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San Diego Cancer Research At Risk As Sequestration Looms

San Diego Cancer Research At Risk As Sequestration Looms
San Diego Cancer Research At Risk As Sequestration Looms
Dr. Thomas J. Kipps, Deputy Director for Research at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Jimmy Jackson, Vice President of Public Policy at BIOCOM

Sequestration is a word that's been heard a lot around San Diego, mainly when it comes to military cuts. The automatic spending cuts, set to go into effect March 1, have the potential to greatly impact our region. That's unless lawmakers find compromise.

Cuts in grants to medical life and research that our region depend on could also be impacted. According to the American Cancer Society, National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants for research in California amount to more than $3.9 billion a year and pay the salaries of 63,000 people.

One local researcher tells KPBS that sequestration could hurt research, those who benefit from its discoveries and hamper future discoveries.