Widen the Lens: The Dark Endgame of the NIH Cuts
“The Universities are The Enemy"
David Pepper
Feb 12, 2025
https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/widen-the-lens-the-dark-endgame-of?r=17y7a&triedRedirect=true
I know from my time in office here that one of every 12 jobs in the Cincinnati region is supported by the University. The campus is essentially a second downtown for our thriving city, driving a huge chunk of the region’s economy. So these $300 million in NIH funds are paying directly for a large number of good jobs in the area, while supporting far more ancillary jobs and businesses.
But I also know that federal funds sent to the University of Cincinnati are paying for research work that is saving and extending lives across the nation and the world. Just a few examples over the years:
Now, in case you think I’m just bragging about Cincinnati—which I like to do—go back to that website and look at that map.
When I put my cursor over the Columbus area, I see even more NIH support—845 projects totaling over $432 million. Mostly Ohio State.
Cleveland area—754 projects, $413 million. Including Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Clinic.
Again, all of these dollars mean jobs, businesses and stronger communities. And like Cincinnati, those dollars also mean lifesaving and life-extending research.
Now go back to the map and start looking at all the other states. Same story.
Billions in local economies. Jobs. Research. Communities, lifted nationwide. Lives saved, nationwide.
The Threat: Economic, Health and Community
Once you take that all in—all those jobs and breakthroughs—know that
ALL OF IT is under threat from recent actions of the Trump administration.
To start, there’s the overall federal freeze in funds. And then there’s the Trump decision to slash billions from the NIH grant-making process (by specifically targeting indirect costs associated with NIH grants).
Why are these cuts so devastating?
As the lawsuit
filed by 22 states to stop them points out: “they are real costs that the grant recipient must incur in order to carry out the research that the grant supports.”
For example, indirect costs include much of the back-office work that enables the research to take place, including support of “the facilities and infrastructure to conduct research and the personnel and offices that ensure the safety of human subjects and animals used in research, compliance with federal regulations, laboratory maintenance, and data storage and processing,” etc.
So if the Trump action takes effect, much of the work will simply stop. As soon as these cuts go into effect, they will trigger “large financial shortfalls immediately.” Across the nation, the costs “will ultimately hinder scientific progress and ultimately harm patients. It will impede progress on American medical, scientific, technical, and economic priorities; result in fewer jobs and slower economic growth; cede to other nations American companies’ competitive advantage as a catalyst of new industries; and threaten the nation’s long-term competitiveness against global adversaries.”
As one expert told me: the risk here to these and other cuts is
“[t]he full destruction of the American science research system and the loss of the economic advantages that it brings, to China: [t]he US science research system (which is housed at US universities) and spawned Google and Intel and Silicon Valley, and which has caused the worldwide center of biomedical research to be located here.”
A researcher told
Time the same thing: that the threatened cuts would be
“the apocalypse of American science. This will basically change science as we know it in the U.S.”
For far more details on all this potential destruction, here’s a good
article.
Fortunately, a district court temporarily stopped this cut from taking place in a
ruling yesterday. Let’s hope that holds.
More at link
https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/widen-the-lens-the-dark-endgame-of?r=17y7a&triedRedirect=true
Link to the NIH Reporter website for funding by State
https://reporter.nih.gov/
