Jaime Slaughter-Acey was in a state of shock and anger when she learned that her National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study on birth outcomes in Black families was cancelled this spring. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill associate professor in epidemiology said that she felt like “the rug was pulled out from under us” when the university called her to share the news. The termination notice said that the study no longer met the agency’s priorities and didn’t promise to increase life expectancy.
“It was heartbreaking,” Slaughter-Acey told the Guardian, “and honestly, infuriating given the high rates of maternal and infant mortality in this country.”
