EMMA PIRHALA / NEWS EDITOR

In January of 2025, USD biology professor Nicole Danos sat scrolling through social media. Rather than finding pictures of friends or celebrities on her feed, she found a post by a colleague announcing that thousands of National Science Foundation (NSF) grants were being flagged for being “woke initiatives.” Danos, who is the recipient of an NSF grant, hurriedly scrolled through a spreadsheet to see if USD was listed. It was then that she learned that her $1.2 million grant had been flagged for ‘gender bias’ — not from an email or a letter from the organization, but through social media. 

With an annual budget of $9 billion, the NSF serves to propel research, which is done by providing grants to studies. However, following executive orders from the Trump administration, the NSF temporarily enacted a funding freeze for new projects. NSF also released  a database, listing existing projects which were flagged for being ‘social justice,’ ‘race,’ ‘gender’ or ‘environmental justice’ related. A press release from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation detailed the motives behind flagging the key terms.  

“This funding was diverted toward questionable projects that promoted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or advanced neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda,” the press release stated.

The database of existing projects was compiled by Texas senator Ted Cruz for his investigation of the Biden administration’s alleged politicization  of science.  Following the current administration’s executive orders, Cruz released a statement in support. 

“Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been taking a sledgehammer to the radical left’s woke nonsense,” Cruz said. “DEI initiatives have poisoned research efforts, eroded confidence in the scientific community, and fueled division among Americans. I am proud to release our investigation’s database, which exposes how the Biden administration 

to push  a  far-left  ideology.       Congress must end the politicization of NSF funding and restore integrity to scientific research.”

The University commented on the  significance  of reseach at USD. 

“The University of San Diego prides itself on providing incredible research opportunities on and off campus to not  only  our graduate students but also our undergraduate population,” USD’s media relations  team commented on behalf of the University.  “Research and Scholarship strengthen the teaching and learning environment  for our entire campus community, and it is an integral part of a university campus.”

Regarding the uncertainty with the NSF grants, USD explained  that  they   are  committed to encouraging research.

“USD works closely with faculty members to identify funding opportunities for research through government and private grants,” the team stated. “Faculty who experience any changes in research funding are encouraged to explore alternative funding sources, as applicable.” 

Two projects at USD were flagged: Danos’ study on motherhood in the wild and another project studying the spread of an infectious disease in caterpillars. The caterpillar study was flagged under the social justice keyword for including the word ‘inclusion’ — which is also a medical term. 

The received amount of the flagged grants at USD total to $873,347. The National Science Foundation grants pay the grantee’s university or organization directly, and then that money is distributed to researchers for costs of employment and for needed supplies and materials. 

Currently, Danos is in her second year of a five-year grant awarded by the NSF that focused on the energy expenditure exerted by mammals during motherhood. The study was part of a grant that not only funded her research, but also supported her goals as an educator. Danos planned to use the grant to create a class on female biology, and how it differs from that of males; and to research the impact that female examples of biology have on the sense of belonging of female STEM students. However, the status of her research is uncertain, not only for her, but also for the researchers she oversees. 

“The uncertainty affects particularly the people who work on this project,” Danos said. “I have one person who is a PhD. He’s at USD working on this full time, so it’s uncertain whether I can guarantee his job after August. And these types of academic jobs, it’s not like there’s always hundreds and hundreds of jobs open. You have to apply months or a year in advance. And if he doesn’t know, how is he applying?”

Right now, Danos has five undergraduate students working in her lab. For USD biology students, it is a requirement to have lab experience prior to graduation. By working in Danos’ lab, students fulfill their graduation requirements, while also learning skills that are applicable in the workforce. 

Through the NSF grant, three of Danps’s student researchers had the opportunity to work with Danos over the summer, making $6,000 for a 10-week term.

“[The grants] meant they didn’t have to go out and look for a job,” Danos explained. “They could focus on doing this work and improving their own skills in the lab. We talked about things like presenting results and doing elevator pitches. I mean, there’s a lot more that goes on by being part of the lab that’s not just creating data, generating data.”

Like her students, Danos trained  for  years  to  be qualified for the position she is in. However, if her grant is ultimately cancelled, Danos’ career could be at risk.

“My identity as a scientist really is [at risk] if I lose this funding,” Danos revealed while tearing up. “It means that I cannot continue doing the work that I’ve been trained for, and that I am an expert in. If I stop doing research and doing scholarly work, my career is done. I just fall out of the pool of scientists who are advancing. Knowledge constantly advances. So if you’re not there, you fall behind. And so I’m no longer an active scientist.”

In addition to their work as an assistant opinion editor for The USD Vista, USD junior Alex Kueter is a student researcher for the study on caterpillars. Similarly, Kueter is concerned about their career prospects if the research does not continue. Kueter hopes to become a veterinarian, and research experience is coveted in the field when applying to veterinary school.

“[Veterinary] schools really care about research,” Kueter explained. “It’s very important, and this is specifically very important, because bugs are important  to  the ecosystem. So not being able to do this would really — I think — affect my chances of getting into that school because this is pretty groundbreaking, interesting research.”

Kueter shared a message for students to keep their eyes and ears open for further change as directed by the Trump administration.

“This is affecting my future, and this won’t be the last thing that the Trump administration does to target students trying to receive an education,” Kueter said. “So I just encourage people to, like, keep their eyes open and realize it starts with the little things. Like it starts with flagging a research study about caterpillars.”

The flagged grant threatens more  than  just the continuation of Danos’ research, but jeopardizes the academic environment she’s worked hard to build for her students. However, Danos remains adamant about the unique environment that USD offers students.

“I think they need to know what a special place it is that they are at, and how much at risk it is,” Danos said.

Since Trump took office, the number of new grants awarded by the NSF has dropped by nearly 50%, compared to a two-month period a year ago. 

Although the University is still receiving payment for the awards, there is still uncertainty about whether or not USD’s research will be cut in the future. 

USD junior Alex Kueter works in the greenhouse atop of the Shiley Center for Science and Technology as a result of the NSF grant. Jason Wu/The USD Vista