Marina Vance, an environmental-health researcher, had a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to study household defenses against wildfire smoke rescinded after the agency deemed the work “no longer consistent” with priorities. Vance’s project focused on practical interventions to reduce health harms from smoke exposure in residential settings. The E.P.A. decision removes a funded line of applied research tied to public-health responses to a growing climate-driven hazard. For university researchers who rely on federal awards, the move highlights how shifting agency priorities can abruptly interrupt projects, displace graduate students and stall partnerships with community stakeholders.