Healey Champions $400M Plan to Fill Gap from Federal Research Cuts

Gov. Maura Healey visited the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester on Wednesday, Sept. 10, to champion her Discovery, Research, and Innovation for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) initiative. If approved by the Massachusetts Legislature, DRIVE would allocate $400 million for research and development (R&D) funding in the state.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Healey said that the Legislature would need to act quickly on the bill, calling this legislation a top priority.

Healey proposed DRIVE as a way to support R&D programs that receive funding from the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation. According to GBH News, Massachusetts lost $2.6 billion in grants canceled by the NIH and the NSF.

“This is something that we need to do,” Healey said in a statement shared with MassLive. “Time is of the essence.” 

Funds from Healey's DRIVE initiative will support programs and research at institutions such as UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where researchers are conducting Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy. CAR T-Cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that directs a patient's modified T cells in the fight against cancer.

Jonathan Tomashefsky, a 25-year-old studying at Worcester State University, appeared at Wednesday's media event. Tomashefsky received CAR T-Cell therapy for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia. From 2016 to 2022, he received treatment at UMass Memorial Medical Center, and his leukemia is now in remission.

“I don't know what my life would have looked like without CAR T and my care team,” Tomashefsky said in a statement shared with MassLive. “But thankfully, I don't have to.”