Budget cuts in Washington are taking a toll on ground-breaking cancer research.
Scientists at Moffitt Cancer Center say sequestration is putting some studies in question because there’s not enough money to go around. It stems from a $1.7 billion cut to the National Institute of Health budget. That’s where Moffitt gets more than half of its funding for grant research.
Scientists say it could cause a delay in learning new ways to treat cancer patients. That’s because before the medical treatments make it to the bedside, they begin as an idea in labs at Moffitt and many other research centers across the country.
It’s causing uncertainty amongst researchers who say it’s harder than ever to retain funding for new studies from the government.
“What that’s going to mean in the future, very simply, are fewer cures for cancer," Moffitt Doctoral Fellow Sarah Donatelli said. "If you cut off the bottom, which is us, you’re not going to have that level of progress where you’re creating new treatments."
Researchers like Donatelli got a chance to voice their concerns to Rep. Dennis Ross, who took a tour of the Moffitt facilities on Monday.
Ross says because the new fiscal year starts October 1st, he is hoping Congress will come up with a plan to get money back into the labs.
"We’ll probably stay within sequester limits," he said. "But we’ll reallocate, which hopefully will allow us to at least increase, and by no means decrease, appropriations to NIH."
Without that money, Moffitt scientists say there’s no way to ensure they are finding the best treatments today to beat cancer in the future.