Health Care Is a Human Right: A Roundtable on Values, Visibility, and the Work Ahead

In the current climate of shifting federal priorities, pharmacy researchers working at the intersection of public health, health equity, and community engagement are navigating profound professional and personal challenges. In this roundtable discussion, 3 pharmacy faculty share their lived experiences, frustrations, and strategies for resilience in the face of what many are describing as a "chilling effect" on equity-centered research.

Together, Jacinda Abdul-Mutakkabir, PharmD, MPH, AAHIVP, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at University of California, San Diego; Omolola (Lola) Adeoye-Olatunde, PharmD, MS, Darr-Chaney assistant professor at Purdue University; and Tyler Marie Kiles, PharmD, MPH, BC-ADM, clinical assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, reflect on how shifts in funding have impacted not only their scholarly work but the communities they serve and partner with. From the sudden loss of support for community health worker programs in Indiana to the social and institutional silencing of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) terminology in academia, their conversation highlights the stark contradictions between previously stated commitments to equity and the reality on the ground today. Yet even amid these barriers, each of these pharmacy leaders articulates a vision for sustaining community-rooted work—through innovation, collaboration, mutual support, and a reaffirmation of the core belief that health care is a human right.

This conversation is a testament to the power of solidarity, the necessity of redefining impact in academic spaces, and the critical role pharmacists play in advancing public health equity.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this interview are the views of each individual and do not represent the views of their institutions.

Pharmacy Times®: In a new funding climate with unprecedented change in how researchers pursue funding and related opportunities, what has changed for you in your work?

Jacinda Abdul-Mutakkabir, PharmD, MPH, AAHIVP: When we talk about the new funding climate—funny thing is, nothing’s really changed for me. But I think that speaks to a larger issue. I’m Jacinda Abdul-Mutakkabir, PharmD, MPH, AAHIVP, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego. My research is 2-fold: I focus on benchtop research in antimicrobial resistance, particularly looking at innate immunity and how it affects antimicrobial resistance, and I also work on developing tailored mechanisms to increase uptake of preventive health care.

The major issue this current funding climate brings to light is that Black women are rarely funded through federal mechanisms to begin with. So, when funding—especially for equity-related or DEI-related research—was pulled, it was ironic to me because I’ve never funded my community work through the National Institutes of Health [NIH]. They simply don’t fund me to do that work. They don’t fund Black women to study Black communities. Or at least, they don’t fund this Black woman. So, my community-based research isn’t reliant on NIH dollars. And interestingly, as federal funding was being pulled, industry support increased. I got a call almost immediately that a project I submitted with my community had been funded through an industry mechanism.

My scientific research—what I call my benchtop research—is merit-based and purely focused on science, so my funding streams for that work have remained unchanged. I thank God for that. But the broader reaction to these changes told me a lot about how my peers perceive me. People came up to me with messages of consolation, assuming I’d lost my funding. I remember texting Lola and Tyler about it—folks were so concerned, saying things like, “Oh JAM, I know this must be such a hard time for you.” And I was like, “Why? I just received new funding 2 days ago.”

It turns out that it was their work being impacted—not mine. And the irony is that the NIH had been funding folks who supposedly weren’t doing DEI work, yet they were the ones affected when DEI funding got cut. This whole situation exposed a lot of gaps and nuances, but it also, I think, showed me how my peers feel about me. So when I receive awards, and things like that, I feel like that it's under like, “Well, she got this because she's a Black woman. That's why she received it.” Which is so ironic in this country, but whatever. And I think for me, it kind of revealed an opposite thing. But, it is what it is. But I'll drop the mic and then hand it over to y'all.

Omolola (Lola) Adeoye-Olatunde, PharmD, MS: I'll pick it up from here. My experience was a little different, although it started off with me feeling like, okay, maybe all is well, at least for my specific ways of funding the work I get to do with the communities I work with.

Let me introduce myself. I’m Lola Adeoye-Olatunde, PharmD, MS, Darr-Chaney assistant professor at Purdue University College of Pharmacy and director for Community Health Partnerships at the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. Jacinda's point about Black women in science is so real—we’re pioneering how to do high-quality, community-based science. It’s not second-class; it’s first-class.

The defunding has absolutely impacted my work. It happened through state-level CDC funding—not explicitly labeled as "health equity," ironically. We even had to play the game—changing the language in some of our public-facing work to avoid drawing attention—just to continue doing the work that matters. In the end, it was the COVID-19 response funding that was pulled, not the equity-labeled money. Very ironic that that was the case. But it impacted real lives. We had 10 community health workers—90% of them Black and Hispanic—serving in leadership roles across all 92 counties of Indiana. Which is not common to see community health care workers in leadership positions. That’s incredibly rare. We were training them in research. They led 52 people to assess how to prepare for public health emergencies. They were just finding their voices and making an impact. Then the funding was taken away.

This affected me, my team, and most of all, those community health workers. They have kids to feed and communities to serve. And now, they’re trying to get back on unemployment with thousands of others. That’s the reality of this defunding—not politics, but people’s lives.

I’m grateful for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for creating funding pathways for early-career faculty like me. I’m planning to apply on the 28th. Shout out to them and to other private funders stepping up.

Tyler Marie Kiles, PharmD, MPH, BC-ADM: I’m Tyler Kiles, PharmD, MPH, BC-ADM, clinical assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. Like Jacinda, my personal research funding hasn’t been affected. But I resonate deeply with what Lola shared. The institutions I depend on to share my work have been impacted, and there’s this larger, chilling effect on equity-related research.

Suddenly, words like “diversity” are taboo. It’s like talking about equity is now radical. That’s disheartening. My work is in education—training future pharmacists to understand structural issues and to serve communities effectively. If we don’t teach them this, how can we expect them to do the work? And now, it feels like the support and momentum behind this work is just evaporating.

I’ve never applied for NIH funding for my educational research, but I still feel the shift. It’s a weird, isolating time. There’s a sense of fear, a silencing. Colleagues try to be kind, offering sympathy—but what we need is advocacy. We need allies who ask, “How can we help?” We’ve found strength in each other and in our small community. That group chat we have—that’s been everything. It’s where we share, laugh, plan, grieve, and support one another.

Abdul-Mutakkabir: I couldn’t agree more with what Tyler said about the chilling effect. It’s so real. I’ve never felt this level of uncertainty before. It’s like gaslighting—institutions say they’re still committed to equity, yet they ask us to change our faculty bios and scrub DEI language from websites.

One thing we need from our colleagues is acknowledgment of what this moment actually is. We are young Black women in academia doing equity-centered work—it’s a unique and misunderstood position. We need people to recognize the importance of what we do and to acknowledge that the erasure of our work is real.

We’ve created internal support systems because we’ve had to. I’ve also had to remind myself constantly that this is an unprecedented time. It’s not business as usual. And yet, we’re still expected to meet the same promotion standards, publish at the same pace, and secure the same types of funding.

Adeoye-Olatunde: Exactly. The standards for promotion and tenure must change. We have to redefine value and impact. Sustaining trust in communities and developing long-term programs is groundbreaking. It’s just as worthy as discovering a new molecule. And we need to start acknowledging community members in that success—they’re our research partners.

At Purdue, I’ve been fortunate to have colleagues who understand this. They’ve stepped in to help fund staff and align with our lab’s legacy. We're not wavering from our mission. I choose joy every day. That’s what keeps me going. And if you don’t have a group chat where you can be your most authentic self—get one.

A depiction of the challenges related to equal access for all people. Image Credit: © VectorMine - stock.adobe.com

Kiles: Yeah, I'll kind of piggyback a little bit and say that colleagues and leadership acknowledging that this time is kind of painful and really isolating for a lot of us—a lot of us were the only one or one of very few at our institutions, and so condolences are nice, but what would be nicer would be advocacy. And really, we can't lose these efforts. How can we help you? What do you need? And making sure that those things happen, I think, is more of a support and real allyship than just acknowledgement that I might be having a bad day. Yeah, I think that goes a long way.

But also, like you said, the community that we've built and the joy that we've been able to find has been such a blessing. And I feel like, for those who are in our same situation, and other institutions having the support to find community, to suggest that they reach out to someone, you can reach out to us. But yes, there hasn't been another space like this where we can just talk and share and commiserate and champion each other and encourage each other and problem solve. We might not have all the answers, but finding community and seeking out community has been really important as well, and that might not be from your colleagues or your leadership. You might have to find that somewhere else, but having the support to do so is beneficial.

Abdul-Mutakkabir: This moment has pushed me into a new era of innovation. I started my career at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’ve always said, "One thing about Black women—we do." I know this feels terrible. This is a terrible time. You know, like every day that I wake up, it is a hard time for me to navigate. But then I've had to flip my lens of, well, I got a community to serve at the end of the day. Folks are knocking on my door, sending me emails: “Dr. JAM, what do we do?”—so I have to show up.

So, I thought to myself, How do I make it to where this community never has to feel the impacts of what they've lost. Because, like you both said, we worked so hard to build this infrastructure. We worked so hard to create an atmosphere and an environment where people are comfortable participating in research and receiving education. I mean, I got people that never got the flu vaccine ever in their lives calling me every year, like, where you at? I'm taking a Tylenol. I'm ready to get my vaccine. So, I'm like, “Listen, I got to make this happen.”

So, I think for me, it has really pushed me to look for sustainable mechanisms. And then, should I have to be removed from the community for any reason, how can they have a trusted pharmacist or a trusted source that they can talk to?

So, one innovation that I have found during this time is partnering with independent and community pharmacies. My husband and I call it “supporting small businesses.” If I ever have to step away, the community will still have a trusted pharmacist. This collaboration is a new innovation, and I’m so excited about it.

Adeoye-Olatunde: That’s beautiful, Jacinda. I’m heading to a middle school job fair right now to show students that public health pharmacy is a real path. We’re building the pipeline for the next generation. And yes, partnerships are everything. Tyler—the group chat really is my joy. Memes, emojis—it’s what keeps me going.

Kiles: Same here. My focus now is on making this educational work excellent and shareable to other institutions. We can’t afford to lose these concepts. They matter too much.

Abdul-Mutakkabir: So, our big takeaways? One, this is a hard time—we acknowledge that. But even in that, we’ve found the key elements of community, sustainability, and innovation. And finally, doing this work is a choice. I don’t need funding to care about people. I don’t need funding to serve my community. I hope that’s a message the pharmacy profession holds on to.

Adeoye-Olatunde: And shout out to Gennesaret Free Clinic, our community partner.

Abdul-Mutakkabir: Shout out to them! Health care is a human right. Period. I think we, as pharmacists, have such a powerful role in making that human right attainable. I’m grateful to be in friendship and community with you all.

Adeoye-Olatunde: Same.

Abdul-Mutakkabir: As we approach this new atmosphere.

Adeoye-Olatunde: 100%. Signing out.