Each year, the National Institutes of Health offer billions of dollars at the University of California to pay for cancer research, Alzheimer's disease, parkinson, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases it has been at the forefront of the study for decades.
But a drastic reduction in NIH financing under the Trump administration which should take place on Monday caused an alarm among the leaders of the UC and many medical researchers, who said that this decision “would endanger the pre -eminence of American research”.
Addressing The Times since the cuts were announced on Friday evening, the medical researchers of the UC expressed their concerns concerning the future of their laboratories and their rescue efforts – Like others in universities and university medical centers in the country.
The NIH said on Friday evening that it would reduce more than half of so -called “indirect funding” – general costs for research supplies, buildings, public services, support staff and other costs – that institutions receive as part of medical research subsidies.
From Monday, indirect financing sponsored by the NIH will be capped at 15% of subsidies, against 57% that many UCLA research projects receive and the 64% granted to UC San Francisco, which has the highest rate of the UC system.
In his X post On Friday at the change, the NIH shared a graphic that compared the indirect financing rates for Harvard, Yale and Johns Hopkins with their endowments of several billion dollars. The highest among them, Harvard, was 69%.
The move of the NIH would save around $ 4 billion a year of dollars in taxes, said the position. The agency said that more than a quarter of its $ 35 billion in research funding last year. ComparedHe cited private foundations, including the Chan Zuckerberg initiative and the Gates Foundation, saying that their general costs are 15% or less.
“The United States should have the best medical research in the world,” said the NIH Guidance published on his website. “It is therefore essential to guarantee that as many funds as possible is towards direct scientific research costs rather than general administrative costs.”
University researchers have declared that money, although labeled “indirect funding”, is essential for their work and pays to maintain vital science – to ensure the appropriate storage of organic samples to keep animals living for medical trials. They also argue that private foundations do not have to follow the same rules in the way they classify expenses, saying that it is unfair to compare the general costs Between the two.
Republicans argue that the costs are superfluous, part of the inflated expenses of taxpayers' funds that President Trump appointed Elon Musk to reduce.
Scientists emphasize that universities have already paid a greater share for research costs. Data from National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics Show that, since 1980, the federal section of research support in universities has dropped by 12% while university payments increased by 11%.
Cups could “jeopardize” UC medical research
NIH is the largest UC research funder, offering $ 2.6 billion in the past academic year – 62% of university prices over $ 4.2 billion.
In a statement, UC said that “the new administration directives would endanger this vital support and endanger the pre -eminence of American research”.
“These secular university partnerships have led to some of the most powerful and impactful research discoveries in human history,” the statement said. “Vital treatment for cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes, including children, new technologies and industries that result in hundreds of thousands of well -remunerated jobs are all threatened. America is the first of research, but its domination is not guaranteed. ”
On Saturday, UC officials still analyzed the effect of moving NIH and were in contact with lawyers, researchers and UC administrators on how to respond.
In an email at its scientific faculty after the NIH announcement, a Dean de l'Ucla said: “As with many announcements in recent weeks, this undoubtedly causes significant anxiety. Please know that UCLA leadership and through the UC is working to understand the implications.”
The White House defends the movement
The White House defended its action, saying in an e-mail explosion to the media on Saturday that “the NIH has not announced any reduction in real research”. He quoted Vinay Prasad, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and medicine at UC San Francisco, who rented the NIH movement on his blog.
The cut “could even mean more science. Less money spent on administration is more money to give real scientists, “wrote Prasad. “I am shocked to see researchers cry about the amount of money that the university obtains – this means that more subsidies can be granted by cycle.”
Several other UC researchers, many who had just asked for renewals of grants after a Recent application of the application Or were writing subsidy proposals, said they were amazed.
“All my research will be closed if this is happening. There is no other way to say it. This will be done,” said Beate Ritz, professor and vice-president of the UCLA epidemiology department who received at least $ 1 million per year for more than a decade of NIH in search of environmental pollution of Parkinson and Alheimer. “It's not my salary. I am paid by the state to teach. But it is the cost of a large part of everything else. ”
What's cut
Indirect costs cover items outside wages, travel, supplies and other direct expenses. Indirect costs are negotiated between university and the federal government – generally every three or four years for UC campuses – which is why the change surprised scientists.
Gina Poe, professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine of the UCLA, said that she feared that her decades of research on memory, sleep and post-traumatic stress syndrome will be threatened.
Poe explained how his grant works. She receives $ 250,000 per year from the NIH to pay five first cycle research assistants and graduates, among other expenses, including rats and mice. This does not include its indirect funding.
With an indirect cost rate of the UCLA of 57%, at first glance, it seems that POE would receive additional $ 142,500 in this funding. But she said that mathematics are more complicated and that she gets much less.
The federal government said POE, deduces certain costs from the grant before calculating indirect funding levels. The main equipment costs, prices for tuition fees to students and others are not included. In the end, its indirect NIH funding totals an additional $ 114,000, which mainly goes to the UCLA and the University's Life Sciences Division to cover the costs of facilities and other expenses.
Among the budgetary elements, indirect funding pays: workers who deal with rats and mice, nourishing them and cleaning their cages. He also pays drugs and visits to veterinarians.
As part of the new NIH formula, the indirect POE financing allowance would be minimal.
“The only way for me to make up for this money is to move my work in a private company, so that the UCLA increases tuition fees to cover additional costs or to apply to private foundations where competition will increase considerably for funding,” said Poe.
Vivek Shetty, professor of the UCLA of oral surgery and maxillofacial and biomedical engineering and former president of the academic senate, expressed her concerns that the American research power could be reduced.
“America’s world leadership in science and technology was not built on genius alone. He strongly relied on infrastructure and systems that allowed universities to transform ideas into innovations. Paralyzing this infrastructure, and the next medical or AI progression will occur elsewhere – by taking not only jobs and prestige, but also of economic vitality and societal progress that innovation, “said Shetty.
The change of funding has struck a particular nerve in universities since the inauguration of Trump. Many administrators felt under the microscope of a president who spoke out against what he describes as “Marxist” universities invaded with leftists.
Last month, UC officials raised concerns after a temporary NIH break on research grant exams. Trump's decrees have also targeted diversity, equity and inclusion programs – including in federal subsidies and programming. Wednesday, he signed a decree designed To ban transgender athletes Participation in the sporting events of women or girls.
The editor of Times Corinne Pretill contributed to this story.
