A federal judge has temporarily halted proposed funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health that could blow a financial hole in Pittsburgh’s life sciences sector. The pause comes amid several lawsuits filed Monday by states and research institutions including Carnegie Mellon University.
The NIH was set to implement a new 15% funding cap Monday on research overhead funding, which is additional money awarded alongside grants to cover infrastructure and ancillaries such as building maintenance, support staff, equipment and disposal of biohazardous materials. Major medical research universities like the University of Pittsburgh have negotiated rates up to 59%, which means the lower cap could result in a major funding gap.
The announcement sent shock waves through the research community, particularly at major Pittsburgh research hubs like Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University. In a statement, Pitt said such a change would cause “irreparable harm” to its medical research.
The NIH said the cap would save the federal government about $4 billion per year. The policy is the latest effort by the Trump administration to reduce government spending.
CMU joined a lawsuit Monday to block the policy filed by the Association of the American Universities. It joins 12 other universities — including the University of Pennsylvania, MIT and Johns Hopkins University — who also signed on as co-plaintiffs as of early Tuesday.
The lawsuit also includes the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the American Council of Education.
In a statement, the AAU said the funding cap would harm “the ability of research universities to continue doing critical NIH research that investigates new and more effective approaches to treating cancer, heart disease, and dementia,” and the ability of researchers to translate basic science into cures.
Though not listed as an individual party plaintiff, the University of Pittsburgh is a member of the Association of the American Universities, and a spokesperson told WESA that their interests are represented in the lawsuit.
In a message Tuesday from Pitt chancellor Joan Gabel said the university is providing expertise to support the legal challenge. Gabel said “much is a stake” if the proposed cuts go into effect.
“A significant reduction of these funds will result in irreparable harm for University operations: for our patients who receive treatments and cures, the students who become their best selves on our campuses, and the people whose livelihoods depend on our innovation economy,” she said.
In a statement, CMU president Farnam Jahanian said he was “hopeful that our collective efforts will bring about a resolution that continues to see the federal government and research universities working together to fuel American innovation, enhance national security and drive economic prosperity.”
The policy was blocked nationwide not long after a Boston federal judge had earlier stopped it in 22 states represented in a separate lawsuit filed on Monday. Pennsylvania is not a plaintiff in that lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said the office was speaking with research institutions and as of Monday the AG was still “assessing the best approach to protect their interests.”
Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a temporary restraining order late Monday. According to the order, the federal government cannot take “any steps, implement, apply or enforce,” the policy at institutions nationwide “until further order is issued by this Court.” A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 21.
Kelley expanded the restraining order nationwide after the universities filed their lawsuit.
The proposed cap would put the NIH in line with private foundations, many of whom cap their funding for overhead costs at 15%. If the change is implemented, it would affect current and future grants, but it’s unclear whether the Trump administration plans to claw back funds already awarded by applying the policy retroactively.
In its announcement about the new funding cap, the NIH said it was designed “to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”
But Pittsburgh researchers who spoke to WESA said without the overhead funding to cover support staff and infrastructure, research could “grind to a halt.” Some worried the change would shift administrative duties onto researchers themselves, who may have to split their time between conducting experiments and filling out grant paperwork.
The cuts could impact a broad range of research initiatives, as universities, medical schools, research hospitals and other scientific universities often share overlapping missions, research and public service with centralized management.
Pitt receives nearly $700 million in overall NIH funding, according to the university, making it the sixth largest recipient in the United States. That represents more than half of Pitt’s $1.2 billion research budget, which primarily focuses on health sciences.
Federal data indicates that CMU received nearly $38 million NIH funding in 2024.
