Federal cuts narrow career pipeline for budding science researchers in Oregon

The National Institutes of Health has eliminated grants for training programs that help young scientists from underrepresented communities get ahead in their careers.

Dr Gary Westbrook speaking and emphasizing with his hands
Gary Westbrook, M.D., senior scientist at OHSU’s Vollum Institute

Natalia Quintana Parrilla loves being a science researcher. But the 24-year-old Oregon Health and Science University research assistant said the work is sometimes maddening.

“It’s very frustrating and you fail most of the time,” Parrilla said. “But those little moments, those eureka moments when you figure something out — that feeling is indescribable.”

But getting started on that career is not always clear, especially for young people like Parrilla who may be unsure whether scientific research is right for them. That’s why she applied for Oregon Health and Science University’s Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program, or PREP.

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