By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Federal funding for medical research has dropped by roughly $1 billion this year, raising alarm among universities, medical centers and lawmakers who warn the shortfall could slow progress in cancer, diabetes and heart disease research.<\/p>\n
The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grant review process was also disrupted when the Trump administration suddenly canceled scheduled funding meetings due to a temporary communications freeze.<\/p>\n
Some of those meetings have since resumed, but experts warn that delays could impede new research projects.<\/p>\n
The drop in funding comes amid administrative delays and policy changes under the Trump administration, including a controversial move to cut NIH payments for research facility and administrative costs.<\/p>\n
A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily blocked those cuts, pending upcoming hearings.<\/p>\n
The NIH awarded about $2.5 billion in grants in the first six weeks of 2024, federal records show. This year, that number has plummeted to $1.4 billion — hundreds of millions of dollars lower than the amount awarded in the same timeframe over the past six years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president has completely stopped funding for research that discovers cures for diseases that devastate families across the country, like cancer and Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a> disease, all so he can give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations,\u201d U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin<\/a> (D-Wis.), said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMake no mistake, their efforts to rob Peter to pay Paul means crushing families\u2019 hopes and dreams of having cures,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The NIH typically distributes roughly $36 billion in grants annually. The funding supports groundbreaking research in such areas as gene therapy, immune-based cancer treatments, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease.<\/p>\n Without full funding, experts warn that vital projects could be delayed or stopped altogether.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Patty Murray<\/a> (D-Wash.) attempted to restore NIH funding to previously agreed-upon levels through a budget bill, but the effort failed on a party-line vote.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump and Elon — either through sheer ignorance or a genuine lack of caring — are putting lifesaving research in America on life support,\u201d Murray said in a statement<\/a>, referring to billionaire Elon Musk and his reported influence on White House budget decisions.<\/p>\n Musk heads the Trump-created U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has slashed funding and staff in several federal departments and agencies.<\/p>\n What’s more, the administration has also faced internal turmoil at the NIH, with two high-ranking officials suddenly resigning and the agency still lacking a permanent director.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Trump’s nominee to head the NIH, Stanford professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya<\/a>, is preparing for Senate confirmation hearings in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n The uncertainty at the NIH comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new secretary of health and human services<\/a> (HHS), has suggested he wants to back off on infectious disease research and focus more on chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease<\/a>. NIH is part of Kennedy’s department.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> reported that the proposed cuts in medical research have raised deep concerns among recipient institutions.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the federal government cuts its investment, we will have to scale back on research, and cutting-edge science will be cut short,\u201d Dean Madden<\/a>, the vice provost for research at Dartmouth\u2019s medical school, said at a news conference Friday, according to The New York Times<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know what discoveries won\u2019t be made as a result, but they might include a cure for some childhood cancer or treatment for Alzheimer\u2019s or dozens of other diseases that are afflicting patients across our country,\u201d Madden added.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n