Duke administrators acknowledged possible threats to critical University-sponsored research initiatives and advised community members to conduct their work as usual for the time being in a Wednesday email following the Trump administration’s attempt to cut $4 billion in National Institutes of Health funding.
The message marks the second time Duke administrators have commented on actions by the new Trump administration. In a Jan. 28 email to community members, the University similarly acknowledged “concern and uncertainty” in response to President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze, which was halted by a federal judge. Neither message directly condemned the president’s actions, focusing instead on addressing potential impacts felt by community members.
“This abrupt shift in policy would significantly slow or halt discovery in critical areas such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, infectious diseases and pediatric health, eliminating roughly $194 million in annual research funding from NIH at Duke alone,” wrote President Vincent Price; Provost Alec Gallimore; Mary Klotman, chief academic officer at Duke Health, executive vice president for health affairs at the University and dean of the School of Medicine; and Craig Albanese, CEO of the Duke University Health System, in the Wednesday email.
The proposed policy, which was temporarily blocked by a federal judge Monday, would cap NIH reimbursements for indirect facilities and administrative (F&A) costs — including buildings, maintenance and support staff — at 15%. The maximum indirect cost rate has historically been as high as 70%.
Several groups have sued to stop the funding cuts from taking effect, including N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson and higher education institutions such as the American Association of Medical Colleges and the Association of American Universities, of which Duke is a member.
If the proposed funding cuts survive litigation, University administration acknowledged they may have to make “difficult decisions” accompanied by “careful planning” and “collaboration with leadership across [Duke’s] schools and research units.” The University added that it would engage with peer institutions and “advocate strenuously” for sustainable funding.
Administrators also promised that they would “keep apprising everyone of changes in policy.” The email directed anyone with questions about specific grant projects to the Office of Research and Innovation.
They also noted that Duke makes many “unreimbursed institutional investments” in F&A costs for University-supported research initiatives, supporting lab space needs, equipment maintenance and administrative support without federal aid, with investments exceeding $198 million in fiscal year 2024.
Nevertheless, the administrators maintained that “[m]uch is at stake” with the threat to NIH funding.
In FY 2024, the University received over $500 million in funding across 1,008 awards from the NIH. The agency also funds many research institutes at Duke, including one of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Centers, the Center on Health and Society and the Center for Global Women’s Health Technology.
The administrators asserted the importance of Duke’s research operations and stressed that a “decades-long partnership with federal agencies” has been critical to work that “improve[s] the lives of all Americans.”
“Our nation’s world-leading research enterprise has been enabled by — and will only be sustained by — partnership and co-investment from both the government and higher education,” they wrote.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.