Latest news with #researchfunding
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Far reaching consequences' — UMass Amherst sounds the alarm amid federal uncertainty
As the federal government cuts back on research and curtails foreign student enrollment, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is sounding the alarm and preparing for the worst, according to a Wednesday email from school administrators. All academic and administrative departments on campus have been asked to develop budget scenarios that include 3% and 5% reductions, according to the administrators. The departments are also being instructed to only hire for positions deemed critical to university operations. Hires that cost more than $50,000 must be approved by the vice chancellor or provost, the administrators wrote. UMass Amherst has already received $29 million less in federal research awards compared to this time last year, the university said. Read more: UMass Amherst delays maintenance projects to pay for expected federal cuts The institution receives about $180 million in annual federal research grants and contracts. With proposed cuts to a variety of federal agencies, the university could see a reduction in its annual funding by up to tens of millions of dollars, according to the university. For instance, as part of the $180 million in funding, during fiscal year 2024, the institution received around $51 million in facilities and administration costs, also known as indirect costs. However, the U.S. Department of Defense recently issued a new 15% cap on indirect costs. The university created the Research Continuity Emergency Matching Fund to support researchers who have been impacted by federal cuts. The institution has already committed more than $700,000 in salary and research continuity funding for nearly 50 graduate students, postdoctoral students and staff. However, the university warned it is 'not sustainable long-term' and that their focus 'must shift from terminated grants to those not being renewed.' UMass Amherst could also see a reduction in enrollment next academic year due to travel bans and visa terminations threatening foreign students and proposed reductions in Pell grants. 'These grants have helped nearly a quarter of our students access a world-class education while providing a direct investment by the United States in the future of its own economic, social and intellectual strength,' the institution said. 'Limiting our capacity to serve all students—regardless of means or identity — undercuts the mission of public higher education. Further, these threats compromise our ability to plan and operate effectively as a global institution in service to a community that has contributed immeasurably to our strength," the university said. The announcement from UMass Amherst comes after a Monday court order from a federal judge that told the Trump administration to restore more than 360 National Institutes of Health grants nationwide — including 20 grants previously awarded to the University of Massachusetts system. UMass Amherst is also part of a list of 60 higher education institutions under federal investigation for not protecting Jewish students from antisemitic discrimination and harassment. Columbia University is also on the list and had $400 million pulled by the Trump administration, canceling grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school's failure to squelch antisemitism on campus. UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester announced a hiring freeze, spending freeze and rescinded admissions for one of its biomedical science doctorate programs this week, citing ongoing uncertainty regarding federal funding. There will also be targeted furloughs and layoffs at the medical school, according to an internal announcement. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is requiring approval for hiring, limiting overtime and scrutinizing non-personnel expenditures, according to an internal announcement on Wednesday. Read more: As Trump cuts funding, these Harvard scholars consider leaving US — and academia 'To be clear, while these proposed cuts and actions pose a serious threat to all of UMass, they are not yet law. UMass, alongside partners across higher education, is actively working to push back on these proposals and advocate for continued support of our critical mission in service of our nation's scientific and educational enterprise,' the university said. 'That said, the proposals currently under discussion would have far-reaching consequences for universities nationwide. UMass would not be exempt, and no area of our campus would remain untouched by the effects of such cuts. Whether the cuts are as deep as described in the President's proposed budget, or are somewhat less severe, a more constrained budget is anticipated in the year ahead,' it said. MIT joins group of universities suing the DOD over funding cuts As federal funding cuts hit Harvard, a private investment firm and other donors step up 20 NIH grants restored to UMass system after judge rules against Trump admin Trump admin asks court to rule against Harvard without a trial Federal judge orders Trump admin to reinstate hundreds of NIH grants Read the original article on MassLive.
CBS News
16 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland sue U.S. Department of Defense over research funding cuts
Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, College Park are fighting to protect millions of dollars in federal research funding, according to a lawsuit. The two universities, along with 10 others, are suing the department and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over an attempt to slash indirect cost rates to 15% for research funded by the department. In a memo issued on June 12, the Defense Department announced plans to cap the amount paid for indirect costs awarded on all research grants to 15%. According to the lawsuit, UMD currently has a 56% indirect costs rate, and JHU has a 55% rate. Indirect costs are resources used for operational expenses that are related to research activities. In a statement, Johns Hopkins said these costs are "necessary costs of conducting groundbreaking research that has made our nation the world's leading military superpower." How would cuts impact universities? Johns Hopkins University said the funds help offset a broad range of costs essential for its research, including equipment and electricity for labs, technical expertise and technological infrastructure, and other basic operational expenses. JHU said it has nearly 300 active Department of Defense grants totaling around $375 million across multiple years, with nearly half of that funding going to the School of Medicine and another 39% going to the Whiting School of Engineering. JHU's negotiated indirect cost rate for Department of Defense research grants was expected to remain at 55% through Fiscal Year 2026. Of the estimated $122 million in DOD funding that the university received in fiscal year 2024, nearly $90 million covered direct costs, and another $32 million accounted for the DOD's share of indirect costs. JHU co-invested to cover the remaining indirect costs. Johns Hopkins expects to receive similar amounts of DOD funding in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. However, if indirect costs are slashed, JHU said it could lose about $22 million. UMD receives approximately $125 million in DOD awards each year. The university could lose $7 million under Pete Hegseth's plan. Johns Hopkins grapples with federal funding cuts In February, Johns Hopkins University joined a federal lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after the agency announced that it would be limiting funding for indirect costs to 15%. That effort was blocked by a federal judge on June 17 after multiple states and institutions filed similar lawsuits. JHU lost more than $800 million from USAID grant terminations. Since January, 90 grants have ended, adding up to another $50 million in federal research funding. The university has been one of the top recipients of research funding from NIH. In June, the university announced it was pausing pay increases and reducing spending due to funding uncertainty.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US judge blocks Defense Department from slashing federal research funding
By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from carrying out steep cuts to federal research funding provided to universities by the U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued a temporary restraining order at the behest of 12 schools including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, as well as the Association of American Universities and two other academic trade groups. Those schools sued on Monday to challenge a policy the Defense Department recently adopted to cap reimbursement for indirect research costs at 15%, an action that mirrored funding cuts announced by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy that judges in Boston have also blocked. The funding cuts are part of the Trump administration's wide-ranging efforts to slash government spending. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a May 14 memo said the new policy would save his department up to $900 million annually. Indirect costs are often used to fund facilities, equipment and research staff that provide value across multiple research projects, rather than being tied to a single project. The universities in their lawsuit argue that the 15% cap on reimbursement rates for those indirect costs flouted the regulatory regime governing them and Congress' express directives. Murphy, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, scheduled a July 2 hearing to consider issuing a longer-term preliminary injunction. The administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US judge blocks Defense Department from slashing federal research funding
BOSTON, June 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from carrying out steep cuts to federal research funding provided to universities by the U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued a temporary restraining order, opens new tab at the behest of 12 schools including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, as well as the Association of American Universities and two other academic trade groups.
CNN
11-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
Research cuts pose ‘existential threat' to academic medicine and put nation's health at risk, new report says
Federal research funding cuts pose an 'existential threat' to academic medicine that will have repercussions for patient care in the US, according to a new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, highlighting what it calls significant damage already done to the nation. The association, which represents 172 MD-granting US and Canadian medical schools and more than 490 teaching hospitals and health systems, noted in Wednesday's report that proposals in the House GOP tax and spending cuts bill could lead to a loss of health insurance for 11 million people enrolled in Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage and jeopardize loans for half of medical students. This is the first time in recent history when all three missions of academic medicine – research, education and patient care – are threatened, said Heather Pierce, the association's senior director for science policy. Typically, she said, when one is under fire, the others can compensate to ensure that health care is not compromised. 'This is the first time that all the missions of academic medicine simultaneously face these threats from our federal partners,' Pierce said. Should this trend continue, Pierce said, the United States will probably face a physician shortage, stagnation in scientific progress and a decline in the quality of medical care. Academic health systems, which include medical schools and teaching hospitals, educate future physicians and investigate complex medical cases, treating the sickest patients. The new report says these institutions are also twice as likely as other hospitals to provide clinical services such as trauma centers, organ transplant centers, birthing rooms and substance use disorder care. The report says patients treated at major teaching hospitals – where future health care professionals receive practical hands-on training – have up to 20% higher odds of survival than those treated at non-teaching hospitals. Funding cuts to these institutions have effects that trickle down to patients nationwide. The report noted that academic health systems conduct the majority of research funded by the US National Institutes of Health, and complex patient care is made possible only through extensive medical research. As of June, more than 1,100 NIH grants have been terminated since the beginning of the second Trump administration, according to the report. These include at least 160 clinical trials to study HIV/AIDS, cancer, mental health conditions, substance abuse and chronic disease. Although not all clinical trials involve life-saving treatments, for some people who have diseases that have no established therapies, trials may be their only option. 'We've made terrific progress in many diseases, but there are many diseases where we have a long way to go to be able to offer a newly developed treatment that we know can improve or lengthen their lives,' Pierce said. 'With those diseases, in many cases, the only way to try to move forward is with what scientists think are the very best potential treatments for those diseases.' Some of the clinical trials were terminated before their conclusion, which is unethical, she said. 'Halting a clinical trial before it ends at any point, even if all of the patients who are in the clinical trial finish their treatment, before data analysis has been done, before the results are released, renders that clinical trial less useful and less ethical,' she said. Patients take on the risk of uncertainty when they join clinical trials, not knowing whether the treatment will be effective. 'If we never know the outcome, all of that time, all those patients launching everything that they did to bring science forward has been wasted. In some cases, it could be years of progress.' The report notes that research funding has made crucial contributions to life-saving care. For example, the NIH funded the development of the first artificial heart valve with the first successful replacement at the NIH Clinical Center in 1960. Today, more than 100,000 heart valve replacements are performed each year. And a study also found that NIH funding contributed to research associated with every new drug approved from 2010 to 2019. Each year, medical schools and teaching hospitals that are members of the Association of American Medical Colleges train about 77,000 residents nationwide, making these institutions the primary producers of primary care and specialty physicians. Medicare offsets a portion of the costs for the majority of trainees, and teaching hospitals fully cover the cost of training for the rest of the residents. The proposed elimination of federal student aid programs and changing eligibility requirements for loan forgiveness would affect nearly half of all medical students, the new report says. Should investment not increase, the association predicts that the nation will face a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. As federal partnerships with research institutions continue to falter and immigration restrictions become more strict, the United States is becoming a less attractive place for students to pursue science, Pierce said. The nation has benefited from their longstanding global medical and scientific approach, she said. 'There is information being shared between countries, people being trained all over the world,' Pierce said. 'The United States has always been the place where people want to come, trained to be scientists and trained to be physicians, and we have benefited from that.' Nearly half of US graduate students in STEM fields are from other countries. If the United States is not seen as a place that will collaborate with and welcome international scholars, students and researchers will leave, Pierce said. She emphasizes that what makes US innovation unique is that research comes 'with not the support but the full partnership of the federal government.' A weakening of this partnership will make it 'harder for the United States to stay as the driver of innovation and science progress,' Pierce said. A physician shortage coupled with declining research investment leads to the suffering of patient care, she said. 'When the research stops, progress stops,' Pierce said. 'Scientific progress toward more treatment, towards more cures, towards a better quality of life, is all dependent on this ecosystem [of academic medicine] that is more intertwined than I think anyone realized.'
