts are being cut across the board, and we are being told not to spend,” Shah said.

In February, the Trump administration announced a separate tranche of budget cuts directed at the VA. Those cuts could lead to 1,000 layoffs and save $93 million a year, which would then be redirected to veterans’ health care, benefits and services.

Shah said that money could be used to refer veterans to community care practices, but he isn’t sure this would result in any meaningful improvement to veterans’ care or reduce wait times, given the medical care shortage in rural Georgia, as the AJC and Healthbeat have reported.

“In the end, this will hinder us in our efforts to help people in rural Georgia,” he said, adding it will also narrow the pool of future doctors who might work in rural Georgia.

Krause of GSU said people throughout the state will suffer, especially people in rural areas who traditionally have sought care for serious illnesses in Atlanta.

“Georgians who are depending on experimental medicines that are given at Emory and Grady won’t get those medicines, because Emory and Grady won’t have the resources to treat people — they just won’t have the money to do it,” Krause said. “We are people who work 50 hours a week, because we want to cure the incurable. We will fail at this if we don’t have the resources.

“Even now, it’s not easy to get people to pursue this kind of research. If these cuts become final, it will be even worse.”