Across campus, UCLA researchers are working to advance treatments that could transform patient care — progress powered by the stability of federal research funding. Their discoveries span conditions affecting millions, from Alzheimer’s disease to diabetes, and show how basic science can lead to breakthroughs in everyday health.
Dr. S. Thomas Carmichael, who heads the UCLA Department of Neurology, told LAist that investigators within his Alzheimer's program had advanced a potential drug to a pivotal stage — one that could improve learning and memory for patients with brain damage caused by dementia or stroke.
“The train’s derailed,” he said, after the suspension cut off $23 million that supported his department’s work.
Read the full story on the LAist website.
Spyridon Hasiakos, an endodontist and recent UCLA doctoral student, had been studying how oral inflammation interacts with systemic diseases such as diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. By tracking how immune cells influence dental treatment, Hasiakos’ research aimed to illuminate overlooked links between oral health and whole-body wellness.
Speaking to LAist, other UCLA researchers lent their voices to a wider concern described as “brain drain,” a potential outcome of ongoing funding freezes that could discourage an entire generation of researchers from staying in academia. Researchers warn that if early-career scientists are driven from research, entire fields could suffer, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and climate science.
