The University of Pittsburgh will see about $183 million less in government research funding — overall at least a 25% cut — under a new National Institutes of Health directive that went into effect Friday, a policy change that could chill Western Pennsylvania’s meds and eds economy.
The cuts affect research universities nationwide, a move some critics say could have dire consequences.
The federal agency announced that it was reducing to 15% the amount that universities receive for overhead costs, such as depreciation, building maintenance and equipment costs related to research projects. For every NIH research dollar Pitt scientists receive, the university gets an additional 59 cents for these so-called indirect costs, far higher than the nationwide average of 27% to 28%, according to the NIH.
Elite research universities will especially feel the sting: Harvard claims 69% in indirect costs in NIH grants; Yale, 67.5%, which was scheduled to increase to 68.5% by 2028. The percentages at Pitt and elsewhere have been rising over time to account for inflation and other factors. MORE