NIH Funding Caps

Alyssa Kim

This year’s termination of biomedical research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been unprecedented in the history of the agency. NIH has seen funding cuts under the Trump administration’s new budget holding the power to jeopardize future U.S. biomedical research and dismantle health innovation infrastructure that supports universities, hospitals and medical research institutions. 

As of May 5, 777 NIH grants awarded to U.S. institutions have been terminated, representing $1.9 billion of lost funding. Rippling effects have been visible with increased pressure on labs, diminished morale and a less certain environment for early‐career scientists. About 45 percent of these grants were awarded to U.S. medical schools and hospitals, constituting $1 billion (54%) of all lost funding. Roughly 61% of all terminated grants dealt with research and development, with 29% focused on research training and career development. 

The NIH addresses a wide range of issues in science and health while also playing a significant role in supporting federal and state programs that provide health coverage to low-income individuals, such as Medicaid. The proposed budget includes a $610 billion reduction over 10 years to the Medicaid program, which currently provides health insurance to 74 million low-income Americans. This cut would supplement the $880 billion reduction already proposed in the Republican health care plan, meaning by 2027, Medicaid’s budget could be reduced by nearly half. The cut is in the prospect of reducing federal spending and ramifications, limiting the growth of entitlement programs.

Universities across the U.S. have had to let go postdoctoral researchers, lab technicians and graduate assistants, who are often the first to be laid off or have their positions suspended. These layoffs don’t just affect employment; they dismantle years of collaboration, slow ongoing experiments and delay critical medical research. In some institutions, departments are merging or pausing recruitment entirely, further limiting opportunities for young scientists entering the field. Columbia University, for instance, has laid off nearly 180 researchers after the Trump administration revoked around $400 million in federal funding due to concerns of antisemitism on campus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also seen lack of support and funding in unprecedented amounts. Studies show that the CDC would lose 17% of its budget — a cut of $1.2 billion. This news took former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden to Twitter, prompting him to rebuke this “assault on science” that would “devastate” programs that protect Americans from many deadly conditions including diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. He noted that the cuts would give the CDC its lowest budget in 20 years and subsequently lead to an increase in illness and deaths.

 If the administration continues to organize funding priorities based on ideology, the research ecosystem could shrink further — especially for work focused on marginalized communities or foundational science without immediate commercial payoff.