A Michigan research professor explains how NIH funding works − and what it means to suddenly lose a grant

Demonstrators protest funding cuts outside of the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., on March 8, 2025. Michael Mathes/AFP via Getty Images

In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has terminated more than US$2 billion in federal grants, according to a public source database compiled by the scientific community, and it is proposing additional cuts that would reduce the $47 billion budget of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, also known as the NIH, by nearly half.

The effects of these cuts are being felt at top-tier public research institutions such as the University of Michigan. In fiscal year 2024, of the $2 billion in total research expenditures at the university, $1.2 billion came in through federal research grants, with $762 million from NIH alone.