University of Minnesota President calls NIH grant changes a ‘direct attack’
On Monday, in an open letter, University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham addressed how a Friday notice from the Trump administration calling for big changes for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants would impact research at the school.
The NIH provides billions of dollars in grants, many for biomedical research.
The changes are to the indirect cost rates for NIH grants, and previously had a negotiation process with the government and could cover up to 50% or more of indirect costs, but on Friday that was capped at 15%.
The administration said the change would save $4 billion a year.
Cunningham called the cap on the indirect cost rate “a direct attack on our ability to advance the University’s public service mission,” and said that school leaders had met over the weekend to chart a path forward.
Cunningham went on to say that the University of Minnesota, which has created pioneering research and medical breakthroughs, would explore “every avenue to aggressively address the challenges posed by this notice.”
Indirect costs for biomedical research cover things like support staff, security, an electric bill to run machinery, and hazardous material disposal, among many other things.
On Monday, 22 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration for the NIH indirect cost rate slash. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was part of the lawsuit, which argued that the action violates the Administration Procedure Act, and is seeking a court order to stop the change from being implemented, which was supposed to happen on Monday.
A district court judge scheduled a hearing for the case on Feb. 21. You can read the lawsuit in full below.
So far, in 2025, five Minnesota organizations have received NIH grants, with the University of Minnesota getting the most $37 million in 92 awards.