‘Shortsighted’ and ‘Dangerous’: Colleges Warn of Budget Cuts After NIH Slashes Medical Research Funding

The National Institutes of Health’s plan to cut funding for colleges’ “indirect costs” of conducting medical research, which includes hazardous waste disposal, utilities and patient safety, could cost institutions billions. The policy change, effective Monday and announced late Friday, set off alarm bells throughout higher education over the weekend. If it moves forward unchallenged, colleges will have to cut their budgets, raise costs for students or reduce research activities to make up the difference. Advocates and researchers also warned that the cuts would undermine key research life-saving medical advancements.