Help Us Continue Our Research in a Time of Crisis
Our lab studies how brains and behavior evolve, with a special focus on our closest animal companions: dogs. We explore fascinating questions about what makes dogs unique, how their brains support their incredible skills, and what this can teach us about ourselves and the wider animal kingdom.
Our work, and the impact of recent federal funding cuts targeting Harvard, will be featured soon in the New York Times series “Lost Science.” These sudden and unexpected cuts have put several critical research projects and the training of young scientists at risk.
We believe deeply in the importance of understanding the brain – in dogs, in humans, and across the evolutionary tree. This knowledge has the potential to improve the lives of both humans and animals. Below, learn more about the vital research jeopardized by these funding cuts and how you can help us continue our mission.
Our Research and Why It Matters
Our lab explores several key areas, many directly impacted by the recent grant cancellations:
1. Canine Neuroscience. Many dogs aren’t just pets; they are essential partners in society. Service dogs assist people with disabilities, detection dogs keep us safe, and guide dogs provide independence. One of our cancelled grants funded research to understand the brain organization underlying the remarkable skills of these working dogs.
- Why it matters: By understanding the neural basis of working ability, we aim to improve methods for selecting and training these vital canine partners, ensuring more dogs succeed in their roles and better supporting the people who rely on them. The cancellation of this grant halts crucial research into predicting training success and understanding the unique brains of working dogs.
- We are translating this foundational data into critical applications for canine wellbeing. We are currently leading the largest-ever study on how early life stress impacts dog brains and behavior, a necessary first step for developing new, biologically-grounded treatments. Our recently published Phase 1 findings already point toward genetic factors for resilience, which may provide a basis for future therapeutic targeting. In parallel, we are tackling other urgent questions, including the environmental and biological roots of canine aggression, the complexities of dog-human communication, and the development of new tools to scientifically measure behavioral wellbeing in dogs.
2. Understanding Aggression and Social Tolerance. Humans’ closest ape relatives, the chimpanzees and bonobos, show major differences in their levels of reactive aggression (the “fight” in fight-or-flight). Another cancelled grant supported research comparing brain circuits related to aggression across humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and even specially bred foxes, to understand the biological roots of these crucial social behaviors.
- Why it matters: Understanding the evolutionary and biological basis of aggression and tolerance is fundamental to understanding human nature, social harmony, and conflict. Losing this funding stops studies aimed at uncovering how our brains evolved to manage these complex social responses.
3. How Language Evolved in the Brain. Language is a defining human trait, but how did our brains evolve the capacity for it? A cancelled graduate student fellowship supported analysis of the brains of remarkable apes who learned to communicate using human language systems. Comparing their brains to humans and other apes offers a unique window into the relationship between learning, brain plasticity, and the evolution of language precursors.
- Why it matters: This research tackles fundamental questions about what makes us human and how our unique cognitive abilities arose. The loss of this fellowship jeopardizes the training of a young scientist and halts unique analyses of rare brain resources that could shed light on language origins.
4. The Dog-Child Bond and Mental Wellbeing. The bond between children and their pet dogs can be incredibly powerful, providing social support, reducing stress, and benefiting mental health. A cancelled postdoctoral fellowship funded research tracking how these crucial bonds form over time, examining changes in behavior, brain activity (in both children and dogs!), and hormones like oxytocin (the “bonding hormone”) and cortisol (the “stress hormone”).
- Why it matters: Understanding the biology of the dog-child bond can help us maximize the therapeutic benefits of pets for child development and wellbeing. Losing this funding prevents a promising early-career scientist from pursuing critical research into how these relationships support mental health in both species.
The Impact of Unexpected Funding Cuts
In May 2025, our lab’s federal funding was abruptly cancelled, along with all other federal grants at Harvard University, as part of targeted governmental action. This includes the four major projects described above.
This sudden loss of funding has devastating consequences:
- Promising research is stopped in its tracks. Years of planning, pilot studies, and relationship-building with partners (like working dog organizations) are jeopardized.
- Young scientists lose critical support. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows rely on these funds not just for their research, but for their stipends, training, and career development. These cancellations directly impact their lives and futures.
- Scientific progress is delayed. The questions we ask are important. Halting this work means delaying potential breakthroughs in areas ranging from human health and evolution to improving the lives of working dogs and the people they serve.
On October 16, 2025, Harvard’s cancelled grants were reinstated — for the moment. However, the federal government has indicated their intent to re-cancel these grants, and prior Supreme Court precedent suggests that they will be successful. Harvard has warned its scientists that we could lose access to our funding at any moment. Consequently, we cannot really ramp up research again in any meaningful way – not until we have a reliable source of funding that we can count on.
How You Can Help
Despite these challenges, we are determined to continue our research and support our trainees. Your contribution can make a real difference. While there is currently no crowdfunding mechanism in place at Harvard, the development office is able to coordinate directed donations of $5,000 or more to individual laboratories.
Donations to our lab will directly support:
- Continuing vital research projects that lost federal funding.
- Providing bridge funding for our graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, allowing them to continue their training and research.
- Maintaining essential lab operations and pursuing new questions about brain, behavior, and evolution.
By donating, you become a partner in our mission to advance scientific knowledge and explore the fascinating connections between humans, animals, and the brain.
If you would like to make a tax-deductible, directed donation to the Hecht Lab, please contact Harvard FAS Alumni and Development Services at ads@harvard.edu or (617) 495-1750.