WASHINGTON – Alabama receives millions in National Institutes of Health awards and planned funding cuts from the Trump Administration to overhead costs for grants could be a blow to the state’s universities and research institutions.
Alabama received $386 million in NIH awards that supported more than 4,700 jobs in the state in 2023. The funding also contributed to $909 million in economic activity, according to United for Medical Research.
The NIH announced Friday it would lower the maximum indirect cost rate to 15 percent for institutions that receive grants starting this week. Indirect costs represent overhead costs associated with facilities and administration that support research. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has an indirect cost rate of 48.5 percent.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the changes in 22 states Monday after the states sued the Trump Administration over the funding cuts arguing they would be “devastating.” The judge later expanded the pause on the NIH cost-cutting effort nationwide “until further order” issued by the court, The Associated Press reported. The judge set a Feb. 21 hearing on the challenges.
In a post on X, the NIH said it awarded $9 billion last year for the indirect costs.
UAB stands to see significant cuts as it ranks in the top 1 percent of all NIH-funded public, private and international organizations. The university received $413.7 million from NIH awards in fiscal year 2023. UAB’s six health-related schools also ranked in the top 15 public universities in NIH funding in fiscal year 2022.
UAB said if the NIH reductions remain in place it will slow research in all areas, including “leading causes of death in the United States, from cancer to Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s, heart disease and diabetes.”
“Drastically lowering NIH indirect cost recovery jeopardizes life-saving research, and it would also result in job and economic loss in Birmingham and Alabama,” a UAB spokesperson said in a statement.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said the funding pause is about looking at where the federal money is going.
“You evaluate all the money that’s gone out the door and let the American people know what it’s used for, how much it’s gone out,” Tuberville told reporters. “Right now, nobody knew that UAB was getting that much money. It’s not a secret. It’s just the oversight hadn’t been there.”
Tuberville said it’s important to make sure the money given to health care systems is used “for the right reasons.” He also said in a statement that he “100%” supports Trump adviser Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency” that is finding ways to cut federal spending.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt said all taxpayer money “should be spent efficiently, judiciously, and accountably—without exception.”
“While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama,” Britt said in a statement.
Britt, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has previously touted NIH funding for Alabama. Her predecessor, former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, secured billions for UAB in medical research dollars funded through NIH.
The current appropriations law applying to NIH states that “none of the funds appropriated” can be modified.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, Labor, Human Services, and Education said he understands there are worries about the cuts, but he said the distribution of the money needs to be looked at and needs to be spread more evenly.
“I know there’s a lot of concerns,” Aderholt told Alabama Daily News. “I’ve heard from University of Alabama, from Auburn they are obviously concerned but we want to look at it and want to make sure – there’s always a lot of waste and a lot of things that could be done differently.”
Britt said she looks forward to working with yet-to-be confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Health and Human Services Secretary to address these questions.
Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, told Alabama Daily News he is going to look into the federal funding changes.
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, said Alabama researchers lead the way for “historic medical breakthroughs.”
“Trump’s massive cuts to NIH research would not only halt our ability to find treatments and cures, but they would devastate our economy and put Alabamians out of work!” Sewell said in a statement.
Alabama-based Southern Research and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology also rank high for NIH-funded research institutions in the state. Both organizations said they are paying close attention to the developments.
“We continue to monitor the situation and are working with our elected officials as we await direct communication from federal agencies about potential changes to our federal grants or awards,” HudsonAlpha said in a statement.
The Association of American Medical Colleges said the NIH funding cuts would “diminish the nation’s research capacity, slowing scientific progress and depriving patients, families, and communities across the country of new treatments, diagnostics, and preventative interventions.”
Alexis McBrayer, President and CEO of Cobalt Lab Solutions in Birmingham, started a petition to support the funding of NIH grants. She went to grad school at UAB and said she has seen first hand the life-saving treatment the system provides first hand.
“So if you want to cut all of those indirect costs, I’m not really sure how the institution is supposed to fund it with no notice, ” McBrayer told Alabama Daily News.
Alabama Daily News Publisher Todd Stacy contributed to this article.