OU president says NIH funding cut would ‘severely impact’ university research

Cuts within the federal government could have wide-ranging impacts in Oklahoma.

The Trump administration most recently targeted the National Institute of Health (NIH). He ordered to slash funding for medical research, but a federal judge blocked that move on Monday. 

How the cuts affect researchers

Cuts to NIH funding would cap reimbursement rates of research grants at 15 percent. It's significant because those rates average 28 percent and be as high as 50 percent to cover indirect costs for researchers, according to NIH. 

This affects Oklahoma’s research institutions that rely on that funding for cancer studies and clinical trials. OU Health Sciences serves approximately 4,000 students in more than 70 degree programs on campuses in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.  

OU's president says the cut would have "severe" impacts

OU President Joseph Harroz said this move would “severely impact” their abilities to find medical breakthroughs. Harroz also said it will affect the university’s ability to prepare the next generation of students for medical careers. The university said it planned to push against these changes and that OU’s Office of Legal Counsel was reviewing the developments. 

Harroz said in a statement, “As we know, this change would severely impact institutions’ abilities to fund medical breakthroughs and novel therapies, as well as fulfill our educational mission of training and preparing the next generation of graduate students and student researchers. Today, attorneys general representing 22 states filed a lawsuit challenging these funding cuts, and the university is closely monitoring. 

“Over the weekend, we continued to monitor news on this topic and are in active discussions with our federal delegation and partners. We expect a broad array of support among national associations to push against these changes, as well as key national leaders, to continue to educate members of the federal administration regarding the detrimental impact of these changes.  

OU is working with leaders in Washington D.C.

“The university also has developed working groups launched by the Office of Legal Counsel to quickly review and assess ongoing developments from the federal administration. The OU enterprise across our campuses is assessing budget implications and continues to be engaged and thoughtful about best ways forward. We are also working in collaboration with OU Health, as its patients’ access to our life-altering clinical trials may also be affected. 

“In fact, OU College of Medicine Executive Dean Ian Dunn spent the weekend in Washington, D.C., meeting with other deans and leaders from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), discussing strategies in response to the NIH action. These discussions are being shared with our executive leadership, who are proactively considering next steps should the administration seek to generalize the NIH action to other federal agencies. 

 “As a university, we remain committed to keeping you up to date as developments unfold, and we will continue to update our online FAQs with any additional guidance or details we may have. In the meantime, we thank you for all you do for the university and difference you make in the lives of so many.” 

A national lawsuit temporarily blocks the decision

Attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block this effort. Oklahoma is not one of those states. Leadership from OU’s College of Medicine traveled to Washington D.C. over the weekend to find solutions to this action.