The nationwide freeze on federal cancer research funding is a pivotal moment, with the future of countless discoveries hanging in the balance, for patients and for the scientists working on their behalf. In early August, the National Science Foundation froze 300 of UCLA’s research grants and the National Institutes of Health suspended 500 grants in an unprecedented move.
UCLA is the Hirshberg Foundation’s main research hub, home to the Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases, three laboratories, and our annual Symposium for Patients and Caregivers. The impact is immediate and deeply personal for our community. Earlier in the year, the Department of Defense Funding for pancreatic cancer research was slashed by 57%, from $1.5 billion to $650 million, having a ripple effect on established researchers and new budding scientists alike.
So, what has changed since the initial cuts in April? This new reality has sparked renewed determination. The Hirshberg Foundation’s Seed Grant Program received more than 178 applications this year, a record number that reflects both the urgency of the crisis and the resolve of scientists determined to keep discoveries alive. As Dr. O. Joe Hines, Chair and Executive Medical Director of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, reminds us: “Hundreds of projects at UCLA are frozen. This is not just numbers on a page; it represents careers disrupted, trials delayed, and patients waiting longer for answers.”
Cancer research is a long and complex journey. Developing a single new therapy often requires 10 to 20 years of rigorous, collaborative work across many disciplines. Progress builds slowly, step by step, through clinical trials and peer-reviewed studies. Yet with federal research dollars down 31% in the past year, not only are new projects stalling, but ongoing studies that were already showing promise are being cut short. When this happens, the result is what many experts are calling “incalculable losses” – discoveries that may never see the light of day and potential breakthroughs left unfinished.
The challenges extend beyond the bench. Cuts to indirect, or facilities and administrative, costs strip institutions of the resources that keep research running, from laboratory equipment and data systems to compliance oversight and staff who protect patient safety. UCLA’s unique infrastructure cannot simply be replaced. When funding is slashed, the loss reverberates differently in every center, threatening the stability of ecosystems that take decades to create. No two cancer centers are the same. As Dr. Hines emphasizes, “We cannot allow a funding gap to silence innovation. Patients and families battling pancreatic cancer deserve more than unfinished experiments; they deserve breakthroughs.”
While federal proposals for fiscal year 2026 include an $18 billion reduction to NIH’s budget, a $1.6 billion cut to the National Cancer Institute, hope remains stronger than hardship. Thanks to our donors, the Hirshberg Foundation has already funded more than 135 projects through our Seed Grant Program, fueling advances in early detection, immunotherapy, and precision medicine. Your support is already making a difference, and every gift helps ensure researchers can keep pursuing discoveries that bring us closer to a cure.
Our new initiative, Beyond the Seed: Bridge to Breakthroughs, exists for moments exactly like this. When federal funding falters, philanthropy ensures that researchers remain at work, clinical trials continue, and patients are not left waiting. As Lisa Manheim, Executive Director of the Hirshberg Foundation, affirms: “Despite federal cuts, the spirit of discovery continues. With philanthropic support, we can ensure that promising science doesn’t end in the lab but finds its way to the clinic.”
Progress in pancreatic cancer research has never been easy, but it has always been worth it. Every breakthrough has been made possible because someone believed in the science and chose to act. Together, we will Never Give Up, and with your partnership, we can ensure that promising ideas move beyond the lab and into the hands of patients and families who need them most.
