Washington faces over $1 billion in research funding losses
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Washington could lose more than a billion in research dollars if the Trump administration cuts federal health and science funding.
Why it matters: Seattle is a research powerhouse, home to institutions like the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, which rely on government funding to map the human brain or conduct trials using specially engineered immune cells to fight deadly brain tumors in children.
By the numbers: Research facilities in Washington received $1.4 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation in 2024, ranking ninth among U.S. states in funding per 1,000 residents.
- In 2023, Washington secured about $1.3 billion in NIH funding, with 1,796 grants awarded to 65 research sites, according to the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
- Top recipients included the University of Washington ($558 million), Fred Hutch ($353 million), Seattle Children's Hospital ($116 million), and the Allen Institute (about $67 million), per the foundation.
Catch up quick: The Trump administration on Jan. 27 ordered a pause on federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs.
- Two federal judges temporarily halted Trump's order.
- This month, the NIH announced it would cap indirect cost reimbursements at 15%, down from an average of 27-28%, threatening university research budgets.
- On Feb. 10, a separate federal court judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the rate change after attorneys general from 22 states, including Washington, sued NIH.
Yes, but: Concerns over funding freezes, potential cuts, and the administration's commitment to research intensified after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration had failed to fully comply with his order to unfreeze federal spending.
Zoom in: The University of Washington School of Medicine alone stands to lose an estimated $90 million in a single year if the proposed NIH funding cuts take effect, posing a significant threat to its nationally recognized research programs, said Ian De Boer, a physician-scientist and director of the UW Medicine Kidney Research Institute.
- UW's funding for direct costs like hiring personnel and obtaining materials is intertwined with the indirect costs of keeping labs running, supporting infrastructure, and ensuring regulatory compliance, De Boer told Axios.
- You need the building, the labs, the lights and the people, he said. "The idea that one can be cut without affecting the other is false."
What they're saying: "The United States is the worldwide leader in health research and advances in treatment from cancer to diabetes, all built on the successes of academic medicine," De Boer said. "The idea of reducing funding to those engines of health is mind boggling."