$380K in Bridge Funding Sustains Critical UAlbany Research

ALBANY, N.Y. (Dec. 18, 2025) — Ten UAlbany research projects impacted by federal funding cuts or delays will be able to continue thanks to an emergency bridge fund established by the Division for Research and Economic Development.

In total, the fund is awarding $381,435 to projects in areas ranging from extreme weather decision-making to RNA research and a critical analysis of how scientific data is misused to fuel conspiracy theories about demographic trends. 

The funding will allow research faculty to maintain lab operations, support graduate students and postdocs, and strengthen grant proposal resubmissions. 

The funding will ensure that these vital projects do not stall and that the fruits of the work will be able to reach and benefit the public.

Two of the projects received grant termination notices, a third was the subject of a stop-work order and the others were imperiled by funding delays or other uncertainties. 

'Society is Depending on Universities'

“We are determined that the critical scientific and scholarly work done by UAlbany faculty will continue despite uncertainty surrounding federal funding,” said Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas, UAlbany’s vice president for research and economic development. “Society is depending on universities to continue their search for answers that improve lives and advance the public good. This bridge fund is a strategic investment in our research mission and the future of innovation UAlbany.”

The bridge fund was established with reserve funding within the Division for Research and Economic Development. While applications are currently closed, there may be additional opportunities for future bridge funding as campus resources allow.

For more information, email [email protected].

Research institutions across the United States have seen funding streams halted or dramatically curtailed over the last 11 months as the federal government has re-evaluated its scientific priorities and, in some cases, shuttered entire agencies.

In May, Kesavadas wrote in the Times Union about the danger this trend poses to numerous industries critical to U.S. national and economic security.

Since January 2025, UAlbany has seen 16 federal research grants totaling about $15 million terminated, directly impacting 54 faculty and staff members and about two-dozen students.