Defend public health includes over 3,000 public health professionals, scientists, clinicians, legal experts, students and advocates. According to Gonsalves, the group seeks to respond to growing political interference in public health infrastructure, including proposed cuts to Medicaid, changes to scientific leadership and shifts in federal research priorities. While the coalition is based at Yale, it includes members from across the country and is focused on broad issues ranging from vaccine policy, reproductive healthcare, biomedical research funding to health equity. 

“We’re all doing this on our own time, and the passion and commitment of so many people in the moment gives me hope,” Gonsalves wrote to the News.

Defend Public Health publishes and promotes op-eds and hosts tele-conferences with union leaders and representatives in order to raise awareness about the threats facing public health, among other initiatives. Additionally, they wrote an open letter opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Gonsalves hopes to work and collaborate with diverse groups, and encourages  students to get involved. This past Sunday, Defend Public Health’s student caucus held their first meeting, involving undergraduate and graduate students from around the country.

“I cannot think of a time in American history when the voice, skill and ingenuity of students was more needed,” Gonsalves said.

Caitlin Ryus, professor of Emergency Medicine at the School of Medicine, became involved with Defend Public Health in November. 

Ryus felt that her background with science research and clinical work would allow her to participate in the organization’s advocacy efforts. 

“We’re seeing public health infrastructure, which was built over decades, being threatened, whether that’s through funding cuts, politicized leadership changes or anti-science rhetoric,” Ryus said.

She believes it is important for experts to communicate clearly with the population about public health.

Clear communication, Ryus told the News, prevents trust from further being eroded and public health information from being misinterpreted.

“I think that’s one of the great things about Defend Public Health,” Ryus said. “They are trying to bring science out of the ivory tower, through op-eds, social media usage, and grassroots partnerships.”

Ryus also believes protecting public health is particularly important right now. During the COVID-19 pandemic, society relied on “well-funded and nimble scientific infrastructure.” Even now, these qualities are important in fighting seasonal viruses and facilitating research on vaccines and infectious disease treatment.

Ryus has been personally impacted by political attacks on science infrastructure. As a researcher, she relied on grants from the NIH, but had her funding cut. 

“One of the grants supporting my work, which was looking at mental health impacts of different types of homeless shelters, was just terminated less than a week ago,” Ryus said. “We were told it no longer aligned with NIH priorities. That sends a troubling message that research is being deprioritized for vulnerable communities.”

Defend Public Health has taken public stances against figures within the Trump administration.

Mindy Jane Roseman, director of International Law Programs and director of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights at the Yale Law School, signed the open letter from Defend Public Health opposing Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Roseman’s work focuses on how international human rights norms and laws improve health outcomes, particularly regarding sexual and reproductive health. While funding for her work does not depend on US government support directly, she is still concerned that the Trump administration wants to remove the voices of underrepresented patients from public health policy, including women and non-gender-conforming patients.

“One size does not fit all,” Roseman said. “It’s important to have diverse representation when doing any kind of health research, because each person’s lived experience really matters.”

By signing the open letter, Roseman hoped to demonstrate she is part of a community who is worried about public health policy. The letter was a “basic exercise of first-amendment rights,” she said, and participating in it is a “fundamental act of democracy.”

Roseman said she hoped the students and younger generations would be energized to stand up for what they believe in and to prevent the federal government from taking further destructive measures.

“Is voicing your dissent going to change policy?” Roseman asked. “We’ll see. But there have already been rollbacks and modifications to some Trump administration policies, and it is all because people have spoken up.”

As of April 14, 2025, Defend Public Health has 7.7k followers on Blue Sky.

The post Yale-launched national coalition aims to defend public health from political threats appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The cuts, announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on March 27, terminated grants that supported programs across the Connecticut Department of Public Health — or DPH — the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services — or DMHAS — and the Office of Early Childhood. The rescinded funding had enabled initiatives such as newborn screenings, infectious disease surveillance, immunization campaigns and community-based addiction treatment. Several of such programs had longstanding ties to Yale through research collaborations, public health partnerships and training pipelines for medical and public health students, concerning researchers and professors across the university.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined attorneys general from states including California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and Pennsylvania in the lawsuit, which seeks an immediate injunction to prevent further terminations and reinstate the grants. The complaint alleges that the administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, which prohibits federal agencies from making abrupt policy changes without public notice or justification.

Connecticut’s legal response has drawn support from Yale faculty who see the lawsuit as a critical step toward preserving public health infrastructure. Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, assistant professor at the School of Medicine, said she supports the legal challenge and sees it as essential to protecting Connecticut’s health infrastructure.

“It’s a good sign that the state is taking this seriously and pushing back,” she told the News. “But I worry that without immediate relief, the damage to public health capacity and research will already be done.”

State officials have said the funding terminations will force the cancellation of dozens of contracts, including 48 local immunization partnerships and regional behavioral health services, according to the press release from Gov. Ned Lamont. 

The grants, authorized by Congress during the COVID-19 pandemic, were designed to bolster long-term infrastructure for disease monitoring, rural outreach and public health modernization, according to Lamont’s press release. Now, health providers and local agencies are bracing for service disruptions as programs wind down.

“These abrupt and unexpected cuts to our health system are going to have a devastating impact on our ability to fight disease, protect the health of newborns, provide mental health and addiction treatment services and keep people safe,” Gov. Lamont said in a March 27 press release.

In the press release, Lamont emphasized that the rescinded funds were not short-term emergency relief, but multi-year investments intended to sustain long-term public health readiness. 

Commissioner of Public Health Manisha Juthani said the grants helped build “core public health functions,” and warned that the loss of funding would severely limit the state’s ability to detect and respond to emerging threats.

The state’s preliminary review shows that several programs are already paused or shuttered, including mobile vaccine clinics, newborn screening enhancements and genomic surveillance equipment installation. The Office of Early Childhood’s Family Bridge Program, which sends nurses to visit families of newborns, is also slated for defunding.

Dr. Sandy Chang ’88, former dean of STEM education and professor of Laboratory Medicine, said the effects of the funding cuts are likely to ripple through both the public and academic health systems.

“All the public health initiatives that Connecticut has been doing — immunization, early cancer detection — are going to go away,” he told the News. “It’s going to impact the most needy people, the people who need critical care and are supported by these initiatives.”

Chang added that beyond community-level consequences, the rollback of funding may hinder clinical research collaborations and preventative medicine programs at Yale and other academic institutions. Many of these programs depend on state and federal support to operate, especially those serving vulnerable populations in New Haven and other underserved regions.

Public health experts have also raised concerns about Connecticut’s future preparedness for pandemics or other health emergencies. According to the state’s impact assessment, the termination of electronic disease reporting and syndromic surveillance tools will limit the state’s ability to track outbreaks in real time or coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chang said the sudden removal of infrastructure funding puts the state in a weaker position to respond to future disease outbreaks. 

“Preventative medicine, future pandemic response—all of that’s going to be curtailed,” he said. “If there’s another COVID — or something like it — we’re crippled. Not just us, but the CDC and global monitoring efforts as well.”

Yale faculty have also highlighted the consequences of these changes for research and workforce development. Ramachandran noted that some public health staff funded by these grants have already been laid off, including those working on newborn screening programs. She said the effects of the cuts will extend beyond service access.

“This funding is critical not just for delivering public health interventions, but for evaluating whether they actually work,” Ramachandran said. “We’re going to see a huge narrowing of the pipeline of people coming into academic medicine and research.”

Ramachandran added that the loss of surveillance capacity may further strain healthcare systems already dealing with increased respiratory illness. She cited the recent severe flu season in Connecticut, which left hospital emergency departments over capacity, as an example of the risks posed by limited state-level coordination and real-time tracking tools.

Economists are also critical of the cuts. Jason Abaluck, a professor at the School of Management, said that federal public health and NIH funding consistently show high social return on investment, especially in biomedical innovation and pharmaceutical development. He noted that reductions in funding are likely to reduce research productivity and innovation across the country.

“You get a lot less research, and that research is on the margin clearly worth that spending,” Abaluck told the News. “Even if only a small portion of NIH grants lead to new drug development, the health and economic value generated is significant.”

Abaluck explained that while the $150 million in lost funding represents a small fraction of Connecticut’s economy, the targeted removal of low-cost, high-impact prevention programs could lead to higher downstream costs — both in healthcare spending and public health outcomes.

The multistate lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, expands on these concerns. The plaintiffs argue that the Department of Health and Human Services provided no rationale for terminating the grants, failed to consult with stakeholders and ignored the severe consequences to state and local health systems.

“The Department’s abrupt decision to terminate funding for vital public health infrastructure programs threatens the health and safety of millions of people,” the complaint reads. “These funds were lawfully appropriated by Congress and relied upon by states and territories across the nation.”

As litigation over the funding cuts proceeds, state officials say they will continue to evaluate which programs may be preserved or restored through alternate means. Faculty members like Ramachandran believe the lawsuit is a necessary step, but warn that even a successful legal challenge may come too late to reverse the short-term damage. 

“Programs have already stopped, and people have already lost their jobs,” she said. “The long-term effects may last far beyond this funding cycle.”

The post Connecticut sues Trump administration over $150M in public health cuts appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Since 1874, the AAAS has annually selected a group of scientists to honor their achievements in research, teaching, industry, government, scientific communication and academia. 

This year, the Yale faculty recognized were David Hafler, Leonard Milstone ’66 MED ’70, Ruth Montgomery, Thomas Near, Karla Neugebauer, William Nordhaus ’63, Craig Roy and Jeffery Townsend.

David Hafler, chairman of the Neurology Department at the Yale School of Medicine and the neurologist-in-chief at the Yale New Haven Hospital, is a leading expert on multiple sclerosis and played a crucial role in identifying the major mechanism underlying the cause of the disease.

“I began my studies in multiple sclerosis as a freshman in college based on the question: can we solve it in my lifetime?” Hefler told the News. “I am very proud of the work that I and a group of my colleagues have done to address this issue. It is wonderful being a physician scientist, to be both an immunologist and work with patients, as well as do research.”

Hafler has won the Dystel Prize for his work on sclerosis, received the NIH Javits Investigator Award and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the National Academy of Medicine.

Thomas Near, is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and curator of ichthyology at the Peabody Museum. His lab combines fieldwork, such as collecting specimens in remote places from Antarctic waters to Appalachian streams, with ground-breaking approaches to studying the evolutionary history of fishes. 

His evolutionary interests lie particularly in the notothenioid species, a fish that survives in the icy waters of Antarctica and the darters of North America.

“I am truly honored to be included among this year’s cohort, especially since AAAS has such a rich history of advancing science across disciplines,” Near told the News. “Being named an AAAS Fellow is a meaningful recognition of our contributions to understanding how these remarkable fish lineages have adapted and diversified over millions of years.”

Near’s lab plans to continue its comparative and interdisciplinary work studying the processes that drive fish evolution. Near is especially interested in explaining how climate change could impact the adapted fishes he studies, specifically in the warming Antarctic.

Ruth Montgomery, associate dean at the Yale School of Medicine and a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the School of Public Health, has devoted her career to studying the body’s innate immune responses to viral infections, asthma, Lyme disease and aging. 

Montgomery’s work with primary human cells aims to show immune-related mechanisms to pave the pathway for the creation of therapeutic interventions.

“Discoveries in science have brought me joy since I was a girl and first learned about biology,” Montgomery told the News. “I continue to be genuinely excited about new discoveries practically every day, whether from a journal or from my lab members.”

Leonard Milstone, senior research scientist in dermatology at the Yale medical school, focuses on inherited disorders of keratinization, a process occurring in the hair, skin and nails that is essential for maintaining these tissues. Milstone has discovered the interferon gamma keratins and a protein involved in cell adhesion and migration.

Jeffery Townsend, professor of biostatistics and ecology and evolutionary biology, has worked extensively on innovative approaches to biology, on issues ranging from the evolution of antimicrobial resistance to disease transmission and mitigation of therapeutic resistance in cancer. 

His lab’s research focuses on understanding the evolutionary dynamics of cancer and infectious disease. It uses a variety of tools in computational biology, phylogenetics and population genetics to explore how human ancestry shapes health.

“To have this research honored by being named an AAAS Fellow is tremendously gratifying because it affirms not only the impact of this work, but the value of conducting fundamental science that crosses disciplinary boundaries and addresses real-world challenges,” Townsend said.

William Nordhaus is the Sterling Professor Emeritus of economics and forestry and environmental studies. Nordhaus is part of the research staff for the National Bureau of Economic Research and a senior advisor of the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity in Washington, D.C. 

He received the 2018 Nobel Prize in economic sciences alongside Paul Romer for integrating issues of a changing climate into macroeconomic analysis. His work spans the social, physical and environmental sciences, as well as law and social sciences.

“I hope this recognition will inspire other scholars to step outside of their own disciplines to tackle the pressing issues of the day,” Nordhaus told the News.

Nordhaus encourages scholars to continue to work on issues of climate change, armed conflict, weaponized trade agreements and reforms to international law that will make international agreements, like Nordhaus’ own “Climate Club,” easier to implement on a global scale.

Craig Roy, professor of microbial pathogenesis and immunobiology, uses multidisciplinary approaches to discover new mechanisms that pathogens use to evade the immune system, and also create organelles that allow bacterial replication. 

Roy is a founding member of the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis at Yale, which works to explore topics at the intersection of disease and microbes.

Karla Neugebauer is a professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and cell biology at Yale College and the School of Medicine. Her studies focus mainly on understanding the basic processes that happen in RNA, a molecule pivotal to the central dogma of life. 

Diseases like neurodegenerative disorders and cancer arise when these processes are interrupted, and Neugebauer and her lab work to explore why this happens, how it can be mitigated and potential avenues for cures.

“The idea that as a young person you can become fascinated with really basic questions, and that is what drives scientists is that question, that curiosity, how does this thing work?” Neugebauer told the News. “Then along the way you discover, maybe we could save someone’s life with this.” 

In June, the 2024 AAAS fellows will be inducted in Washington.

The post Eight Yale scientists elected as AAAS fellows for their research contributions appeared first on Yale Daily News.

NSF programming includes Research Experiences for Undergraduates, or REUs, intense research for students supported on a stipend. These experiences are competitive opportunities  designed to support students from diverse backgrounds, provide professional development and networking opportunities and prepare students for graduate education. 

Tally Vaneman ’27, an astrophysics major at Yale, applied to 10 external summer experiences, including six NSF-funded REU programs and three NASA-funded ones. On Monday, Feb. 17, Vaneman and other Cornell Astronomy REU applicants were notified by Co-Coordinator Zoe Learner Ponterio that the experience was cancelled due to “consideration of uncertain surrounding federal grant guidelines.”

In the days that followed, cancellations or delayed decision dates have been administered by other REU programs, including the University of Hawaii, Vanderbilt University, University of Texas at Austin and Harvard University. Career and internship opportunities at NASA are also subject to the current hiring freeze. NASA contributes to over 85 percent of federally supported astronomical research. 

Vaneman reached out to the Yale Physics and Astronomy Faculty and Yale’s Chapter of the Society of Physics Students, or SPS. According to Vaneman, the society was very receptive to physics and astronomy undergraduates affected by funding freezes and REU cancellations. 

The SPS Executive Board Nikita Mazotov ’26, Diya Naik ’27 and Max Watzky ’27, worked with the Yale Physics faculty to send an “REU Cancellation Affected Student” form to their members and present the testimonials to the Yale College Dean’s Office. Several members illuminated the uncertainties on securing a summer research experience despite previous efforts. By the time students had heard their external applications were rejected, several Yale research application deadlines had already passed.

“We’re glad we were able to contribute in bringing the issue to the attention of the dean’s office,” said Watzky. 

After close communication with the office, SPS announced via email on Wednesday, “If you were accepted to a research program that has since been canceled, you may be eligible to apply through this new, emergency fellowship.” 

According to the statement released by YCDO, students who provide documentation of a previously accepted plan that was subsequently cancelled or whose programs were cancelled before they received an acceptance will be considered for additional funding in conducting research with Yale faculty. 

“The notification by the Society of Physics Students was very helpful in making us aware of the growing problem of cancelled research programs,” Alexia Belperron, the associate dean of science and quantitative reasoning education in Yale College, wrote to the News. “We believe doing summer research can be an important educational opportunity, in particular for STEM students. Thus, we worked to design an alternative summer research funding fellowship for students who have lost their original research opportunities.” 

Eligible students may complete a fellowship application following the same guidelines as the Dean’s Fellowship to which alternative funding will be evaluated with the same criteria. The funding is competitive with awards ranging from $4,000 to $5,000. Students can provide the necessary documentation by submission of this form by Monday, March 31.

Belperron further indicated this alternative funding initiative will allow Yale faculty facing uncertainty in grant funding to host undergraduate researchers. 

Several members of SPS told the News their appreciation of YCDO’s new funding initiative. Vaneman will be applying for “Alternative Summer STEM Research Funding.” 

“[SPS] reassured me that those in my situation would still be eligible, so I’m very grateful to have this opportunity amid the ever-changing landscape that is the REU circuit this year,” Vaneman said.

First years, sophomores and juniors at Yale may also receive funding through the non-competitive Summer Experience Award by the final deadline of Thursday, May 1. 

The Yale College Dean’s Office is located at 1 Prospect St.

The post Yale administers alternative summer STEM research funding for undergraduates amid cancellation crisis appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Zaidi’s talk, titled “Rethinking Climate Change and Progress,” was moderated by environmental law professor Daniel Esty LAW ’86. His address, which spanned insights from his time in both the Obama and Biden administrations, highlighted the necessity of institutional evolution in addressing climate change amid regulatory fatigue and economic uncertainty.

“Joe Biden didn’t invent the idea that climate creates jobs, but he capitalized on it,” Zaidi said. 

Zaidi noted that, under the Obama administration, climate efforts were often constrained by a narrow focus, with just one or two economists working on climate, with policies targeting individual sectors one at a time. 

In contrast, the Biden administration’s broader team has been able to address multiple sectors simultaneously, fostering innovation in the clean energy revolution while boosting American competitiveness.

During the discussion, a student question on the role of institutions in the next few years shifted the focus of the discussion from federal strategies to the broader implications of institutional trust in the post-COVID-19 era. 

Zaidi said that rebuilding public confidence in government is “as essential as modernizing our grid,” acknowledging that the economic and psychological impacts of the pandemic had left many Americans skeptical of sweeping regulatory mandates.

Esty expanded on this sentiment, offering an academic hypothesis.

“Democrats have become the party of regulation, but coming out of COVID, people were tired of being told what to do by the government,” Esty said. “Donald Trump gets some things right in diagnosis — trade requires a fundamental reciprocity.” 

Zaidi acknowledged the complexities of pursuing such an agenda in today’s fragmented political landscape, noting that they haven’t quite figured out a social license for decarbonization pathways, one that won’t add pressure to American consumers, emphasizing the need for policymakers to balance environmental objectives with economic realities.

Zaidi’s discussion also highlighted Yale’s role in climate policy innovation. He pointed out that Yale alumni, such as Aaron Troncoso ’17 LAW ’23 ENV ’23, who worked on clean energy tax implementation, and Katie Schlick ’22, who served as his special assistant, contributed significantly to the White House’s climate efforts. 

Zaidi also reflected on his collaboration with Yale professor Ken Gillingham during the Obama administration.

According to Zaidi, Yale has been a venue for pioneering climate ideas, citing his own experience at the University in 2021, when it served as the location for him to outline new paths forward on industrial sector decarbonization and reforming the U.S. trade system to address climate challenges.

This conversation underscored the intertwined nature of climate policy and democratic institutions. 

“We need to vigorously protect and defend the institution of democracy,” Zaidi said. “Whether it’s the Clean Air Act or the broader empowerment of our legal system, these frameworks are critical to our society.”  

Following the talk, Esty reflected on the broader implications for institutions like Yale in addressing climate change. 

Esty suggested that Yale’s role over the next four years will be crucial in advancing the underlying science of climate change, particularly regarding the emerging impacts and strategies for slowing that harm.  

He also emphasized the importance of Yale’s ability to bring together global efforts in a coordinated response to this crisis.

Esty also pointed out that Yale is uniquely positioned to contribute to the governance of climate change, especially through the work of its interdisciplinary programs and centers. 

The event itself was sponsored by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, alongside four of the nine specialized learning communities at the School of the Environment: the Environmental Policy Group, Climate Change, Energy Group and Business and the Environment.

Niva Cohen ’27 shared after attending Zaidi’s talk, “Well, first my thoughts about his talk were that he had a lot of what I thought was a warranted optimism, but I also think it’s necessary optimism being in an institutional role. I think he has to reflect that, but being an academic institution, it has to have a little bit more weight behind optimism.”

Zaidi was the White House’s second national climate advisor.

The post Ali Zaidi, former White House climate advisor, gives talk at School of the Environment appeared first on Yale Daily News.

In the pre-clerkship phase, students take lecture courses and participate in interactive clinical workshops and extracurricular activities, blending numerous ways of learning and interacting with medicine. The News talked to first years at the School of Medicine about their lives inside and outside the classroom. 

“What I like about Yale is that we have so much flexibility built within our curriculum and in our scheduling that gives people a chance to kind of explore the way that they learn, and also explore things outside the classroom,” Dariana Gil-Hernández MED ’28 said. 

“Having this flexible system gives everyone the chance to get involved in different things, like research, volunteering, shadowing, while also learning,” she added.

Master courses

The School of Medicine operates on blocks rather than semesters. 

In each block, all students take a specific master course together — a lecture that covers a variety of science topics. Each master course lasts between four and 12 weeks. 

Since the fall, students have already taken “Intro to Profession,” “Scientific Foundations,” “Genes and Development” and “Attacks and Defenses” and are currently in the “Homeostasis” master course.

One aspect of the School of Medicine’s pre-clerkship curriculum that has helped first-year students feel less stressed throughout the adjustment to the fast-paced curriculum has been the lack of grades.

For many students, such as Gil-Hernández, the absence of grades or class rank at the School of Medicine was a key aspect of their decision to attend and has been a highlight of their learning experience.

“I feel like the most important thing for me was the lack of feeling competition and feeling stressed out about having a grade,” Gil-Hernández said. “I think that taking all of that out and just making sure that we’re focusing on what matters, which is learning and completing our milestones, it’s definitely been life-changing for me.”

Although students learn without grades, each master course has a self-assessment midway through the block and a qualifier, or final, at the end. Self-assessments are online and take-home, and only students know their results as scores are anonymous to professors.

Elaine Yang MED ’28 emphasized that these self-assessments give students an opportunity to check their progress in master courses and receive any necessary help before qualifiers. 

“If you do fail, we have a support system,” Yang said. “Yale calls it our longitudinal coaches, who are our academic coaches. So if you fail a self-assessment, they’ll check in with you before you take the qualifier to see if you need ideas or help planning out a study schedule.”

Gil-Hernández echoed the importance of the robust academic support system for students at the School of Medicine.

She noted that the whole class is also assigned a learning specialist — an advisor who discusses studying habits, future goals and learning preferences while working with students to create a personalized schedule that suits their skills and interests.

Since most of the lectures for master courses are not mandatory, students have more flexibility when it comes to finding a learning style that works best for them. While some students enjoy the more traditional in-class learning experience, others prefer watching recorded lectures at their own pace at home and utilizing third-party resources to supplement their learning.

According to Yang, the experience of learning and trying multiple study strategies has been both rewarding and stressful.

“It’s fun to learn how my classmates study because there’s a lot to be learned from them,” Yang said. “But at times it can feel overwhelming and stressful with how much we need to learn and worry about. Am I doing this right? Is there a more efficient way to do this? That’s a big challenge that I am facing, and I think that a lot of people are, too.”

Longitudinal courses

Apart from master courses, first-year students also take longitudinal courses that extend through multiple blocks and complement their learning in master courses.

From September to December, students focused on the applications of ethics in medical practice in “Professional Responsibility.” From January through their second year, students learn about epidemiology and biostatistics in “Population and Methods.”

Between October and May, students also concurrently take a longitudinal course called “Human Anatomy,” which incorporates interactive small-group sessions to cover cases and anatomical structures through dissection.

Alongside lecture courses, first-year students gain clinical knowledge and experience through a “Clinical Skills” course and Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience — ILCE.

Clinical Skills consists of both a lecture and small group workshops. Josh Brenne MED ’28 noted that students recently began learning how to complete a physical exam in the course, first learning the specific skills required in the lecture and then transitioning into groups of four students led by two faculty members who guide students in practice.

According to Yang, students practice clinical skills in many ways — on fellow medical students, standardized participants trained to act like patients and real patients.

“These small group workshops really give that advantage where not only do I know the content, but I also feel confident enough that I can understand it and interact with it and teach it to other people,” Gil-Hernández added.

In ILCE, students go to the hospital once a week to practice interviewing real patients and performing physical examination skills. At the hospital, a group of three or four medical students and a physician assistant student pair off to spend time talking with patients about their medical history.

Brenne emphasized that opportunities to spend time with patients in the hospital leave him feeling fulfilled and better prepared for the transition to the clerkship phase next January, where students begin their clinical rotations.

“Sitting in a classroom, it’s more like you’re being a student, but when you actually get to talk to someone face to face, when you try to examine them, it feels a bit more like being a real doctor,” Yang said.

Yang added that a crucial part of clinical assessment and preparation at the School of Medicine is the formative feedback that students receive during their clinical experiences. Preceptors help students sharpen their clinical skills and provide feedback about how students can better communicate with patients.

According to Brenne, last school year the School of Medicine also began piloting high-yield workshops, which allow students to self-select themselves for small group workshops with an interactive spin.

“The consistency of people going to this high-yield session really helps us create a class community, a community within that workshop where we know more about each other and learn the content in a more active way,” said Brenne.

Extracurriculars and community

Yale heavily encourages students to participate in research, with many students already in a lab or currently meeting with PIs, according to Brenne.

While undergraduate students are tasked with deciding on a major to study, students at the medical school must find a specialty that they want to pursue in residency and beyond. To help them with the decision, students shadow a variety of physicians. 

For Yang, joining the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine podcast team helped her find a new career interest in radiation oncology. Through the club, she interviewed a radiation oncologist and became inspired by their conversation to learn more about the specialty and shadow doctors working in the radiation oncology department at Yale.

“I really felt like I could see myself among them. So that gave me a direction to pursue,” Yang said. 

Outside of classes and extracurriculars, first-year students have many opportunities to engage with the community.

Similar to Yale College’s residential college system, the School of Medicine has six advisory houses, formerly known as advisory colleges. 

Students are grouped at random into each house, and the head of the house meets regularly with them to discuss their progress and ensure they are meeting their guidelines. Within each house, coaches are also assigned to six students and meet throughout each master block to help students academically and socially.

Students in each house bond over house dinners and other fun social events throughout the year. 

The class of 2028 has a size of 104 students, which makes it easy for first-year students to build strong connections with their peers.

“I think about when I was an undergrad, and there was no way I was going to get to know everyone,” Gil-Hernández noted. “Now it feels like you have your own community. You get to know people.”

More information about the pre-clerkship curriculum at the School of Medicine can be found online.

The post Inside Yale’s medical school: First years share their experiences appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The YURC is an interdisciplinary, undergraduate-run research symposium. At the inauguration, which will take place between April 5-6 this year, undergraduate researchers will be invited to present their  research at Yale. 

“It has been an uphill battle for us,” YURC Committee Head Rishit Shaquib ’28 told the News. “We don’t have central funding, so we’re seeing our largest expansion to date.”

In previous years, the organization worked with a budget of roughly $4,000. 

This year, the student organizers expect costs to rise tenfold to accommodate four times the number of participants.

“We’re different from other undergraduate research symposiums in that we’re interdisciplinary,” YURC President Zihan Yang ’26 said. “Yale has such a large humanities department, and we’re really excited to have both humanities and science research.”

Few conferences accommodate the diverse range of subjects Yale specializes in. 

Yale’s departments, participants noted, each host their own symposiums at the end of the year. The vision is that YURC will combine topics from each department to showcase the rich research across disciplines.

“Hopefully, it will make us more interesting to a larger group of people, not just people who are interested in science research but people who are interested in seeing what research looks like in other fields [such as] political science or history,” Speaker Committee member Noah Abbott ’28 said.

The team is currently in the process of finalizing its speakers, but YURC has a couple of guests it is excited to highlight.

These notable keynote speakers include Ramanan Laxminarayan, a Princeton economist and epidemiologist at the One Health Trust, and Edward Altman, a NYU professor who formed the Altman Z-score for predicting bankruptcy.

YURC is committed to achieving both geographic and racial representation in participants. To cater to a broader research community, the group has engaged in outreach across five regions of the U.S. 

“We’re really focusing on building something that’s geographically diverse, compositionally diverse and diverse from a fields and interests perspective,” Shaquib said.

To address underrepresented groups in research, YURC said that Yale’s Central Diversity Office has agreed to offer scholarships for travel and registration for individuals accepted from historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. 

Those unable to attend the event in person have the option to register to the virtual conference, which includes speaker recordings, networking opportunities and virtual poster sessions.

YURC is organized by the Yale Undergraduate Research Association.

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Cruz claimed that over $2.05 billion of NSF funding nationwide has gone to projects that promote DEI or incorporate social justice themes into scientific research. Many of the flagged Yale grants focus on incorporating DEI frameworks into scientific education and STEM workforce development. 

“Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been taking a sledgehammer to the radical left’s woke nonsense. DEI initiatives have poisoned research efforts, eroded confidence in the scientific community, and fueled division among Americans,” Cruz wrote in a statement. “Congress must end the politicization of NSF funding and restore integrity to scientific research.” 

NSF is currently reviewing its grants on whether they comply with new federal restrictions on funding DEI-related initiatives. Cruz requested “significant scrutiny” of awards listed in his report.

The NSF has not yet provided a definitive timeline, leaving faculty and postdoctoral researchers uncertain about the future of their projects.

The funding cuts would particularly impact postdoctoral students and early-career researchers, many of whom receive DEI-related training grants. 

“It is very difficult to say at this point what is actually going to happen to funding, but I am very concerned by these developments, particularly for early-career faculty,” wrote Steven Girvin, professor of physics at Yale.

Without stable federal funding, Girvin explained, younger faculty members may struggle to establish independent research programs, which could hinder scientific progress in the long run.

Antonio Porras-Valverde, a researcher in Yale’s Department of Astronomy, said that fellows, including those on NSF Ascend grants designed to support underrepresented groups in mathematical and physical sciences, now worry about their funding and the possibility that grants promised for multiple years may only last for one.

Faculty members and researchers expressed concerns about the long-term impact of possible funding cuts on scientific discovery and the next generation of scholars. 

“Our universities and our scientific enterprise are the envy of the world,” said Meg Urry, the director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. “But taking a sledgehammer to the research infrastructure will change that rapidly, and the damage may not be possible to repair.”

Urry stressed that cutting NSF funding could stifle discoveries that might not show immediate applications but could revolutionize industries decades later, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of scientific breakthroughs.

Girvin noted that private sector investments do not typically fund foundational research, even though industries often reap the benefits in the long run.

Many groundbreaking discoveries, from quantum mechanics to modern computing, originated from federally funded research — often by NSF — before being commercialized by private companies.

Outside of NSF grants, few options remain for astronomy research.

“Astronomy funding is already very limited, if NSF funding is cut more, it is going to make other sources of funding even more competitive,” said Colin Burke, an NSF astronomy and astrophysics postdoctoral fellow at Yale.

The Yale Astronomy Department is located at 219 Prospect St.

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The two-day event, hosted by Yale Students for Reproductive Rights brought together student leaders, medical and policy experts and grassroots organizers to address growing challenges to reproductive healthcare access and to build the foundation for a long-term student-led advocacy network. According to YSRR President Jessica Yu ’26, the event was the first-ever intercollegiate conference focused on reproductive rights advocacy.

“It’s on us to defend and take back our reproductive rights,” Yu said, “because if we don’t, no one else will.”

Through keynote talks, panel discussions and interactive workshops, the conference examined the evolving reproductive rights landscape from multiple perspectives — medicine, anthropology, policy and advocacy.

Dr. Aaron Lazorwitz, an OB-GYN and professor at the School of Medicine, discussed advances in complex family planning research. Anthropologist Dr. Claudia Valeggia challenged widespread misconceptions about female reproductive health. Advocates, including New Haven’s Dr. Nathalie Bonafé, addressed overlooked issues such as menopause, while Yale doctoral candidate Natalie Hernandez examined the widening gap between public opinion and restrictive abortion laws.

“When students become advocates in reproductive health, they push themselves and others to understand how important the issues are. They prompt fundamental changes in the field in the near future, and they are forging a network of thinkers and influencers who will develop the fundamental changes in the more distant future,” Bonafé said.

Organizers said that the conference will become an annual event and the cornerstone of a new coalition that will provide a national network linking student organizations, campus leaders and advocacy groups.

According to Sooah Park ’27, the vice president of YSRR, the coalition is looking to offer training opportunities, awareness campaigns, policy summits and workshops on reproductive healthcare access. 

Additionally, the coalition will provide connections to legal experts, healthcare professionals and policymakers, aiming to strengthen student advocacy efforts. The coalition is also planning to make a digital resource hub with legal, medical and policy guidance for students who are looking to learn more about ways to protect their reproductive freedom.

“The challenges we face, legal, institutional, financial, are not isolated to one campus or one state,” said Michelle Joo, a lead organizer of the conference. 

As the conference wrapped up, students emphasized that the conversation is just beginning. Many left with new partnerships, action plans to bring back to their campuses and a renewed sense of urgency to continue their work on campus and beyond.

Aliza Kopans, a student from Brown, shared that she is excited to stay in touch with those who attended the conference.

“In a moment when so much feels uncertain and scary, the conference was grounding,” said Kopans. “The opportunity to learn from brilliant professors and researchers reinforced my belief that change can, and will, come from all angles.”

Attendees also emphasized the benefit of speaking to participants outside their own institutions.

For Ayushi Pandya, a student from Stony Brook University, the conference highlighted the diversity of experiences and motivations behind student advocacy.

“When you stay with the same people from the same school for so long, you forget not everyone thinks like you or has the same story as you,” said Pandya. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to go outside my comfort zone and travel to Yale for this conference.”

With plans to expand the coalition, organizers are aiming to ensure that young voices remain central in shaping the future of reproductive rights.

YSRR was founded in January 2024.

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The injunction, issued after attorneys general from 22 states sued NIH, prevents the cuts from taking effect while the court evaluates the lawsuit, a move that legal experts say signals skepticism about the NIH’s abrupt rule change. The next hearing date is scheduled for Feb. 21. 

A second lawsuit, filed by private universities and hospitals, including MIT, Brown University and University of Pennsylvania, seeks to block the NIH’s decision nationwide. Yale has not joined the lawsuit filed by universities but issued a statement of support for the lawsuit filed by attorneys general.

“Donald Trump is defunding cancer research. He is defunding treatment for heart disease. He wants to defund research into autism, Alzheimer’s, and preventable newborn deaths,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong wrote in a statement. “He wants to make us all sicker, and we cannot let him.”

University President Maurie McInnis condemned the NIH’s decision in a University-wide email, warning that the cuts posed a significant threat to Yale’s research and broader scientific innovation. She said that Yale was actively working with peer institutions and lawmakers to oppose the policy while preparing contingency plans to mitigate its potential impact.

At issue are indirect costs, which fund the infrastructure necessary for scientific research but are not tied to any single project. These costs cover lab maintenance, research facilities, administrative staff, utilities and compliance with federal regulations — expenses essential to keeping research institutions operational. 

The rates of indirect expenses reimbursement vary depending on an institution’s infrastructure needs. Yale currently has a federally negotiated Facilities and Administrative rate of 67.5 percent, which has been in place since 2016. The NIH’s new flat 15 percent cap significantly reduces the amount of funding institutions receive for essential overhead costs.

Universities warn that this change could force them to absorb the financial burden, reduce research programs or shift costs onto researchers themselves — potentially slowing scientific progress and limiting opportunities for early-career scientists.

“This decision poses a considerable threat to Yale’s research endeavors, which lead to medical breakthroughs, support patients in clinical trials, and drive economic growth,” McInnis wrote in a statement to the Yale community.

According to McInnis, indirect cost reimbursements help sustain over 2,000 research trials at Yale, supporting facilities that let more than 38,000 patients participate in clinical studies. Among these, 280 trials focus on cancer therapy, 80 involve mental health and behavioral care and 50 are related to heart disease.

In fiscal year 2024, Yale invested $432 million in research — more than double the amount received in indirect cost reimbursements from the NIH. However, most of Yale’s endowment is legally restricted to specific uses, so it cannot simply replace lost NIH funds.

“If we lose the support for a lot of that research on the margin, some research will no longer be performed. Some graduate students, postdocs, and faculty will not be hired,” said Howard Forman, a professor of radiology, public health, economics and management at Yale. “Some investments in faculty will not be made, some staff will be laid off. It’s not like the money will manifest itself from some other magical source.”

McInnis stated that Yale and more than 30 other universities have submitted public declarations in support of the second lawsuit. The University spokesperson did not immediately respond whether Yale considers joining the lawsuit. 

Additionally, Yale is actively working with peer institutions to explain to lawmakers that indirect costs are research costs and not administrative waste. 

Yale’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research has launched a 2025 Federal Administration Transition webpage, which requires a Yale NetID login, to provide updates on federal policy changes pertaining to Yale. 

The webpage reaffirms Yale’s commitment to opposing the NIH policy through legal, legislative and institutional efforts, while also preparing contingency plans to mitigate its impact. The site advises researchers to continue submitting grant proposals, but remain aware of potential delays in reviews and award disbursements.

The site also provides information on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, funding restrictions, which have already been implemented by agencies such as the DOE, NASA and NSF. 

Connecticut, other states sue NIH

Connecticut joined 21 other states in suing NIH over the policy. 

“Without immediate relief, this action could result in the suspension of lifesaving and life-extending clinical trials, disruption of research programs, layoffs, and laboratory closures,” Connecticut Attorney General William said in a statement.

The lawsuit argues that NIH’s policy violates federal law by overstepping congressional authority, retroactively altering existing grant agreements and failing to follow established rulemaking procedures.

A 2017 spending law explicitly prohibits the NIH from making broad, categorical cuts to indirect cost reimbursements without legislative approval. Attorneys general claim that by applying the 15 percent cap to both new and active grants, NIH is forcing institutions to absorb unexpected financial losses on funding that had already been allocated.

The plaintiffs also argue that the policy change was enacted without following federal rulemaking procedures. NIH did not allow for stakeholder input before making the sweeping change, which the lawsuit claims was an arbitrary and capricious decision.

A U.S District Court judge Angel Kelley has temporarily blocked the NIH policy from taking effect in the 22 states that filed the lawsuit, allowing research institutions in those states to avoid immediate financial disruption. The court will now consider whether to grant a longer-term injunctions, which would prevent the policy from being implemented while litigation proceeds.  

Peer institutions grapple with changes

At the University of Connecticut, administrators are preparing for major financial shortfalls. According to UConn Vice President for Research Pamir Alpay, the university and UConn Health collectively received over $620 million in NIH funding this year.

Under the new policy, UConn expects to lose $35 million annually, forcing administrators to either cut research programs or find alternative funding sources.

The financial blow, Alpay explained, would likely affect ongoing and future research, particularly in areas reliant on NIH grants.

Research-intensive fields, including biomedical engineering, cancer treatment and neuroscience, face heightened uncertainty as administrators assess how to distribute increasingly limited resources.

Harvard President Alan Garber condemned the NIH policy in a statement as an “unprecedented attack on the nation’s research infrastructure.” 

At MIT, where NIH funding supports pioneering research in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Lyme disease and autism, the new policy could result in $30 to $35 million in annual losses. In response, MIT joined the second lawsuit to block the policy nationwide.

In an institute-wide email, MIT President Sally Kornbluth described the potential damage and the university’s legal action.

“To outsiders, capping the reimbursement rate for indirect costs at 15% might seem like a technicality. But ‘indirect costs’ are actually foundational to a thriving, world-class research enterprise,” Kornbluth wrote.

The loss of indirect funding, Kornbluth warned, could push universities into financial crises, potentially forcing them to halt research in crucial fields. 

The effects would extend beyond university walls, impacting the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, which rely on academic research for early-stage discoveries.

“We oppose these cuts because they will erode America’s global scientific leadership and deprive the American people of the fruits of research with untold potential benefits for their health and well-being,” Kornbluth wrote.

Yale received over $643 million in NIH funding in fiscal year 2024.

Correction, Feb. 11: Yale issued a statement supporting the lawsuit filed by attorneys general, not one brought by private universities and hospitals.

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