The National Institutes of Health announced in a policy statement Friday, Feb. 7 that it will immediately drop its rate of “indirect cost of research” funding down to 15% for all research institutions in the U.S.
Following NIH’s announcement, the University of Wisconsin released a statement Saturday, Feb. 8 in response to the issued federal directive.
The proposed change to NIH funding — UW’s largest source of federal support — will significantly disrupt vital research activity and delay lifesaving discoveries and cures related to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and much more, according to the statement.
These reductions will have an impact on future opportunities for undergraduates, PhD and medical students to engage in research, UW said in the statement.
Medical innovation will be slowed, delaying the creation of new treatments, new technologies and new health workers, according to the statement.
On Monday, UW released a second statement announcing that multiple state attorney generals, including Wisconsin’s Josh Kaul, filed a lawsuit against the NIH directive.
UW contributed information to this legal challenge, describing the potential impacts this directive could have on campus, according to the statement.
UW added to the importance of receiving NIH funds.
Federal funding contributes to a wide variety of critical innovations and discoveries at UW, from weather satellites that save lives during natural disasters to the “UW Solution” that advanced the practice of organ transplantation by extending the viability of human organs, according to the statement.
“These ‘indirect costs’ are not optional expenses,” UW wrote in the statement. “They are both substantial and an absolutely fundamental part of innovative science.”
According to the statement, UW negotiated federal indirect rates for fiscal years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, ranging from 26%-55.5% percent depending on the nature and location of the work.
If the NIH’s new policy goes into effect, UW’s scientific research budget will be significantly cut.
For updates on these legal cases, UW advises visiting the Federal Relations website.
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