UF could lose tens of millions of dollars in research funding this year if a change to the National Institutes of Health's grant distribution policy survives a wave of legal challenges.
The new policy aims to cap the NIH’s reimbursement of overhead costs at 15% for university research grants. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to curb federal spending on higher education.
These cost-cutting measures have included a temporary freeze on billions of dollars in aid to universities, eliminating diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility activities from federally funded projects and plans to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides hundreds of millions of dollars in university research grants.
NIH grants typically cover two types of costs: direct and indirect. Direct costs fund project-specific research needs like equipment, supplies, salaries and travel. Indirect costs, on the other hand, help cover overhead expenses like maintaining laboratories administrative costs.
Most universities typically negotiate their own indirect cost rates, which are proportional to a project’s direct costs; UF currently has a 52.5% rate, so up to about a third of its federal funding can be used for overhead. But the NIH’s proposed cap would set a uniform 15% ceiling for research institutions nationwide, meaning that institutions will only receive 15 cents to cover indirect costs for each dollar of direct cost funding.
For example, UF researchers with a $1 million grant can currently receive up to $525,000 additional funding for indirect costs. Under the new cap, that figure would be cut down to a maximum of $150,000.
As the state’s flagship university, UF received $268.9 million in NIH grant funding in fiscal year 2024 — more than any other research institution in the state, according to NIH RePORTER. An Alligator analysis of UF’s NIH-funded grants found that if the new cap were in place during fiscal year 2024, the university would have made $49 million less in indirect cost reimbursements.
The policy change has prompted legal action across the country. On Feb. 10, 22 Democratic-led states, along with national medical and academic associations, filed lawsuits to block the new rule. In response, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a temporary nationwide restraining order, pausing the policy's implementation until the cases are resolved. Florida has not joined the legal challenge.
Despite the high stakes, UF faculty have largely remained silent. Thirteen researchers listed as principal investigators on NIH-funded projects either declined to comment, did not respond to inquiries or referred questions to the university’s Office of Public Affairs. UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldan wrote in an email that The Alligator’s inquiries had been forwarded to her and shared previous messages from the university.
UF administrators acknowledged the NIH’s proposal in a Feb. 10 memo to staff, assuring faculty that they were working to address the cap and that “university leadership values the vital work” of its researchers. After the federal judge blocked the funding cap, UF Vice President for Research David Norton announced in a follow-up memo that researchers can still submit proposals at the university’s previous 52.5% rate as long as the restraining order stands.
UF Government and Community Relations created a webpage to provide updates and guidance on federal funding changes and other executive orders from the Trump administration.
Contact Pristine Thai at pthai@alligator.org. Follow her on X @pristinethai.
Pristine Thai is a university general assignment reporter and a third-year political science and journalism major. Her free time is spent attending classical music concerts or petting cats.
