By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week terminated millions of dollars in research awards to scientists in Massachusetts and around the country, citing the Trump administration’s new restrictions on funding anything related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, transgender issues, or research that could potentially benefit universities in China.

The administration previously announced that it was capping the reimbursement rate from the NIH at 15 percent for so-called indirect costs. The term refers to money NIH gives grant recipients to support overhead expenses such as electricity, maintenance staff, or lab space rent.

Both actions have massive implications for one of the primary drivers of the Massachusetts economy. The state is the nation’s top recipient of NIH funding on a per-capita basis and Massachusetts researchers received more than $3.4 billion from the NIH last year.

The outcome of the issues remains tied up in the courts. Federal judges in Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., have blocked the administration from freezing or ending billions of dollars in government spending.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) represents a diverse membership spanning 150 sectors, including leading health care, life sciences, and higher-education institutions. NIH funding in Massachusetts supports world-renowned hospitals, research institutions and universities throughout the commonwealth. The $3.46 billion in NIH funding for Fiscal Year 2024 was distributed across 219 organizations working to develop treatments for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, advance biotechnology for organ transplants, combat the opioid crisis, and much more.

President Trump’s proposed NIH funding cuts pose a serious threat to the state’s leadership in medical innovation. These reductions will not only slow life-saving research and health-care advancements that benefit patients across the country and the world but also result in significant job losses and economic disruption. Instead of focusing on scientific breakthroughs, research institutions are being forced to pause critical studies and divert resources to navigate uncertainty and funding shortfalls.

AIM stands firmly in support of our NIH-funded members and the Commonwealth. We call for an immediate end to the federal funding freeze and proposed grant restrictions so Massachusetts can continue leading in cutting-edge research that saves lives and drives economic growth.