Federal grant cuts jeopardize $4 million of research funding

By Saahithi Sreekantham     2/18/25 10:58pm

Rice could lose up to $4 million in research funding due to cuts to National Institutes of Health grants, according to analysis by the New York Times. On Feb. 7, the NIH proposed a drastic slash of funding for indirect costs, which include administrative and lab upkeep. The proposal was blocked by a federal court Feb. 11. 

Less than a month after the Trump administration took power, universities and research institutions across the country have grappled with the government’s sweeping efforts to lower federal spending — between  NIH funding cuts, the U.S. Senate’s flagging of “woke DEI”  research grants, to the Department of Government Efficiency’s attempts to salvage $55 billion federal dollars.

Rice, which offered testimony for a lawsuit contesting NIH cuts, received over $24 million in federal NIH funding from the NIH during the 2024 fiscal year, according to public data.

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Another funding freeze could have serious consequences for research at Rice, said Baker Institute health policy senior fellow Elena Marks.  

 “The NIH are the largest single source of health-related research funding in the U.S.,” Marks wrote in an email to the Thresher. “If [its] funding is diminished, our world-class researchers will lose ground.”

However, there is still some confusion as to what is being legislatively implemented, Marks said. The White House proposed, then rescinded an earlier federal funding freeze after a federal judge blocked it. 

“Some of the changes Trump and Musk have tried to make, they’ve undone themselves, [and] some are being halted by courts,” Marks said. “I expect to see Congress take action when the president and an unelected advisor take action that is unconstitutional and contravenes Congressional authority, but so far, that hasn’t happened.” 

Aparna Jotwani, an assistant professor at the Baylor College of Medicine, said that the funding freeze is closely linked with the still-active executive order pausing federal hiring. 

“Hiring abruptly halted, and a lot of effort has had to go on to actually extend offers,” Jotwani said. “We are hopeful for the future, but we have already seen positions affected.”

Biosciences major Ian Chen, who hopes to pursue health research, expressed concern about his undergraduate and postgraduate plans.

“I’m worried that the summer internship program opportunity from the NIH, like many others, will disappear because there won’t be funding to take on and train interns, even if they do find the exemption to hire us,” Chen said.

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