For Immediate Release

March 27, 2025

University at Albany researchers, labor leaders, state legislators and students talk about importance of NIH, NSF and other federal research funding at March 27 press conference

Click HERE to view and download video from the press conference.

ALBANY – United University Professions, the nation’s largest higher education union, held a press conference today that focused on the sweeping impact and ensuing chaos a freeze on billions of dollars in National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other federal research grants is having on research projects at the University at Albany, SUNY campuses and public teaching hospitals. 

UAlbany researchers JoEllen Welsh, J. Andrew Berglund and Paul Morgan discussed their work and how the federal grant funding freeze—ordered in January by the Trump administration and subsequently blocked by federal judges—is impacting their work.

Berglund is the director of UAlbany’s RNA Institute and a SUNY Distinguished Professor. Morgan, an Empire Innovation Professor, is the director of the university’s Institute for Social and Health Equity. Welsh, a SUNY Distinguished Professor and an Empire Innovation Professor, is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and lab director at University of Albany Cancer Research Center.

Labor leaders and local and state elected officials also spoke at the press conference, focusing on the impact the funding freeze has had and could have on communities, the region and the state. The press conference was held in UAlbany’s ETEC building.

UAlbany received $63 million in federal research grants in 2023. The university has received nearly $2.6 million in NIH grants in 2025; it got $11 million for nearly 40 NIH projects.

Some of the projects by UAlbany researchers include using AI for drug research and to predict tumor growth, discovering advances in RNA research and neuromuscular diseases and developing ways to accelerate recovery times after strokes, spinal injuries and other neurological disorders.

But critical research at UAlbany could be delayed and potentially derailed due to the chaos created after the Trump administration ordered a federal funding freeze and a 15% cap on indirect costs payments to colleges and universities that host NIH-funded research. A federal judge temporarily halted the NIH cap Feb. 21. Two federal judges have blocked Trump’s freeze on all governmental grants and loans.

J. Andrew Berglund, director of UAlbany’s RNA Institute, has a lab of 16 researchers (eight Ph.D students, four postdoctoral fellows and four staff scientists) who are working on neuromuscular research funded by NIH and Department of Defense grants. If the project’s two NIH grants are cut or delayed, Berglund will be forced to lay off the scientists and postdoctoral fellows—and he won’t have funding to pay students on the project.

“If my two NIH R01 grants are terminated or delayed, I will have to let staff and postdoctoral fellows go and not be able to pay students their stipends,” Berglund said. “The research we doing on neuromuscular diseases will be dramatically curtailed, which is sad because the field is making progress towards treatments.”

A $5 million NIH grant for myotonic dystrophy—the most common form of muscular dystrophy—expected to be funded in January was delayed due to the funding freeze; a NIH council meeting set to make funding decisions was cancelled and has not been rescheduled. The grant was supposed to begin April 1 and is in jeopardy.

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 of the chaos created by the funding freeze and subsequent court orders to block it are far-reaching. Researchers, unsure whether necessary funding for their projects will continue, are in limbo and unsure whether to proceed. Some have been unable to 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. 

The press conference is the second of a series of press events about the impact the Trump administration’s freeze on federal funding is having on SUNY research projects. UUP held a press conference at the University of Buffalo March 12.

“There’s no way to freeze, cut or even slow federal research funding without threatening the very foundation of lifesaving and life-changing research going on every single day at the University of Albany, at SUNY campuses and at institutions across America,” said UUP President Fred Kowal, who spoke at the press conference . “Attacking science—and by extension the researchers making strides to better understand, treat and even cure debilitating diseases such as dementia, muscular dystrophy, and cardiovascular disease—is senseless and reckless. Defunding science now will have long-lasting, catastrophic consequences that will affect generations of Americans.”

“Communities across the nation depend on the groundbreaking research conducted at our SUNY campuses and public teaching hospitals,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person. “Threats to the continuance of this vital work are threats to the health, growth and development of our state and country, and NYSUT stands ready to fight for the resources these critical projects need.”

“The Capital District Area Labor Federation stands wholly behind the United University Professors in their effort to fight the federal government's freeze on research grants and studies at our nation's universities,” said Mark Emanatian, executive director of the Capital District Area Labor Federation. “The work that the UUP does in research is lifesaving to the people of New York State and the country. We cannot allow the massive cuts that the administration in Washington has proposed to take place.”

“Federal research funding doesn’t just fuel groundbreaking scientific discoveries that bring hope to millions of people around the world — it also creates good-paying jobs and strengthens our local economies, particularly here in the Capital Region,” said U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko. “The Trump administration’s reckless freeze on this critical funding has put life-changing research and thousands of jobs at risk, threatening the advancements being made at institutions like UAlbany, Albany Medical College and so many more. Instead of stifling innovation and leaving our researchers in limbo, we must make certain they have the resources they need to innovate, heal and drive economic growth.”

NIH funding cuts from the federal government are dangerous and impact our researchers, faculty and staff, and students," said state Sen. Patricia Fahy. "Investment in cutting-edge and modern-day research creates jobs and ultimately saves lives. Faculty and students at UAlbany are conducting important research on muscular dystrophy, cancer, climate sciences, cyber security, and more with NIH and federal funding, including at the RNA Institute. I stand with our SUNY researchers and UUP members in standing up and resisting these arbitrary cuts."

"NIH research grants fund lifesaving research. Each year I sponsor a resolution in the NYS Assembly for Rare Disease Day to bring awareness of Rare Diseases and the profound impact they have on people's lives,” said Assemblymember John McDonald III. “The hope that Rare Disease families have in making strides toward diagnosis, prevention and treatment will be broken by these cuts. When we talk about the need to find cures for currently incurable diseases or improving the quality of life for those with devastating health conditions, this is what is at stake with potential federal funding cuts. Suspending our progress when it comes to advancing science and research is needlessly cruel and something everyone should be opposed to. Thank you to all of those who continue to speak out against these funding cuts and it is vital that we keep making our voices heard."

“Federal funding cuts are jeopardizing lifesaving research at the University at Albany and at public institutions across the state and nation,” said Assemblymember Gabriella Romero. “This federal administration has repeatedly attacked science, threatening to derail researchers who are making incredible innovations in medicine and changing lives. These cuts will set us back decades if we don’t intervene.”

“As we navigate this period of unpredictability it is more important than ever that we support researchers from the University at Albany, Albany Medical College and our other higher education institutions. The breakthroughs made in these universities not only strengthens our economy but improves the lives of our residents. By working together, we can ensure that our region remains a leader in scientific research and medical innovation, even in times of financial uncertainty,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy.