A Trump administration decision to cut $4 billion in medical research funding could leave universities scrambling to fill budget gaps, putting lifesaving studies at risk.
Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg report for The New York Times.
In short:
- The new policy caps federal funds for research overhead at 15%, drastically reducing support for essential costs like lab equipment, staff salaries and utilities.
- Researchers warn that cutting funds will slow progress on cancer, heart disease and infectious disease treatments, including breakthroughs like mRNA vaccines.
- Smaller institutions and historically Black colleges and universities, which rely heavily on federal grants, face the greatest risk of losing critical research programs.
Key quote:
"A lot of research would just have to stop; I can’t imagine that the shortfall could be met from other sources."
— Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, Duke University professor of medicine and Nobel Prize winner
Why this matters:
Trump’s budget-slashing crusade threatens to derail critical health research, slowing progress on treatments for major diseases and stifling medical innovation across the country. A proposed $4 billion cut to NIH funding is a direct blow to cancer research, vaccine innovation and infectious disease studies that are already saving lives.
Read more: We mobilized to defend the EPA in Trump's first term. This time the stakes are even higher.
