For Immediate Release
March 12, 2025
University at Buffalo researchers, area politicians, union leaders talk about importance of NIH, NSF and other federal research funding at March 12 press conference
BUFFALO – United University Professions, the nation’s largest higher education union, held a press conference today that focused on the sweeping impact a freeze on billions of dollars in National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other federal research grants is having on research at the University at Buffalo, SUNY campuses and public teaching hospitals.
UB researchers Tom Melendy, Salvatore Rappoccio and Sarah Taber-Thomas discussed their work and talked in detail about how the federal grant funding freeze—ordered in January by the federal administration and subsequently blocked by federal judges—is impacting their work. The press conference was held in the atrium of UB’s Hauptman-Woodward Research Institute.
UB receives $81 million annually for nearly 300 NIH-funded research projects. Improving outcomes for chemotherapy patients, developing new multiple sclerosis treatments and ways to detect possible brain aneurisms are some of the NIH projects UB researchers are working on.
But UB could lose $47 million or more in NIH grants over the next three to five years if a permanent 15% NIH cap on reimbursements for indirect costs to colleges and universities is instituted. Research universities use those grants to cover costs for lab equipment, utilities, security, maintenance, administrative staff expenses and other expenses that are essential to maintaining specialized research facilities.
UB researcher Tom Melendy is an associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences whose work is funded through NIH grants. Working with three others in his lab—a senior scientist and two students—Melendy studies ways to suppress the growth of DNA tumor viruses, which account for 10 to 20 percent of all human cancers. They also work on the HPV virus, which causes the vast majority of anogenital cancers and increasing instances of oropharyngeal cancers—one of the most rapidly increasing kinds of cancers.
His project would be in jeopardy if the NIH funding freeze becomes permanent.
“If funding is interrupted, people will have to be laid off, and students will lose much of their ability to carry out the research required for their education,” Melendy said. “There has to be pay for the administrative support for grants including purchasing of supplies, equipment and reagents, handling the paperwork and appointments for the students, trainees and staff. Fifteen percent is far too low a percentage to cover all these necessary associated costs.”
It's not just NIH grants that are under threat; multiple federal funding bodies, including the National Science Foundation, the Department of State, and the Education Department are also subject to the funding freeze.
The repercussions are far-reaching. Researchers can’t afford to hire lab workers or take on graduate students, which slows the pipeline of graduate students into higher education and private industry. There’s also the risk of researchers leaving U.S. universities for positions in other countries. Breakthroughs at pharmaceutical companies are fueled by scientific research in basic science. Without funding, it all stops.
Rappoccio is part of a 15-member group (five faculty members, five postdoctoral fellows and 5 graduate students) conducting research on the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland. His NSF-funded project would be gutted if the federal administration follows through with a proposal to slash NSF’s budget by more than two-thirds.
“If we lose our grant, 10 people will be laid off immediately, leaving only the faculty, who will be forced to take a 30% pay cut,” he said. “This will devastate our research program and we may never recover from that.
“The drastic budget cuts facing our nation's research programs will cripple today’s economy by reducing our workforce development immediately, and it will cripple tomorrow’s economy by removing all of the publicly funded advancements that have driven economic development since the end of World War II,” Rappoccio said. “We may never regain our advantage again and will simply cede economic advancement to Europe and Asia. We'll lose our educated workforce and our competitive advantage on the world stage.”
A federal judge temporarily halted the NIH cap Feb. 21. On Feb. 25, another federal judge extended a block on Trump’s freeze on all governmental grants and loans.
Statewide, about 30,000 jobs are supported by NIH funding in New York. Institutions with NIH grants are expected to lose $850 million if the 15% cap is instituted, according to a report by the Greater New York Hospital Association. New York is the second-leading recipient of NIH funding in the country.
The press conference is the first of a series of press events about the impact the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding is having on SUNY research projects. The next press conference is set for March 27 at the University at Albany.
“That this is actually happening is incredible and unconscionable,” said UUP President Fred Kowal, who spoke at the press conference. “This freeze has already reverberated across SUNY campuses, impacting our researchers, who do life-saving and life-changing work to address afflictions such as cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among so many others. If not reversed immediately, these federal grant freezes will have long-lasting and catastrophic consequences in the U.S. and worldwide.”
"Cutting federal research funding doesn’t just stall projects—it derails scientific breakthroughs, slows medical advancements and pushes top researchers out of the U.S.," said Peter De Jesús Jr., president of the WNY Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. "Be it cancer or Alzheimer's, diseases like those being studied at UB do not discriminate based on who you voted for. We cannot afford to let politics stand in the way of progress. The assault on workers of all kinds by this administration continues to be senseless, cruel and increasingly lethal. The working people of Western New York stand with our UUP siblings, and will show our solidarity however we can to make those in office hear the power of our collective voice."
“As an occupational therapist, I’ve seen firsthand how research improves outcomes and saves lives,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy. “The Trump administration’s reckless freeze and proposed cuts to critical NIH and NSF funding are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, they are an attack on the health and well-being of all Americans. In Western New York, these cuts threaten to strip $47 million from the University at Buffalo’s groundbreaking research, jeopardizing critical advancements in treating cancer, multiple sclerosis, brain aneurysms and so much more. These cuts don’t just threaten medical progress, they put jobs at risk, deteriorate our community of researchers and rip away opportunities from students. I stand with researchers, students, and the medical community in demanding the immediate reversal of these dangerous policies.”
“These devastating cuts to the National Institute of Health threaten the very foundation of life-saving research happening at the University of Buffalo and across the entire SUNY system,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. “A permanent 15% cap on NIH reimbursements could cost UB alone at least $47 million over the next few years—funds that support critical seeking bettering outcomes for cancer patients who receive chemotherapy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and countless other afflictions. Defunding science doesn’t just hurt researchers; it delays groundbreaking treatments, stifles medical advancements, and ultimately costs lives. We cannot afford to turn our backs on the future of medicine and innovation.”
"The Trump administration's efforts to dismantle our country's scientific institutions is alarming," said state Sen. Sean Ryan. "Promoting science and research should not be a partisan issue. I stand with UUP and promise to do my part to ensure that research scientists in New York State have the funding they need and are protected from federal efforts to impede their work."
"The White House's January announcement regarding a freeze on federal grants dealt a devastating blow to higher education institutions across SUNY, and in particular to the University at Buffalo,” said state Assemblymember Karen McMahon. “UB is a premier research institution, and important initiatives at UB rely on significant funding from the National Institutes of Health. Although the courts have intervened, research funding is still jeopardized by a proposed 15% cap on indirect costs. NIH grants are vital to support the lifesaving research that is making a difference for patients every day. I wholeheartedly condemn these arbitrary and short-sighted cuts and urge the administration to lift any restrictions that would limit the benefits of this important research."
"For anyone who has been touched by a diagnosis of cancer or other serious diseases, the notion of the Trump administration capping indirect costs for NIH grants is unfathomable,” said state Sen. April N.M. Baskin. “The paralyzing fear of such a diagnosis is palpable. Every day, researchers and their staffs tirelessly work to advance life-saving projects, helping countless people combat serious illnesses and continue to live a productive life. These cuts would also undermine jobs at our universities - including the University at Buffalo - and create disastrous results in research and employment."
"Freezing NIH grants is a dangerous policy that undermines our health, economy, and our future. Investment in research drives innovation, creates jobs, and saves lives,” said state Assemblymember Patrick Burke. “A leader who truly puts America first would prioritize the funding that powers our scientific excellence, not undercut the brilliant researchers who’ve dedicated their careers to making our country the global leader in scientific discovery and achievement."
"Sadly, we continue to grapple with the threats of ill-conceived and short-sighted federal cuts,” said state Assemblymember Bill Conrad. “It is unbearable, but accurate, to predict that the most vulnerable among us will be at the receiving end of the suffering. Simply put, this cap on reimbursements for NIH-funded research cannot stand. If it does, we will see devastating, generational impacts to our management and treatment of diseases that touch us all in some way: cancer, diabetes, MS, Alzheimer's, the list goes on. I stand with our SUNY researchers, whose life-saving work brings so much innovation and hope, and I stand with UUP in this fight to keep both alive on our state university campuses."
State Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, “Every day, groundbreaking research is being conducted at the University at Buffalo, SUNY campuses, and public teaching hospitals across New York. We cannot afford to let reckless federal decisions jeopardize that progress. The freeze on federal grants—and the proposed NIH cap—threatens critical advancements in cancer treatment, multiple sclerosis therapies, and life-saving medical research that benefit millions. These cuts don’t just hurt researchers; they stifle job creation, weaken our economy, and put American innovation at risk. As a state, we have to fight for every funding dollar to ensure New York remains a leader in scientific research and progress.”
“The uncertainty of funding freezes has made our already tenuous situation as graduate workers even more precarious,” said Gabby Pascuzzi, co-vice president and chief steward for UB’s Graduate Student Employees Union. “We already make below-poverty wages while trying to balance the many responsibilities of being students, researchers, and instructors. But we are here because we love the work and are pursuing active research agendas that we are passionate about. We would not be able to stay here if those research programs didn’t have funding. Years of investment—money, time and effort—would be wasted. Not only would research be impossible without graduate workers, but undergraduates would be left high and dry without teaching assistants to do crucial instructional labor. The university would effectively be unable to run.”
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