SACRAMENTO – Today, (Aug. 19) Theresa Maldonado, the University of California’s Vice President for Research and Innovation, will provide testimony at an informational hearing on the impact of federal actions challenging the biotechnology sector before the California State Assembly’s Select Committee on Biotechnology.
Her prepared testimony discusses the impacts of unprecedented federal actions on the University of California biotechnology research and innovation enterprise. A few notable excerpts are below:
“The strong partnership between the federal government and universities has been enjoyed for over 75 years. In 1945 Vannevar Bush presented The Endless Frontier report to President Harry Truman with the premise that ‘basic research is the pacemaker of technological progress.’ That is, industrial research and development would advance through federal support of basic research at universities, where the talent could be found.
“The National Science Foundation was formed five years later, and the NIH and other federal agencies started to expand their portfolios. Since then, the State of California, the nation, and the world have benefited from the strong partnership between the federal government and California universities. There is no other state that comes close to the quality of its universities and community colleges than California. And we have launched new industries and made global impact over the decades.
“But now, grants to support research that has been underway, projects that are in the middle of completion, are being canceled. Future award cycles are being drastically scaled back. NIH and NSF funding cuts, proposed reduced Facilities and Administrative cost rates, and new federal policies are disrupting the entire research ecosystem at the University of California and institutions of higher education across the nation.
“These federal actions jeopardize the academic and financial infrastructure that threaten the competitiveness of UC’s research enterprise, sustains doctoral training, and risks shrinking the pipeline of highly skilled researchers and professionals. The cumulative effect will extend well beyond the University of California — impacting the state, the nation, and the next generation of scholars whose contributions advance economic security and societal quality of life."