As of August, $25 million in overhead research funding has been terminated at Pitt, forcing some undergraduate researchers to confront instability in their passions and academic pursuits. 

These funding cuts make up a fraction of this year’s nationwide grant terminations, as more than 2,000 grants have been cancelled between the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

For students like Abby Favorito, a senior public health major, the funding cuts have meant more than statistical losses. Favorito lost her position in a women’s sleep health research lab at Pitt at the end of April when the lab’s federal funding was terminated.

“It was genuinely very surreal that it had reached my life so quickly,” Favorito said, describing the moment her research team was informed their lab would close. “I was sobbing. Obviously, I was completely distraught that I was just let go from my lab, but I was also just distraught by the buildup of hearing all these tragedies.”

Favorito had joined the psychiatric department lab at UPMC as part of her public health concentration project. Her research examined how biological factors like menstruation, pregnancy and menopause affect sleep quality and, consequently, mental health and daily functioning.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

“Women are chronically under researched and under cared for, especially in comparison to their male counterparts,” Favorito said. “There are so many diseases, sicknesses — just general knowledge and health care about women that is lacking.”

During a weekly lab meeting in late April, the lab’s principal investigator, Karen Jakubowski, had to inform undergraduate research assistants that federal funding cuts eliminated their positions for the following academic year. Most of the research team were graduating seniors, leaving Favorito and one other student without lab placements.

“These passionate, amazing women just did not deserve to have their research defunded,” Favorito said of her research mentors. “They were genuinely some of the most kind, intelligent, wise, mature and just overall credible people that I had ever met.” 

Favorito acknowledged that although she hadn’t been “personally affected” by the Trump administration until the funding cuts, she thinks these cuts impact all Americans, regardless of background.

“Defunding women’s research is not only a failure to women in particular, but it is really a failure to every American citizen,” Favorito said. “At the end of the day, even if you think you have privilege that protects you, I’m certain there is somebody in your life that you love and respect that will get impacted by it.”

Jackie Adams, a senior biological sciences major, has also experienced the impact of cuts firsthand after losing one lab position and struggling to find another as funding dried up across campus.

“It’s such a scary time right now,” Adams said. “Why is it so hard to want to help people and advance the world?”

Adams first entered research in March 2024 after responding to a Pitt advertisement seeking undergraduate researchers. She spent a year in that position before funding issues and a lack of hands-on work forced her departure in April 2025, prompting a months-long search for a new research position. 

“I sent 60-70 emails to [principal investigators] all over Pitt, all over Pittsburgh,” Adams said. “I can’t even count the amount of responses that I got that were like, ‘We have nothing for undergrads right now. I’m really sorry, typically we [would], but we have nothing for you because of funding.'”

The search stretched from April to July, when Adams finally secured an unpaid position in a women’s reproductive health lab at Magee-Womens Hospital. Her current principal investigator was honest about the financial constraints, telling Adams upfront that no paid positions were available.

“She was fully transparent in saying, ‘I don’t have money to give you,'” Adams said. “‘If this is something that you’re planning on doing career-wise and you need me to help you financially, I can’t do that.'”

The funding shortage has become so pervasive that Adams said she’s been directly advised to reconsider her career path. A lab technician who was laid off due to budget cuts told her, “Don’t do this for a career. It’s so uncertain right now.”

Although Adams continues her research at Magee-Womens Hospital, studying reproductive health through C. elegans, she said that she is “very concerned about job security and the future of academic research.” 

“This is completely putting a halt on scientific breakthroughs,” Adams said. “Even if we get back to it, we’re so far behind right now that it’s going to take us years to catch up.” 

Not all students have faced complete lab closures, however. Isabelle Schlemmer, a senior biological sciences major, experienced a “lucky outcome” when her pharmacology lab at the School of Medicine was only partially defunded. 

Schlemmer had secured her research position through cold emailing, eventually connecting with a graduate student who helped her join a lab studying GPCRs — proteins involved in cellular processes and calcium regulation in the body. 

When the funding cuts hit, even the limited damage created confusion in the lab.

“Everyone was talking about it, but no one really knew what was going on,” Schlemmer said.

The partial defunding meant the lab could no longer offer new paid positions. Schlemmer discovered this when she called the Pitt Talent Center in the spring, hoping to transition to a paid role.

“We were really just going by what we heard from the University, and then going from there,” Schlemmer said, “I called the Talent Center because I wanted confirmation.”

Although Schlemmer is “very grateful” that her lab is fully operational, she has noticed some tangible differences since the funding cuts. Schlemmer’s lab has implemented cost-cutting measures she describes as “pretty common now,” such as switching to cheaper alternatives for basic supplies like plastic pipettes tips and latex gloves. 

“Right now, you definitely have to make sure you’re putting your money in the right place,” Schlemmer said. 

Although some students view research as preparation for medical school, Schlemmer sees her work as a career path. The experience has reinforced her decision to pursue a PhD in pharmacology rather than a broader biology focus.

“I know a lot of people view research as a stepping stone, but research is always evolving,” she said. “I think after a while, people will start to understand how important research truly is.”

Despite varying degrees of impact from the funding cuts, the three students share a persistent commitment to research careers.

“I really would love to have my name on something monumental one day,” Adams said. “But honestly, I just want to help people.” 

Despite losing her lab position, Favorito remains “incredibly grateful” for the mentorship she received from Jakubowski and her research team, calling for continued advocacy. 

“There are like-minded people that carry such a passion for it, and even in the darkest of times when you feel like everything is being taken away from you, they can’t take away your passion,” Favorito said. “It’s so important that we protect our research and continue to advocate for it.”