Gov. Maura Healey: NIH cuts threaten UMass Chan research, training and jobs

Gov. Maura Healey warned on Thursday at UMass Chan Medical School that cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding announced by the Trump administration have already withdrawn or withheld tens of millions of dollars in grants and threaten research, training and jobs at the Worcester institution.

The governor made the comments during a visit to the Paul J. DeMare Center for Education and Research, where she said UMass Chan “wins more NIH funding than the total amounts going to 26 other states” and that last year the school received about $193,000,000 in NIH awards. “But this year, already, over $30,000,000 in expected grant funding has been withheld or withdrawn. Another $50,000,000 is at risk,” Healey said.

Why it matters: UMass Chan — which Healey said employs roughly 6,000 people and generates about $2,000,000,000 in total annual economic impact — runs clinical trials, trains doctors and nurses, and supports affiliates statewide. The officials at the event said paused grants and stopped study sections at NIH have forced the school to reduce class sizes, rescind offers to incoming researchers and pause faculty recruitment.

“This is cuts to science, cuts to research, and cuts that will be irretrievable if something isn't done to reverse them,” Healey said, adding that the reductions threaten work in gene therapy, rare-disease research, HIV research, digital medicine and neuroscience. She warned that the funding disruption is prompting other states and countries to recruit UMass Chan scientists away from Massachusetts.

Chancellor Michael Collins, who also spoke at the event, said the university has spent two decades building its research infrastructure and that the current funding halt has “more or less ground to a halt” the NIH review process used to award grants. “When we recruit a faculty member, we see the top five people in the world and we're able to recruit the person that we want to be here. And now, that research infrastructure, the very essence of research funding is being threatened,” Collins said.

Nobel laureate Craig Mello, who was invited to comment, emphasized the patient impact of stalled research. “My heart breaks every day for the patients and the families who could benefit from the work that's going on here,” Mello said, describing recent advances in genetic therapies and siRNA technology that he said are funded largely by the NIH.

Healey also tied the NIH cuts to broader federal budget proposals, saying a House Republican budget and the president's proposals would reduce Medicaid funding and risk health care for patients who receive care at UMass Chan affiliates. “The proposed cuts to Medicaid would jeopardize health care for over 2,000,000 patients in Massachusetts alone,” she said, and noted recent layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs have “put veterans' health care at risk.”

Event context and interruption: officials described immediate operational impacts at UMass Chan — paused faculty searches, rescinded offers to prospective students and uncertainty among postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty. Near the end of the remarks, a building emergency alarm sounded and the event was paused while occupants were told to follow building instructions.

No formal votes or resolutions were taken during the visit; remarks were presented by the governor, UMass Chan leadership and researchers to describe the effects of federal funding actions on the institution and its affiliates.