Judge blocks Trump administration order to cut NIH research funding
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Universities and research institutions are seeing temporary relief as U.S. District Judge Angel Kelly issued a temporary restraining order to block the Department of Government Efficiency's hopes to decrease federal funding of National Institute of Health grants.
According to ABC News, previously, most universities were able to acquire more than 70% of their indirect cost funds from the federal government. If the Trump administration's plans go through, this funding can be capped at 15%.
The initial NIH rate change on Friday was blocked by attorneys general from 22 states that sued the change. Missouri was not included in the states that sued.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NIH report, in the 2024 fiscal year from Oct 1, 2023-Sept 30, 2024, the University of Missouri System received $82,974,976 in NIH funds. The University of Missouri received $69,907,690.
NIH funding has helped the school with medical, agricultural and other scientific NextGen Precision Health projects. This has included research for illnesses like cancer, AIDS and dementia, as well as veterinary research and a swine research center.
"The research does everything from fighting cancer to improving the lives of your pets, the research reactor we have that provides cutting-edge medicines for people, it's not a hypothetical, these things touch lives," Associative Journalism Professor and MU Faculty Council Chair Tom Warhover said.
Warhover added that, if put in place, the NIH cuts would greatly impact the school, as the university would have to figure out how to make up the multi-million dollar loss.
"It will be affected. Period. The question is: How much? And how we were able to figure out how to pay for it?" Warhover said. "When I hear that, I hear budget cuts."
American Association of University Professors member and NYU journalism professor Chenjerai Kumanyika said NIH cuts would affect if research labs stay open and if they could also impact the jobs of faculty and students across universities.
Kumanyika added that schools like the University of Missouri that act as a research institute and provide medical care facilities are especially vulnerable, as NIH funding goes to keeping medical clinics open and paying hospital staff.
"Part of that research even involves working with people, providing for them, seeing what works better, what doesn't, when people are saying, 'I can't do this work anymore, I can't help people,' people are going to die," Kumanyika said.
According to the United for Medical Research, NIH funding for the state of Missouri in the 2023 fiscal year helped support 8,499 jobs and supported more than $1.89 billion in economic activity.
"We probably have family members and community members who are working in these institutions," Kumanyika said. "Maybe you have a cousin or someone who's a nurse's aide or wants to be a nurse, wants to be a doctor, hit by these funding freezes."
Prior to Kelly's decision on Monday, the University of Missouri President Mun Choi sent a letter to faculty and staff told staff to continue their research and to continue submitting grant proposals to the NIH.
"Leaders across the UM System are assessing the impact of this policy on out mission. We will continue to advocate for this critical research support," the letter said.
This is almost two weeks after Trump's executive actions paused federal funds with staff advised to continue research then as well.
The hearing for next steps in Kelly's suit is set for Feb. 21.
"We don't believe in the kind of ivory tower chorded off from the community, that's not really what the university is," Kumanyika said. "It's actually something that is in communities that we're connected to and we don't want to try to hurt things that affect everyday Americans."
ABC 17 News reached out to 10 University of Missouri researchers, of the four that replied, two declined to comment, while two others refused to comment out of fear of possible retaliation.
