News
NIH Awards BU Clinical & Translational Science Institute $41 Million in New Funding
Seven-year grant will support programs that aim to pioneer lifesaving healthcare innovations and spur team science and multidisciplinary collaborations.
International Education; College Sports; October Events
BU in DC
The Women's Soccer Team defeated Loyola Maryland 1-0 at the Ridley Athletic Complex on September 26th.
WHITE HOUSE MOVES TO CANCEL INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION FUNDING
The White House announced Friday that President Donald J. Trump would withhold $810 million in congressionally approved funding through a "pocket rescission," a rarely used budget maneuver that allows funds to expire before Congress can act on the proposed cuts. Among the targeted funds is $70 million for the Department of Education's International and Foreign Language Education programs, which support language learning, global diplomacy, and international business initiatives at American universities. The Government Accountability Office stated that pocket rescissions are illegal, and the move received bipartisan criticism. Seven state attorneys general have also filed a lawsuit challenging the action.
BUZZ BITS...
- The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act by a vote of 77-22 on Monday. The bill would establish standards for student-athlete name, image, and likeness agreements and expand revenue-sharing opportunities, among other provisions. The measure now advances to the House of Representatives, which is not scheduled to return until November 9th.
- The Department of Education published a final rule formally rescinding the Biden Administration's Title IX regulations, which expanded protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The new rule takes effect immediately, without a public comment period.
- The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health recently released the NIAID Strategic Plan for 2026-2030. The plan emphasizes NIAID’s focus on a "person-centered approach to infectious and immune-mediated diseases," identifies antimicrobial resistance, HIV, and vaccine research as priorities, and details the agency's interest in implementation science and community-engaged research.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
Throughout October, the Office of Research will host several events for the BU community, including:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Event: Join a special session for PhD students, postdocs, and faculty highlighting upcoming HHMI funding competitions and opportunities on October 9th at 2:00 pm at the BU School of Law.
- After the Ambulance: Convergent Science for Trauma, Recovery, and Lifelong Health: The Research on Tap series continues on October 28th at 4:00 pm at 72 E. Concord Street with microtalks from BU researchers who study injury and stress, systems that deliver care, and the social conditions of recovery that shape health following a traumatic injury.
- Developing an ARPA-H Proposal: Lessons from BU Faculty: Join BU faculty for a candid discussion of their experiences developing ARPA-H proposals. The session, which will take place via Zoom on October 29th at 12:00 pm, will offer practical lessons for navigating ARPA-H funding opportunities and preparing competitive submissions.
A Note To Our Readers: Due to the Congressional District Work Period, Beltway BUzz will temporarily pause publication. In the meantime, be sure to visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn
Boston University Trustees Elect Five New Members
Four accomplished alumni and a former Harvard president add to the board’s expertise.
Tiny Water Droplets Can Ground Billion-Dollar Supersonic Vehicles. BU Engineers Are Working to Change That
Research into the physics of fluids could help keep future space and commercial high-speed flights in the air.
NSF Strategy; Republican Letter on NIH; Urban Biodiversity
BU IN DC
Douglas Densmore, Ioannis Paschalidis, and Keith Brown of the College of Engineering participated in the Engineering Biology Research Consortium's National Network of AI-Programmable Cloud Laboratories Summit on September 24th and 25th.
NSF OUTLINES "GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE" STRATEGY
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released a memorandum outlining the agency's plans to implement the "Golden Age of Science" strategy published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) this summer. The memo details the NSF's plans to shift towards a portfolio-based approach to grantmaking that may include funding mechanisms with novel approaches to peer review and a variety of grant award durations. It also establishes four new Frontier Initiatives to organize cross-disciplinary collaboration across NSF directorates: Future of Intelligence, Frontier of Quantum Phenomena, Advanced Materials and Matter, and Foundations of Biological Design. NSF intends to issue Dear Colleague letters and funding opportunities "in the coming weeks and months" aligned with the agency's revised approach to grantmaking.
BUZZ BITS...
- Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) and five Senate Republicans asked the Trump Administration to reconsider “terminating ongoing, multi-year research grants after significant federal resources have already been invested.” The Senators asked that the National Institutes of Health instead “bring existing research projects into alignment with current priorities” to preserve “the value of taxpayer investments already made” and allow the scientific work to be completed.
- The National Institutes of Health announced the selection of Dr. Jonathan Burke as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) last week. Dr. Burke is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon who previously held faculty appointments at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Temple University School of Dentistry. Burke succeeds Dr. Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, who has served as acting NIDCR director since April 2024.
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Request for Information on a proposal to change the information provided to NIH applicants and agency staff following peer review. Under the proposal, NIH would move away from its current approach to providing peer review outcomes and instead categorize applications in one of three designations: most competitive, competitive, or not discussed. Comments are due no later than October 13th.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
You are invited to join the Office of Research for "Research on Tap: Imagining New Futures for Urban Biodiversity" on Tuesday, September 29th at 4 p.m. in the Kilachand Center Colloquium Room. Urban areas are at the center of converging climate crises, from intensifying weather events and accelerating biodiversity loss to persistent social inequities. Initiative on Cities Director Loretta Lees and Anne Short Gianotti of Earth & Environment will bring together BU researchers working across terrestrial, coastal, and human systems to explore the intersection of ecological systems and social life in cities for a series of microtalks. The event will model the kind of convergent research needed to expand the scope of urban research at BU and address complex urban challenges.
“Empathy Will Get You Really Far,” Iceland Prime Minister and Boston University Alum Advises Next Generation of Leaders
Kristrún Frostadóttir, on campus to receive a College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award, reflects on her meteoric rise and the lessons she learned at BU.
ARPA-H: Mission, Funding Opportunities, and Application Strategies
On Thursday, September 24, 2026, Research Development, Federal Relations, and the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Grants Strategy Office co-hosted a workshop series to equip BU faculty with the strategies, knowledge, and institutional support needed to compete for Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) funding effectively.