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Losing the Grant After You've Received It

Jul 27, 2009

A member of the US House of Representatives, Darren Issa (R–CA), sponsored an amendment to the bill that funds National Institutes of Health that strips it of the grant money going to study sex workers and drug abusers and the spread of HIV/AIDS, reports Science Insider. Three grants in particular -- a study of Thai prostitutes, another of Chinese sex workers, and one on Russian alcoholics -- were targeted. The grants, which totaled about $5 million, had gone through peer-review and the studies had begun. Blogger DrugMonkey writes:

Great isn't it? There you are, fighting to get your project funded, surmounting the usual procedural hurdles in the grant process. Finally, you get the grant funded and can get down to the business for which you are employed — doing good science in the interests of national, nay worldwide, public health. And some politician wants to prevent further funding of your project in the middle of the award period for naked political posturing purposes. Grand.
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