Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" hit by Trump's cuts to research at Harvard and Columbia
Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 20, 2025 / 2:26 PM EDT
Steep cuts to federal medical research grants this year have now disrupted millions in awards once backed by former President Joe Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" initiative, after the Trump administration froze funding to Columbia University and Harvard University over their handling of campus protests about the war in Gaza.
Biden revealed Sunday he has been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer. His "Moonshot" initiative was already personal because his son Beau died of brain cancer. Multiple cancer scientists at Harvard University say they have seen their National Institutes of Health funding evaporate in recent weeks due to the funding freeze.
"We are not allowed to charge anything on these grants and I understand that Harvard hasn't been reimbursed for any charges to these grants for at least 30 days," Joan Brugge, professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School, told CBS News in an email.
Brugge said the university had informed her that her research into mutations linked to breast cancer, as well as studying the recurrence of ovarian cancer, was among some 350 federal grants terminated at Harvard Medical School. Harvard bioengineering professor David Mooney said all cancer research funding from NIH's National Cancer Institute for his team had also been cut off, including multiple grants to post-doctoral research fellows.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-cancer-moonshot-trump-cuts-harvard-columbia/