Efforts by the Trump administration to drastically cut federal investments in medical research are threatening to kneecap major research institutions and stifle scientific progress to combat chronic illnesses.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced last week it was limiting the amount of funding for indirect funds, those meant for administrative and facility costs, to 15 percent. While this move has been halted by a federal judge, university medical researchers fear their work could soon come to a screeching halt.

Richard Huganir, Bloomberg distinguished professor of neuroscience and psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University, has worked on projects funded by the NIH for more than two decades.

"What would have happened if the cut to 15 percent [to indirect costs] was a reality — which basically would mean that science and universities would be nonviable,” Huganir said. “The students, the postdoctoral fellows who are starting their careers, are incredibly worried and upset that they may not have a career, and so there's a lot of impact, you know, at that level.”

According to Huganir, NIH funding covers roughly 70 percent of research in the U.S. The rest is covered through........

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