(ALBANY, NEW YORK) – United University Professions (UUP) President Fred Kowal - who heads the Nation's largest Higher Education Union, with more than 42,000 Academic and Professional Faculty and Retirees, has issued the following statement on funding cuts ordered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH):

“The Trump Administration’s move to cut billions of dollars in National Institutes of Health funding that support research institutions is a direct attack on life-saving medical research and the science that makes these breakthroughs possible. Research to address afflictions such as cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease will be slowed and potentially halted by this action. Researchers at SUNY (State University of New York) Campuses statewide will be hit hard by this dangerous step, which will have long-lasting and catastrophic consequences. As the Nation’s largest Higher Education Union, United University Professions will do all it can to reverse this imprudent, harmful order.” 

In a subsequent development, a Federal Judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from implementing cuts to how medical research grants are funded by the NIH.

The decision comes after 22 State Attorneys General, including New York's Letitia James, filed a lawsuit arguing the administration's plan to cap indirect cost reimbursements at 15% for universities and research facilities is illegal.

The lawsuit claims the proposed cap would disrupt clinical trials and potentially lead to layoffs and lab closures.

In New York, Attorney General James noted that 250 institutions could lose up to $850 million if the policy is enacted.

The NIH is the primary source of Federal funding for medical and public health research in the United States.

In Fiscal Year 2023, NIH spent more than $35 billion on almost 50,000 competitive grants to more than 300,000 researchers, according to the lawsuit.

In an interview with WKBW-TV in Buffalo, Kowal said: "Buffalo benefits so much, as does New York State in general because of SUNY, because of the research that our members do. This will bring real harm to a lot of cities, especially where the university centers are, like Buffalo where you want to be a center of research and knowledge and learning, the next generation of health care and technology."

UUP Members are employed at 29 New York State-operated campuses, including the State University of New York’s Public Teaching Hospitals and Health Science Centers in Brooklyn, Long Island and Syracuse.

The Union is an affiliate of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFL-CIO.

To Watch WKBW-TV’s Interview With UUP President Kowal, Go To: Judge temporarily halts Trump administration's planned cuts to NIH grants

Photo Courtesy Of WKBW-TV’s Interview With UUP President Kowal.