Ghent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ghent University Hospital’s HIV research centre faces a loss of over 1.3 million euros in U.S. subsidies from the NIH due to financial reporting issues, threatening critical HIV research and jobs. Professors Linos and Frank Vandekerckhove seek urgent solutions.
As VRT News reported, Ghent University Hospital’s HIV centre is doing important research to find a cure for HIV and make better medicines. They’re working on 4 big projects to help with new treatments. But, these projects might stop because the U.S. government’s NIH, which gives them over 1.3 million euros subsidies, has stopped.
The NIH is worried some people haven’t reported their subsidies correctly. So, they’ve paused all funding while they fix how they give out money. They mentioned that this decision makes the future of HIV research uncertain and could slow down the search for a cure.
Will Ghent HIV Centre’s €1.3M NIH funding cut halt research?
According to Linos Vandekerckhove, who leads the HIV research centre, the NIH’s decision has put American researchers in a tough spot. They can keep working without their European partners and still get their money. But if they think they can’t do the research well without the Europeans, the NIH will take away all the funding.
He mentioned that this is a big problem for international teams, like the one at Ghent University Hospital. The sudden stop in funding could slow down or stop important HIV research, which is crucial for fighting the virus worldwide. The centre is now unsure what to do because the lack of funding could affect their ability to find new treatments and cures for HIV.
“The suspension of funding is happening without even looking at the progress and results of the scientific research. The plug has simply been pulled,”
Vandekerckhove continues.
Professor Frank Vandekerckhove is worried about possible funding cuts for a major research centre in Ghent. This centre is essential for tracking how people with HIV are treated. They are currently studying blood samples from HIV patients. If the funding stops, this important research could stop too.
Vandekerckhove says this would affect the centre’s research and could lead to job losses for the staff. Without help from the government or the university, the centre might have to fire people, which would damage their important work. He has asked university leaders to work with the Flemish Interuniversity Council to fix this problem. He wants to prevent the research from stopping and save the jobs of the experts.
“Finding new funding takes time, and putting a study ‘On hold’ where you follow up patients is not something that can be done easily.”
Frank Bosmans, professor of neuroscience at the VUB
The issue of potential funding cuts extends beyond the HIV research centre in Ghent, with similar concerns arising for neurological and clinical research programs at KU Leuven and VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). Professor Frank Bosmans, associated with VUB, has voiced worries about the effects these cuts would have on current clinical studies.
He points out that securing new funding for this type of research is a lengthy process. He mentioned that interrupting ongoing studies involving patients is not something that can be easily undone, and the loss of funding would have lasting impacts on both the research community and the patients who depend on these studies for their care.
