NIH Funding Cuts Could Hurt Pediatric Research Efforts at Boston Children’s Hospital
Boston Children’s Hospital officials expressed concerns on Monday, March 17, that its $230 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) could be cut. These cuts leave the children’s health care facility questioning whether it could continue conducting life-saving research on pediatric diseases.
Gov. Maura Healey warned that at least half of the hospital’s critical funding is at risk due to changes President Donald Trump is making to the federal government.
“That means halting research into diseases that harm children,” said Healey. “It’s important that we educate members of the Trump administration and President Trump about the impact of things like cuts to medical research.”
The Trump administration, however, intends to keep pace with its plan to limit grants that originate with the NIH.
In an interview with NBC10 Boston, Dr. Kevin Churchwell with Boston Children’s Hospital said that each Friday, the staff braces itself for news about areas where cuts may occur. Vaccine research at the hospital has seen the most significant impacts due to reductions in NIH funding. “We have worked with the CDC and the FDA,” he said. “We’ve seen just a stoppage of that.”
