BALTIMORE — Baltimore Universities like Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland Baltimore could lose tens of millions of funding for scientific research under a new Trump administration policy.
The move would cap the amount of National Institutes of Health funding that facilities can use to cover indirect expenses, such as maintaining buildings or equipment, at 15%.
"What these grants do is they allow us to answer some questions that otherwise may not be answerable about science and health and not just individual health but also population health," says Dr. Keri Althoff.
VIDEO: Medical Researchers react to Trump administration's push to cap NIH funding
But on Monday a federal judge temporarily blocked the NIH from cutting grant funding after 22 states, including Maryland, sued to stop the change.
Dr. Keri Althoff says she was shocked when she first heard about the attempt to cut funding.
Althoff has used many NIH-funded grants for her research in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University.
"It also funds a lot of things related to how we get care to the people who need it, how we identify people who may be at heightened risk for a certain disease or chronic condition, or worse health outcome," says Althoff.
Most research universities use a large amount of grant funding to cover costs.
In 2023, the NIH awarded $37 billion to researchers in the U.S., supported over 400,000 jobs, and had an economic impact of $93 billion.
The Office of the Director of NIH released a statement on February 7th explaining the cuts are to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.
The statement also provided examples of organizations that successfully operate under a 15% indirect cost rate.
"I wish I could say it would be limited to science; it's definitely going to impact science, but you know there are a lot of economic impacts of this, and I think that's what people are starting to realize," says Althoff.
Although the cuts are temporarily blocked, Althoff says there is still concern if any changes limit federal funding in the future.
"It's really important to remember that clinical research has at its heart a very specific question, but to answer that question, it takes a big team of folks to do it," she says.
Some researchers worry the cuts could strain the partnership between government and universities that are the foundation of much of America's scientific research.
