Appeals Court Protects Medical Research Funding

CHICAGO — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has upheld a ruling blocking the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health from cutting funding for medical and public health research at universities nationwide. The decision protects indirect cost reimbursements that cover lab operations, faculty, safety protocols, data processing, and utilities. In Illinois, it safeguards about 67 million dollars annually for the University of Illinois System and 4.5 million dollars for other Southern Illinois University campuses. The appellate court rejected the administration’s appeal of a 2025 injunction filed by a coalition of 22 state attorneys general. NIH grants fund research on diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diabetes, and have supported numerous scientific breakthroughs.