Are we at risk of losing the next generation of autism researchers? This question is gaining urgency amid the recent drastic cuts to U.S. federal research funding. Threatened programs include those that train and support early-career researchers, and across the country universities and medical schools are being forced to freeze graduate admissions and rescind offers to prospective students.
The impact on the next generation of scientists—including those in autism research and training programs—will be significant. For instance, the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University, which helps train autistic scientists in STEM fields, faces a loss of up to $7.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation.
The hit to this program and others affects not just total numbers of trained scientists but also undercuts important efforts to diversify and expand the autism research training pipeline. Federal funding cuts will reduce pathways into the field, particularly for early-career researchers from marginalized backgrounds.
A postdoctoral diversity supplement from the U.S. National Institutes of Health launched my own autism research career. This funding, which I and my mentor at the time, Grace Baranek—now associate dean and chair of the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California—applied for in 2005, allowed me to collaborate with internationally renowned researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, publish in high-impact journals and ultimately build a successful, funded research career.
As a Black first-generation college student from a low-income, rural community in the southern U.S., it’s surreal to think that 20 years later I am the incoming president of the International Society for Autism Research, helping to preside over its annual meeting this week in Seattle. My story underscores how federal investments in early-career researchers can have a profound, career-altering impact.
T
he timing for these cuts could not be worse. Some early-career autism researchers were already on the brink of leaving the field because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Clare Harrop, my former postdoctoral mentee and now associate professor of health sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her colleagues surveyed 150 early-career researchers to understand the pandemic’s effect on them.Some 85 percent reported reductions in productivity; 66 percent said they faced burnout; 80 percent said they experienced anxiety; and more than one-third reported that they battled depression. In addition, 30 percent expressed interest in transitioning to other research fields.
With federal funding cuts continuing and grants being terminated, we risk losing this generation—perhaps permanently. The tragic irony is that these researchers identified funding as the primary support they need to continue and retain their careers in autism research.
Many opinion articles offer solutions or a path forward, but the reality is that no easy fix exists for the early-career and funding crises we face. As citizen researchers, we can advocate for the restoration of funding, especially for early-career scientists, by contacting our congressional representatives and collaborating with lobbying groups tied to our academic institutions and professional societies.
We can also reach out to foundations, industry leaders and other organizations invested in autism research to create alternative funding mechanisms for early-career researchers and trainees.
E
ven if we can bolster other funding mechanisms, however, let’s be clear: No substitute can replace federal investments in autism research.According to the 2019 to 2020 report from the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, nearly 83 percent of autism research funding comes from federal sources. Furthermore, many U.S. federal agencies fund autism research abroad; therefore, funding cuts will have global consequences for both early-career and established researchers.
Those figures may seem daunting, but the small steps we can take give me hope. First, I encourage established researchers to create space for open, transparent conversations with early-career mentees about the personal and professional impacts of the current funding climate.
It’s essential to recognize that researchers from marginalized backgrounds and those working with underserved communities may be disproportionately affected by these challenges. I’m looking forward to some of these conversations happening at this year’s INSAR annual meeting, the preeminent gathering of autism researchers from around the world and at all stages of their careers.
Second, it’s an opportune moment for all of us to become better science communicators. Engaging with our communities, presenting at local libraries or bookstores and sharing our research can help non-academics, including those in government, understand why supporting autism research and the next generation of researchers matters.
Finally, to early-career researchers: Self-care is crucial during these challenging times. Be sure to find moments of joy and fulfillment while continuing to pursue the rigorous research you’re passionate about.
We cannot afford to lose the next generation of autism researchers, especially at this critical juncture. Losing these talented young scientists would not only deplete the field immediately, but it would deprive the world of the future breakthroughs these researchers are poised to make—benefiting autistic people, their families, local communities and society at large. Let’s do everything we can to prevent this from happening.
