After months of staff cuts and grant freezes, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may have to return billions in unspent research funds before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
Katherine J. Wu reports for The Atlantic.
In short:
- Senate appropriators voted to boost NIH’s $48 billion budget, defying President Trump’s push for a 40% cut.
- Political appointees have stalled or canceled thousands of grants, fired staff and forced remaining employees to juggle shifting rules and threats of dismissal.
- As a result, NIH has awarded 12,000 fewer grants and spent about 30% less than usual, raising fears that unused money will justify deeper future cuts.
Key quote:
“No one can function under this kind of whiplash. People are joking about getting neck braces.”
— Sarah Kobrin, branch chief at the National Cancer Institute
Why this matters:
When the National Institutes of Health can’t move money out the door, clinical trials stall, laboratories lay off staff and young investigators look abroad or leave science altogether, draining the talent pipeline. Political meddling also skews which questions get asked, chilling research on topics from climate-related disease to reproductive health. The resulting gaps ripple through hospitals and public-health agencies that rely on NIH findings to guide patient care and emergency response. If billions go back to the Treasury this fall, taxpayers will lose their return on investment and the nation’s scientific edge will erode at a moment when emerging pathogens and chronic illnesses already strain health systems.
Learn more: Congress questions who’s in control as Trump budget cuts disrupt NIH research
