At a time when a new United States president has called for a temporary pause in federal grant funding, the University of Virginia has announced the Brain Institute and School of Medicine have been awarded $9.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to test the use of ketamine to treat a certain kind of epileptic seizures.
“We wish to determine whether adding ketamine to existing treatment would terminate status epilepticus in more patients than the current treatment,” neurologist Jaideep Kapur is quoted in a press release. He’s the co-director of UVA’s Brain Institute and an epileptologist at UVA Health.
“Our hope is that this trial can improve treatment guidelines for patients suffering from these dangerous seizures,” Kapur said.
A “status epilepticus” is a seizure that lasts more that five minutes and is considered to be a medical emergency. The new trial that goes by the acronym KESETT will study whether ketamine can work to stop the grand mal seizures that currently cannot be stopped with other treatments.
“Each year, as many as 160,000 Americans suffer from status epilepticus, and this trial promises to bring new and improved treatment for them,” Kapur contined. “The University of Virginia team is grateful for the opportunity to partner with our colleagues at other leading institutions to perform this groundbreaking work.”
The funding comes from the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, grant No. UG3NS131532. You can track that on the website Higher Gov.
When asked if the pause in funding would affect the grant, UVA provided a statement:
“As we do whenever there is a change in administration, the University is monitoring new executive orders and any effects they might have on higher education and the UVA community. At the moment it’s too early to know the impacts of those orders, but as more details come to light, we will adapt to new federal policy and work with members of our community who may be affected.”
The trade publication Freight Waves reported that U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan on Tuesday blocked the order from going into effect. The article also went into detail about what programs might be vulnerable if Trump is successful in overturning grants that have already been awarded. A 52-page spreadsheet outlines specific programs that are being targeted for elimination, including several programs that fund passenger rail.
Yesterday, the White House issued a follow-up memorandum clarifying that the pause would only apply to grants that run afoul of the following executive orders.
- Protecting the American People Against Invasion
- Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid
- Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements
- Unleashing American Energy
- Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
- Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
- Enforcing the Hyde Amendment
“The pause does not apply across-the-board,” reads the memo. “It is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest.”
The pause will also not apply to direct aid benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, SNAP, and other programs.
“Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs will not be paused,” the memo continues. “If agencies are concerned that these programs may implicate the President’s Executive Orders, they should consult OMB to begin to unwind these objectionable policies without a pause in the payments.”
The BBC is reporting that the memo issued on Monday has been rescinded.
Additional stories on the federal transition:
- White House Office of Management and Budget Temporarily Pauses All Federal Funding, American Public Transportation Association, January 28, 2025
- Trump pauses renewable projects leasing on federal lands, waters, Lamar Johnson, ESG Dive, January 29, 2025
- Private prison operations contracts could resume under Trump executive order, Benton Graham, Facilities Dive, January 29, 2025
Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the January 29, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first.
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