Nidhi Subbaraman
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
This is something that researchers are still trying to put together. I spoke to a few people who had received these stop work notices after Harvard had announced its decision to reject the administration's demands as far as how it operates and how it picks students. And they were looking at basically icing work that in some cases had been going on for a long time.
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
One researcher who was running a international tuberculosis study, she has to potentially euthanize her research monkeys that are involved in the study and bring work that, you know, affects 14 different labs to a halt. Another researcher is looking at early detection of ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease from the blood. And he's looking at seeking other sources of funding.
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
But the fact that this has come so suddenly overnight means that he's not sure where he's going to assign the qualified staffers who are working on these projects. And more broadly, he's concerned that advances that could help patients and bring health and treatment to them more quickly will be delayed.
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
They're certainly concerned that uncertainty about funding will mean that people aren't going to see Harvard as much of a star place to land. I did hear that new recruits are considering not coming.
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
And together with the other turbulence that research has been facing as far as broader uncertainty about whether federal agencies will have money, when they will come, and the other disruptions, certainly staffing is a key concern at faculty and labs across not just Harvard, but universities everywhere.
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
The truth is federal research support is the bulk of support that Harvard gets for research. 68% of its incoming funding funding for science last year. This is not something that they could make up easily. I know people talk about the Harvard endowment of over $50 billion, but a lot of that funding is committed and has restrictions on it. It's not something you can liquidate easily.
WSJ What’s News
Fed Chair Warns of Difficult Choices as Trade War Rages
And certainly if you're talking about nearly $700 million per year, it's not something that you can look at recouping overnight.