Skip to main content
Last updated:
December 4, 2025
Issue status:
Critically endangered

Medical Research Funding

Scan this QR code to view this page on Unbreaking.

DateWhat happened?
Jan 21, 2025The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies pause communications with the public, ban travel, and cancel all meetings of advisory councils and the study sections that review grant applications.
Jan 27, 2025The Trump administration orders all federal grants and loans frozen.
Jan 28, 2025Twenty-three states file suit in response to the Trump administration’s order freezing federal grants (New York v. Trump).
Jan 28, 2025A coalition of nonprofit organizations files suit to block the January 27 order freezing federal grants and loans. Judge Loren AliKhan issues an administrative stay pausing implementation of the order (National Council of Nonprofits v. OMB).
Jan 31, 2025Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issues a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from freezing federal funds (New York v. Trump).
Feb 3, 2025Judge AliKhan issues a temporary restraining order halting the funding freeze and ordering the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release the frozen funds (National Council of Nonprofits v. OMB).
Feb 7, 2025The NIH releases guidance capping indirect cost rates on research grants at 15%.
Feb 10, 2025In three separate lawsuits, medical colleges, universities, and 22 state attorneys general challenge the 15% indirect cost rate cap, which is well below actual administrative and facilities costs and will force painful cuts. (AAMC v. NIH, AAU v. HHS, Massachusetts v. NIH).
Feb 14, 2025The NIH asserts in a court filing (PDF) that the agency’s total grant spending will remain constant and that the new policy “simply reallocates that grant spending away from indirect costs and toward the direct funding of research” (Massachusetts v. NIH, AAMC v. NIH, AAU v. HHS).
Feb 14, 2025HHS fires 1,500 NIH employees and 1,300 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees, mostly those with probationary status.
Feb 19, 2025A group of labor and nonprofit groups files suit against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to challenge mass terminations of probationary federal employees, including the NIH employees laid off on February 14 (AFGE v. OPM).
Feb 20, 2025Nature obtains e-mail correspondence banning NIH officials from posting notices in the Federal Register. The ban prevents grant review panels from meeting, stalling action on approximately 16,000 pending grant applications.
Feb 24, 2025WIRED reports that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have access to the NIH electronic business system, sparking concerns over data privacy, oversight, and potential cuts.
Feb 25, 2025Judge AliKhan grants a temporary injunction preventing the Trump administration from freezing federal grants (National Council of Nonprofits v. OMB).
Feb 26, 2025NIH’s prestigious Summer Internship Program, which provides research opportunities for some 1,200 high school and university students, is canceled.
Feb 26, 2025The NIH partially lifts the ban on Federal Register posting, allowing a subset of grant review panels to resume.
Feb 28, 2025The NIH cancels current grants relating to LGBTQ+ health, citing a change in the agency’s funding priorities.
Mar 5, 2025Federal Judge Angel Kelley issues a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the announced 15% NIH cap on indirect costs (Massachusetts v. NIH, AAMC v. NIH, AAU v. HHS).
Mar 6, 2025Judge McConnell becomes the second judge to grant a preliminary injunction (PDF) blocking the freeze on grant and loan funding (New York v. Trump).
Mar 6, 2025Reports indicate that NIH employees have been instructed to terminate and withhold future funding for projects related to LGBTQ+ health, gender identity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Mar 6, 2025The NIH announces that many peer review panels will be eliminated and new grant proposals reviewed instead by a central office, taking decisions out of the hands of individual institutes.
Mar 7, 2025The federal government begins cancellation of $400 million in grants to Columbia University, alleging that Columbia has not done enough to combat antisemitism. NIH grants make up $250 million of the canceled support.
Mar 7, 2025Graduate students, scientists, and supporters hold Stand Up for Science protests around the country, calling on political leaders to end political interference with science, restore grant funding, and defend DEI initiatives.
Mar 10, 2025NIH begins notifying researchers that grants for research into vaccine hesitancy are canceled. At least 33 grants are terminated and another 9 possibly curtailed. An internal NIH memo orders that all grants, contracts, and collaborations involving research on mRNA vaccines be reported to HHS and the White House. Grants for research into vaccine hesitancy are canceled.
Mar 19, 2025The administration freezes $175 million of federal funding including medical research funding to the University of Pennsylvania over their policies on transgender athletes.
Mar 25, 2025The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) file suit (PDF) in response to the $400 million in cuts to Columbia University. The AAUP alleges that the administration is coercing the university into restricting freedom of speech and expression (AAUP v. DOJ).
Mar 25, 2025The NIH resumes posting Notifications of Funding Opportunities, but staff are informed that all notices must be approved by HHS and DOGE officials for alignment with the Trump administration’s priorities before posting.
Mar 27, 2025HHS announces a restructuring plan that will reduce the agency from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees and consolidate its 28 divisions into 15.
Apr 1, 2025HHS cuts 20,000 jobs through layoffs, voluntary separations, and early retirements. This includes all 27 members of the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis and all but one member of the NIH Office of Pain Policy and Planning.
Apr 1, 2025Four NIH institute directors are laid off as part of a DOGE-directed reduction in force sweep.
Apr 2, 2025A group of health research organizations and scientists sue the NIH over grant terminations. They allege that unlawful grant terminations and obstructions have damaged biomedical research (APHA v. NIH).
Apr 3, 2025The administration threatens to pause $510 million in federal funding to Brown University, alleging antisemitism on campus. According to Brown’s leadership, more than 70% of its federal research funding supports medicine and health.
Apr 4, 2025Judge Kelley issues a permanent injunction barring the NIH from cutting indirect cost rates (Massachusetts v. NIH, AAMC v. NIH, AAU v. HHS).
Apr 4, 2025A coalition of 16 states files a lawsuit against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over NIH grant delays and terminations, alleging the actions are unconstitutional (Massachusetts vs. Kennedy).
Apr 8, 2025The NIH appeals Judge Kelley’s injunction barring the indirect rate cap to the US Court of Appeals (Massachusetts v. NIH, AAMC v. NIH, AAU v. HHS).
Apr 8, 2025The Transmitter reports that NIH has terminated funding for at least seven training programs supporting early-career researchers from underrepresented communities.
Apr 8, 2025A coalition of labor unions, researchers, and patient advocates holds a national day of action to protest funding cuts to medical research.
Apr 8, 2025In response to NIH’s plan to cap indirect costs, 10 national associations representing universities, medical schools, and research institutions create a task force to develop a more efficient and transparent model for funding indirect costs.
Apr 8, 2025The administration freezes funding for Northwestern University and Cornell University, alleging antisemitism and racial discrimination.
Apr 10, 2025The administration freezes $120 million of research grants to Princeton University, citing antisemitism on campus.
Apr 11, 2025Members of the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism send Harvard University a letter threatening to withdraw more than $9 billion in federal funding unless the university makes major changes in hiring, admission, discipline, and governance policies and practices. The same day, Harvard’s AAUP chapter sues several administration departments alleging that the administration has not followed any of the procedures required to withdraw funding under anti-discrimination law (Harvard AAUP v. DOJ).
Apr 14, 2025The NIH freezes $2.2 billion in research funding to Harvard after the university refuses to accept the terms laid out on April 11.
Apr 16, 2025A leaked draft of the 2026 HHS budget request proposes cutting the NIH budget by 44%. It also proposes to shrink the number of NIH institutes from 27 to 8 through consolidation and elimination.
Apr 21, 2025The NIH issues a rule prohibiting the awarding of grants to institutions that have DEI policies or that boycott Israeli companies.
Apr 21, 2025Harvard University sues multiple federal agencies over the funding freeze (President and Fellows of Harvard College v. HHS).
Apr 24, 2025The government appeals Judge AliKhan’s February 25 preliminary injunction preventing OMB from freezing federal grants (National Council of Nonprofits v. OMB).
Apr 25, 2025Nature reports that sworn depositions by NIH officials indicate that NIH grant funding decisions are being made by a DOGE representative with no apparent scientific background (APHA v. NIH).
Apr 28, 2025The administration appeals the US Court of Appeals Judge McConnell’s March 6 preliminary injunction preventing the withholding of federal grants (New York v. Trump).
Apr 29, 2025HHS orders the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease’s (NIAID’s) Integrated Research Facility to indefinitely halt operation. It is one of the few federal facilities equipped to study high-containment pathogens.
May 1, 2025The NIH halts funding for collaboration with foreign institutions.
May 5, 2025Twenty states file a lawsuit to reverse the April 1 termination of 10,000 HHS employees, arguing that the decision exceeds executive authority (New York v. Kennedy).
May 5, 2025The White House issues EO 14292: “Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research,” tightening restrictions on gain-of-function research on viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. The guidance is criticized by the scientific community as being vague and contradictory.
May 5, 2025Harvard is informed it can no longer apply for federal grants.
May 13, 2025HHS reinstates 328 employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), who were laid off in April and May.
May 20, 2025Healthcare practitioners and a nonprofit sue the NIH over the withdrawal of funding for LGBTQ+ health initiatives, calling it a “transparent act of overt discrimination.” (AAPHR v. NIH).
May 28, 2025The federal government cancels a $766 million contract with Moderna to develop mRNA vaccines against the H5N1 strain of bird flu and other flu viruses that might cause pandemics.
May 30, 2025Williams College is the first college or university to announce that it will decline federal grants from the Trump administration, arguing that the NIH’s DEI ban violates anti-discrimination laws and undermines academic freedom.
Jun 4, 2025University of California researchers file suit over termination of research grants. They allege that the administration’s obstruction and termination of federal grants is unconstitutional and unlawful (Thakur v. Trump).
Jun 5, 2025The administration releases its 2026 NIH budget proposal, proposing an up-front grant funding system that would result in greater researcher flexibility but reduce the number of grants awarded. Overall funding for research would drop by 43% from 2025 levels.
Jun 9, 2025Nearly 500 NIH employees sign “The Bethesda Declaration,” an open letter to NIH and HHS leadership raising concerns over funding cuts, academic freedom, politicization of science, and layoffs.
Jun 10, 2025Senators debate NIH’s up-front grant funding system from the 2026 budget proposal, with Democratic senators accusing NIH director Jay Bhattacharya of using “funny math” to further funding cuts.
Jun 12, 2025The task force formed by science philanthropies and 10 national associations of universities, medical schools, and research institutions offers two new models for funding indirect costs on federal grants. Their proposals focus on transparent and auditable indirect cost spending.
Jun 12, 2025The NIH rescinds the April 21 directive banning funding for institutions with DEI initiatives or Israeli boycotts.
Jun 16, 2025The lawsuit filed by the Harvard AAUP chapter challenging the threat to Harvard’s research funding is dismissed by Federal Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. The AAUP immediately appeals (PDF) the decision (Harvard AAUP v. DOJ).
Jun 16, 2025Federal Judge William G. Young rules that the Trump administration’s termination of hundreds of NIH grants because they did not align with administration priorities is “void and illegal” and orders the grants to be restored, in a partial consolidation of two lawsuits. The defendants immediately file appeals (APHA vs. NIH, Massachusetts v. Kennedy).
Jun 18, 2025Following Judge Young’s June 16 ruling ordering a restoration of hundreds of grants, the NIH unfreezes, then refreezes federal funding to Columbia University.
Jun 23, 2025Federal Judge Rita Lin grants a preliminary injunction blocking the termination of federal grants to the University of California (Thakur v. Trump).
Jul 3, 2025The NIH partially reverses the May 1 ban on funding for international collaborators, allowing the continuation of clinical trials in South Africa.
Jul 8, 2025The Supreme Court issues a short unsigned order that stays a lower court’s ruling and clears the way for the administration to proceed with widespread layoffs (AFGE v. Trump).
Jul 8, 2025Democrats from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology host a “science fair” to draw attention to the effects of grant terminations and obstructions.
Jul 8, 2025The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that at least 43 NIH grant applications have been removed from the peer-review pipeline with no explanation.
Jul 9, 2025In a letter (PDF) to the House Appropriations Committee, 223 scientific and medical organizations oppose the NIH budget cuts and reorganization.
Jul 10, 2025The NIH announces that they will no longer fund proposals for research that relies solely on animal models.
Jul 11, 2025Science reports that the NIH is suspending dozens of grants supporting studies on SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and tuberculosis, citing concerns over gain-of-function research.
Jul 14, 2025HHS officially fires thousands of employees following a July 8 Supreme Court decision allowing mass layoffs to proceed across the government.
Jul 14, 2025Nature reports that the NIH will disinvite vetted scientists who serve on grant advisory panels. NIH staff are instructed to replace them with candidates screened for views critical of the president.
Jul 17, 2025The NIH caps the number of grant applications that can be submitted by an individual, citing concerns that some applications may be generated using artificial intelligence tools. This move sparks concerns that investigators will not be able to submit more grants to make up for reduced funding.
Jul 18, 2025The US Court of Appeals denies the administration’s motion to stay Judge Young’s June 16 order reinstating terminated NIH grants (APHA vs. NIH, Massachusetts vs. Kennedy).
Jul 23, 2025Columbia University agrees to pay $200 million as part of an agreement to restore federal grant funding. Responding to internal criticism, Columbia’s acting President Claire Shipman assures faculty and students that academic freedom will not be compromised.
Jul 28, 2025The federal government freezes $108 million in biomedical grant funding to Duke University, claiming “systemic racial discrimination” in admissions.
Jul 29, 2025The Office of Management and Budget orders the NIH not to pay anything other than staff salaries and expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year, halting $15 billion in grant funding. The decision is reversed the same day after The Wall Street Journal reports the move.
Jul 30, 2025Brown University reaches a settlement with the federal government to restore frozen grant funding for medical and scientific research. The settlement calls for Brown to spend $50 million on workforce development grants and agree to a number of policy demands.
Jul 31, 2025The Senate Appropriations Committee rejects the administration’s proposed budget cuts to the NIH, instead approving a $400 million increase in funding with bipartisan support. The committee also opposes the 15% indirect costs cap and rejects HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s proposal to reorganize health programs into a new agency.
Jul 31, 2025The federal government suspends 495 NIH and 300 National Science Foundation grants to UCLA, alleging bias and toleration of antisemitism.
Aug 1, 2025Federal Judge Lydia K. Griggsby grants an injunction in response to the lawsuit filed by healthcare practitioners on May 20. The injunction bars the NIH from terminating any grants on the basis that the research addresses LGBTQ+ health, gender identity, diversity, equity, or related topics (AAPHR v. NIH).
Aug 5, 2025The HHS announces the termination of nearly $500 million in grants awarded to universities and companies for mRNA vaccine research and development.
Aug 7, 2025The White House issues an executive order putting federal grantmaking decisions in the hands of political appointees rather than experts.
Aug 8, 2025The federal government threatens to take over Harvard’s patents, escalating negotiations over frozen grant funding to the university.
Aug 15, 2025NIH Director Bhattacharya releases a list of agency priorities, outlining agency policies on DEI, foreign collaborations, and research on health disparities and transgender health. The document also announces an agency-wide funding review.
Aug 21, 2025In a 5-4 decision in the merged suits filed by health research organizations, scientists, and state attorneys general, the Supreme Court allows the federal government to continue to withhold NIH funding on DEI grounds. The ruling refers the parties’ petition to restore the grants to the US Court of Federal Claims in Washington, which hears disputes over federal contracts (APHA vs. NIH, Massachusetts vs. Kennedy).
Aug 21, 2025OMB releases at least $200 million of grant funding that had been previously frozen by the administration to the CDC.
Sep 3, 2025Twenty-one scientific, medical, public health, and patient associations release a joint statement calling for the resignation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing the HHS secretary of undermining scientific and medical research.
Sep 3, 2025Two NIH scientists file whistleblower complaints alleging that they were removed from their leadership positions due to the administration’s hostility toward vaccines and their objections to the politicization of the grantmaking process.
Sep 3, 2025Federal Judge Allison D. Burroughs rules that the Trump administration illegally canceled federal funding to Harvard (Harvard AAUP v. DOJ, President and Fellows of Harvard College v. HHS).
Sep 9, 2025The House Appropriations Committee votes to maintain the NIH budget at $48 billion and preserves all 27 NIH institutes and centers.
Sep 13, 2025California lawmakers propose a $23 billion plan to restore scientific research funding, in essence creating a state version of the NIH and NSF.
Sep 13, 2025Federal Judge William Alsup rules that large-scale federal layoffs are unconstitutional (AFGE v. OPM).
Sep 15, 2025Science reports that 17 grants involving human fetal tissue are among those that that will not be renewed by the NIH, sparking fears of a ban on studies involving human fetal tissue.
Sep 16, 2025The administration appeals Judge Alsup’s ruling that large-scale federal layoffs are unconstitutional (AFGE v. OPM).
Sep 16, 2025University of California faculty file suit (PDF) over frozen or terminated federal funding, alleging that the administration’s actions are unconstitutional and unlawful. (AAUP v. Trump)
Sep 19, 2025A Harvard spokesperson confirms receipt of $46 million in grant money after Judge Burroughs’ ruling that the administration’s freezing of $2.2 billion in grants was illegal (Harvard AAUP v. DOJ, President and Fellows of Harvard College v. HHS).
Sep 22, 2025Judge Lin grants a preliminary injunction requested by University of California faculty ordering the NIH to unfreeze hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants (Thakur v. Trump).
Sep 29, 2025HHS refers Harvard to debarment, a process that would make the university ineligible to receive any federal funds, for “deliberate indifference towards antisemitic student-on-student harassment.”
Sep 29, 2025Nature reports that the NIH is on track to disburse its entire $48 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year, partly as a result of the administration’s up-front grant funding scheme, which reduces the number of grants awarded.
Oct 1, 2025The US government shuts down, freezing new funding approvals and registration in clinical trials.
Oct 1, 2025The White House announces a “Compact for Academic Excellence (PDF)” that will provide funding advantages to universities that pledge to adhere to the administration’s viewpoints. Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Brown University, and the University of Virginia are invited to apply for the preferential treatment.
Oct 1, 2025Harvard administrators notify faculty and staff that the majority of the university’s canceled grants have been restored following Judge Burroughs’ September 3 ruling.
Oct 2, 2025Four NIH Institute directors who had been demoted and placed on administrative leave are fired. The fired directors include NIAID Director Marrazzo, who filed a whistleblower complaint in September.
Oct 2, 2025California Governor Gavin Newsom announces that any California university that signs the administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence will lose state funding, including need-based student Cal Grants.
Oct 6. 2025Virginia state senators condemn the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education deal, calling it “political extortion” and warning that state funding to the university will be at stake if universities choose to sign the deal.
Oct 10, 2025MIT President Sally Kornbluth informs Education Secretary Linda McMahon that MIT will not participate in the Compact for Academic Excellence, saying that the premise of the document is “inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”
Oct 14, 2025Trump invites “any institution” to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence, opening up the deal to any university or college.
Oct 15, 2025Brown University President Christina Paxson declines the Compact for Academic Excellence, saying that the document would “restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance.”
Oct 16, 2025The University of Pennsylvania and University of Southern California decline the Compact for Academic Excellence. The White House counters that any university not making the outlined changes “will find itself without future government and taxpayers support.”
Nov 7, 2025Cornell reaches a $30 million settlement to restore frozen federal funding, which also includes directives to fund administration-prioritized programs and to provide admissions data “broken down by race, grade point average, and performance on standardized tests.” Cornell’s AAUP chapter condemns the settlement.
Nov 7, 2025Students, faculty, and educational workers organize rallies around the country, protesting the administration’s attacks on higher education and academic freedom.
Nov 7, 2025The NIH begins recruiting for vacant institute director positions in a way that critics say goes against standard hiring practice. Past recruitment processes included formal hiring panels and external scientific experts, and could last up to nine months.
Nov 13, 2025The NIH puts Jenna Norton, a program director, on administrative leave. Norton was one of the key organizers of the Bethesda Declaration open letter in June, which criticized the administration’s attacks on medical research.
Nov 14, 2025Judge Lin grants a preliminary injunction requested by University of California faculty, ordering the administration not to restrict federal funding or seek payments in connection with any civil rights investigations. (AAUP v. Trump)
Nov 21, 2025The NIH implements a new grantmaking strategy that deprioritizes “paylines,” a funding threshold based on peer-reviewed grant rankings . This move sparked concerns that the grantmaking process will become less transparent and rely less on scientific expertise when making funding decisions.
Nov 25, 2025The American Association of University Professors, one of the biggest unions representing faculty members and other academic professionals, files to form a PAC, in a move to increase its lobbying power.
Nov 28, 2025Northwestern University reaches a $75 million settlement to restore frozen federal funding and close investigations into alleged antisemitism. The deal also includes restrictions on transgender healthcare at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Scan this QR code to view this page on Unbreaking.

Current page