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Ethical and scientific consequences of abrupt federal grant terminations in community-engaged environmental health research
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Ethical and scientific consequences of abrupt federal grant terminations in community-engaged environmental health research

Jane E Clougherty, Micah B Hahn, Kirsten M M Beyer, Darryl B Hood, Melanie Malone, Amruta Nori-Sarma, Miriam A Nuño, Allison C Reilly, Dawn Roberts-Semple, Rebecca J Schmidt, …
Annals of epidemiology, v 123, 110264
20 Aug 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2026.110264
PMID: 42617927
Featured in Collection :   Drexel's Newest Publications

Abstract

Community-engaged research Grant terminations Environment
The abrupt termination of federally-funded research studies, traditionally uncommon, carries scientific and ethical consequences - including the loss of scientific results, lost investments in data and research infrastructure, disruptions to training pipelines and career trajectories, and curtailed dissemination of results. In the case of community-engaged research, there may be additional damage, given the substantial involvement and investments of time, effort, and resources made by external partners (community members, clinicians, local agencies, and others). External stakeholders may have also relied on study results to inform planning and decision-making, particularly in the environmental health and climate mitigation contexts. Abrupt discontinuation of funding therefore extends beyond scientific loss, with downstream impacts on public health practice, policy, and community well-being. As Principal Investigators of community-engaged research projects funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) in 2022, and subsequently terminated in 2025, due to 'changes in administrative priorities' - we discuss the direct impacts of such funding terminations on our research teams, community partners, and external collaborators. Impacts include the direct loss of scientific outputs and disruption to the field, and to the career trajectories of junior scientists. Of particular concern, in community-engaged research, is that such funding terminations risk disappointing communities who had invested time, energy, and resources into the research, eroding trust in universities and fostering hesitance to re-engage in future research.

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