Pitt, Carnegie Mellon could lose more than $100 million in NIH funding
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — After steel, the backbone of Pittsburgh's economy became one of educational and medical institutions, but University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University could soon be losing millions of dollars in federal research funding.
It is the vital lifeline to research into the cause and treatment of cancer, dementia and heart disease as well as potentially life-saving innovations in neuro-engineering. Together, Pitt and CMU could lose close to $200 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, putting all future research in doubt.
"We're trying to make ends meet by being creative but that's only going to allow us to survive just a couple of months," said Pitt associate professor TK Kozai.
Pitt receives nearly $700 million in NIH grants, the sixth-highest recipient in the nation. But last week the Trump administration suddenly cut reimbursements to universities for so-called "indirect costs" — things like lab space and the expensive and sophisticated equipment like a photon microscope Kozai needs for his research.
"We can't do the experiments without the electricity. We can't do the experiments without the internet. We can't do the experiments without the data security," Kozai said.
The administration contends the overhead costs of research institutions are too high and they can do more with less and save the taxpayer $4 billion a year. But in a statement, Pitt says this will impede and kill much of the research and have a "major impact" on Pittsburgh's eds and meds economy.
"Federal funding for research has been vital in not only maintaining global competitiveness, but also in advancing treatments for some of society's most devastating diseases ... Research also has a major impact on the economy in western Pennsylvania, creating jobs and attracting partner companies to the area," Pitt said.
Carnegie Mellon — which receives far less NIH funding than Pitt — joined with other universities in filing for an injunction and a federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order freezing the cuts. It remains to be seen if the Trump administration will comply with that order and restore the funding until the issue is decided in courts.
It will now be up to a judge to decide if these cuts are legal and whether they should be restored, but it sets up a future confrontation between the Trump administration and the court.
