Universities sue NIH

Cornell, long a hub for federally funded health research, has joined other universities in filing suit to block funding cuts by the Trump administration.

The Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the American Council on Education sued the National Institute of Health on Monday, saying the cuts would hinder medical advancement and violate both federal regulations.

Cornell, like other institutions hosting research projects, receives funding to cover costs such as administration, supplies and utilities. The New York Times estimates that .the Trump policy would have cut 2024 funding by $55 million at the Weill Medical College of Cornell in New York City, and $21 million from Cornell University in Ithaca.

Other Upstate institutions that would face cuts of $1 mllion or more include the University of Rochester, SUNY Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, Albany Medical College, Binghamton University, SUNY Albany, Syracuse University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, and the Regenerative Research Foundation in Albany.

David K. Skorton, a former president of Cornell and the current president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, issued a statement saying the new NIH policy “will diminish the nation’s research capacity, slowing scientific progress and depriving patients, families, and communities across the country of new treatments, diagnostics, and preventative interventions.”