The Hidden Cost of Capping NIH Indirect Costs: How Students Pay the Price

Federal research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are competitively awarded to universities around the country to conduct vital biomedical and public health research. A key component of these grants is indirect costs—a portion of the grant used to support overall research and university infrastructure such as maintaining labs and equipment, paying support staff, and subsidizing costs for students who support the research.

Recently, the Trump Administration announced an indirect cost cap of 15% for new and existing grants, a change that would result in nearly $6 billion lost by roughly 600 universities and university systems across the country.

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