San Diego’s cancer research machine is slamming the panic button. Researchers and clinicians say new federal changes and delays to NIH grants are already squeezing lab budgets and putting clinical trials at risk just as some of the most promising therapies reach human testing. From La Jolla to across the county, scientists report hiring freezes, paused experiments and painful budgeting choices that they worry could slow or even derail treatments for patients.
Local labs are already taking a hit
An analysis by NBC 7 San Diego found that approvals for cancer research grants nationally fell about 9% from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025, and that six major San Diego research institutions saw combined grant dollars drop roughly 16%, from about $103 million to $87 million. Those institutions include La Jolla Institute for Immunology, the Salk Institute, San Diego State University Foundation, Sanford Burnham Prebys, Scripps Research and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, with UCSD still the largest local recipient.
Policy shifts are shrinking the pie
National reporting traces the squeeze to abrupt NIH policy shifts that cut indirect cost support and began funding some multi-year awards as single upfront payments, a change that reduces the number of awards the agency can afford to make. As detailed by The Washington Post, those changes have pushed universities to rebalance budgets and, in some cases, even consider declining certain federal awards. The American Association for Cancer Research says the impact shows up in federal data as fewer grants overall and a steep drop in support for early-stage investigators in FY2025.
Locally, researchers say the consequences are immediate. At about six months into the fiscal year, NBC 7 San Diego reports the NIH had delivered only about $541 million nationally for cancer research, far below the roughly $5.3 billion that typically flows each year, and that UC San Diego and Sanford Burnham Prebys are among those millions of dollars behind their prior year receipts. “Researchers are losing sleep,” UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center director Diane Simeone told NBC 7 San Diego, while former NIH official Jeremy Berg warned that grants have been canceled or terminated mid-project, an outcome researchers say was almost unheard of previously.
Private donors and officials scramble to fill gaps
The uncertainty has pushed local philanthropy into the spotlight. San Diego nonprofit Curebound says it has funded roughly $51 million in cancer research to date and helped catalyze about $166 million in follow-on funding, and the group is staging a Concert for Cures featuring P!NK at Petco Park on May 15 to raise more support. Curebound leaders say private dollars cannot replace federal scale, but they are trying to keep promising projects afloat while grant decisions shake out.
County leaders and university officials are also leaning on lawmakers. Local coverage and officials point to the region’s $57 billion life sciences cluster and warn that cuts or prolonged delays could trigger layoffs, lost clinical trials and a brain drain of early career scientists. KPBS documented local resolutions and appeals asking Congress to protect NIH investments that San Diego’s economy and patients rely on.
What happens next now sits with funders and policymakers. The AACR’s policy monitor and congressional testimony show lawmakers have been grilling NIH leadership about terminated awards and new funding mechanics, and cancer groups are urging quick fixes so trials and labs do not lose momentum. As researchers in San Diego put it, short-term gaps can mean years of delay for treatments, and that is a clock patients say they cannot afford to wait on. AACR notes the drop in awards and is tracking outcomes as advocates press for clear timelines and delivery of funds.
