As we enter a new fiscal year, the research landscape continues to shift beneath our feet. Federal agencies are recalibrating priorities, accelerating investments in cybersecurity and defense technologies, while traditional programs continue to face pressure and uncertainty. These changes aren’t abstract. They shape the future of funding, collaboration, and institutional alignment. 

This environment demands more than adaptation, it calls for institutional strategy that connects discovery to national impact.

We’re investing where it counts: launching a new Interdisciplinary Research Initiative that encourages cross-college proposals aligned with national priorities. We’re strengthening our systems to meet rising expectations for public access, compliance, and research security. And we’re expanding support that helps our faculty compete at the highest levels—because the stakes demand it. 

What are we doing? With state support, we are working to ensure that we increase proposed budget for federal research. We are also seeing success from appeals with grants being reinstated. Finally, we are working on a research impact campaign, “Why research matters?” to better explain the importance of research on the everyday lives of Utahns.    

Every one of these moves reflects our broader strategy: to stay ahead of change and ensure that University of Utah research is positioned not just to participate, but to lead. 

This work is directly aligned with Impact 2030, accelerating strategic technologies, creating real-world solutions, and expanding Utah’s innovation footprint nationally and globally. 

Now is the time to move forward, guided by clarity, driven by purpose, and aligned with impact. 

Erin Rothwell, PhD
Vice President for Research