President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders into policies, some of which impact NIH funding critical to research.

Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 27 that froze all federal grants and loans, which includes a freeze on funding from the National Institutes of Health. With funding up in the air, researchers at Pitt are feeling uncertain and worried about the future of their careers and work.

The order, sent via memo by the Office of Management and Budget, ordered federal agencies to halt all government actions related to federal financial assistance with particular emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The NIH funds research through grants that researchers must apply for to receive. DEI grants, which give students and scientists from underrepresented backgrounds funding, were targeted with the policy.

In 2024, Pitt received around $685.3 million in NIH funding for both non-DEI and DEI grants, the sixth-most out of any U.S. university. 

University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said Pitt is monitoring and reviewing all of the government policies and will take necessary and appropriate actions based on the review.

“The University of Pittsburgh prides itself on the incredible research happening across our campuses every day,” Stonesifer said. “Federal funding for research has been vital in not only maintaining global competitiveness, but also advancing treatments for some of society’s most devastating diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s and improving assistive technologies for those with mobility disorders.”

Prior to the freeze, in order to receive grant funding, researchers had to submit an application that outlines the project and explains the proposal, budget and impacts of the study. NIH grant review committees review the applications, and getting approved can take up to several years. 

Takashi Kozai, an associate professor of bioengineering at Pitt, conducts lab research on brain-computer interfaces and restoration of brain function. He said grants from the government fund “99.99%” of his lab’s research and is crucial in ensuring innovation continues.

“I’m supposed to get a new grant in December, but that’s been pushed off, and now it’s been frozen,” Kozai said. “If that doesn’t reactivated in the next six months, then I’ll probably have to start laying off people.”

Grant money also covers the salaries of workers in research labs, as well as the materials and equipment that are needed for the research. The University provides graduate and doctoral students with a financial safety net if their individual grants are frozen, but long-term lab personnel like lab technicians do not have any financial support from the University if labs can no longer run.

“It ultimately has very painful impacts, especially if you’re doing long-term studies,” Kozai said.

Daniela Gil, a third-year doctoral student whose research studies sex differences in alcohol use disorder, said her grant was approved for four years of funding in 2024. While she received the first year’s funds, the remaining three years of funding may be halted due to the funding freeze.

“This grant is a massive career trajectory booster, and it took a lot of work. The money has been contractually granted, and there is no lack on my end to not have this funding renewed,” Gil said. “While it is a diversity grant, it did have every single component of a non-diversity grant that I had to provide.”

Rachel Rice, a fourth-year doctoral student whose research studies epigenetics and genetics in alcohol use disorder, said she knows some prospective and current doctoral students who are anxious about doing graduate school with uncertain funding.

“The freezes threaten to disrupt our research, including research of our colleagues who are in clinical studies that are actively treating patients,” Rice said. “It’s really beginning to impede the process of scientific research. I’m very worried about this because the work that we do is life-saving.”

Rice emphasized that research is a fundamental part of the Pitt community as well as the world.

“Science is non-partisan, and it’s a place where everyone is welcome,” Rice said. We all contribute as scientists to the greater welfare of our community.”