Gothamist: Hundreds of researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center are starting to get notice of canceled grants as President Donald Trump’s administration slashes $400 million in federal funding to the university.
The National Institutes of Health is terminating 232 grants for scientific research at the center, or about a quarter of the center’s research portfolio, according to an email a university administrator sent to psychiatry faculty Monday.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not clear whether additional research grants are on the chopping block.
The grant cancellations — and the possibility of more to come — add to the uncertainty facing researchers at Columbia and institutions across the country since Trump took office. His administration is also seeking to cut billions of dollars to scientific research by capping how much in federal grant money labs can get for administrative and maintenance costs.
Columbia’s medical school opted to freeze hiring and other expenses last month in response to that order, even though it’s being held up in court.
Notice of the grant cancellations comes after the Trump administration announced Friday it was cutting $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, saying it had failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism amid pro-Palestine activism on campus. The administration did not initially outline how the cuts would be implemented, but added that other universities that allow what it called “illegal protests” could face similar cuts.
Katrina Armstrong, Columbia’s interim president, said in an internal letter on Friday that the university was “committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns.”
But critics say the cuts are an effort by the Trump administration to suppress speech on college campuses.
