UC San Diego scientists say they’re still in “stop and start chaos” despite a recent pullback on a federal funding freeze. Researchers say their work is now at risk if it contains language deemed problematic by the White House, including the word “women.“
In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued executive orders rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Now staff at the National Science Foundation are scouring thousands of research projects for dozens of words that could violate those orders. The agency already notified scientists to halt work that doesn’t adhere to Trump's directives.
The list of banned words circulating at the National Science Foundation and science circles across the country includes: women, disability, bias, status, trauma, Black, Hispanic communities, as well as socioeconomic, ethnicity and systemic.
UC San Diego public health scientist Rebecca Fielding-Miller called the list Orwellian, and said it will hamper crucial research.
“If I can't say the word 'women,' I can't tell you that an abortion ban is going to hurt women,” Fielding-Miller said. “If I can't say race and ethnicity, I can't tell you that Hispanic communities are experiencing this and that or that there's less vaccination happening in African American communities.”
She added ultimately, the effect of removing those words will be so restrictive that researchers will leave, or shift focus.
“I guess a word that's not on here is "men," and I guess a word that I don't see on here is "white," so I guess we'll see what's going on with white men and what they need,” Fielding-Miller said.
Dr. Natasha Martin, a professor of infectious disease and global public health at UC San Diego, said banning words deprives scientists of the ability to describe the world accurately.
“The terms on these lists are essential scientific terms, and they are critical for both clinical care and public health,” Martin said. “This is not a political issue.”
Her own upcoming paper on the effects of fentanyl on HIV and Hepatitis C epidemics has been put on hold by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because it contains the word gender.
Meanwhile, UC San Diego researchers have been told to scrub their websites of diversity, equity and inclusion language.
While the Trump Administration reversed its pause on federal grants last week, UCSD still lost a $35 million USAID global research grant on reproductive health and nutrition.
Other federal money to the university is also in jeopardy. UC San Diego receives about $1 billion annually from the federal government.
As uncertainty and anxiety intensify within the university’s science community, UC San Diego infectious disease researcher Dr. Davey Smith said he’d like to see more advocacy from campus leadership and congressional representatives.
“It would be nice if we had some support,” Smith said. “We would love our leaders to say we love all of our researchers. We think they all deserve to be here. We don’t believe what they’re saying about you.”
A request for comment to the university chancellor’s office went unanswered. Congressman Scott Peters’ representative told KPBS he was in transit and would not be available for comment until next week. UC San Diego is located in his district.
