Massachusetts acquired $3.5 billion in grant funding final 12 months from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being. That is extra money, per capita, than another state.
Now, the Trump administration says it is going to cap a portion of each analysis grant that goes to administrative prices beginning Monday.
Dr. Jeffrey Flier, former dean of the Harvard Medical Faculty, joins WBUR’s Morning Edition to speak about how this funding cap may impression scientific analysis.
Under are highlights from their dialog, which have been flippantly edited.
Interview Highlights
On how capping overhead funding from the NIH may have an effect on analysis:
“It’s not the obvious approach to accomplish extra analysis. In truth, when you do what they are saying goes to occur as of at this time, Harvard Medical Faculty would immediately lose $60 million of funds which might be used to assist analysis that’s ongoing now. That may be a devastating blow to the power of current scientists who’re there to hold out their work.”
On what the lack of some funding means for native establishments:
“There could be selections that must be made about decreasing funding in analysis. It will contain lack of jobs.”
“Having run [Harvard Medical School] for 9 years, I can let you know that if somebody got here into my workplace this morning and mentioned ‘your finances for the medical college has simply been minimize down by $60 million,’ I’d be in emergency conferences all day to determine methods to counter that by decreasing bills.”
On what he believes is motivating the slash in NIH funding:
“ I’d say it most likely is a few mixture of political distaste for establishments of upper studying like Harvard and ignorance of how biomedical analysis features within the nation. Lots of the issues that I have been listening to within the media and social media illustrate that individuals simply merely don’t know how analysis works.”
This text was initially printed on February 10, 2025.
This section aired on February 10, 2025.
