The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) has updated its policy on indirect costs for grants, projected to impact the broader biomedical research community—including Queen’s.
According to a Feb. 7 news release, the NIH has updated its policies, implementing a standardized indirect cost rate of 15 per cent across all new and existing grant awards in accordance with the US Code of Federal Regulations. Starting Feb. 10, all new grants and existing grants to universities will be subject to the cost rate to cover expenses such as building maintenance and istrative costs. The change aims to ensure more funds go towards research over istrative overhead.
With many research teams in Canada partnering with US institutions, NIH has played a crucial role in ing Canadian medical research for years. The policy change raises concerns for American and Canadian researchers alike, including stalled projects, financial strains, and reduced international partnerships.
Queen’s has long benefited from NIH grants, ing health and science research across disciplines, such as cancer treatments, neuroscience, and public health studies. In the 2024 fiscal year, Queen’s was awarded $2,333,866 from NIH.
The full impact of NIH’s policy change remains unclear.
In a statement sent to The Journal, Dr. Steven Smith, Queen’s deputy vice-principal research, vice-president of health sciences research at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, and president and chief executive officer of the Kingston General Health Research Institute, acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the situation.
“It’s too early to determine what, if any impact on Queen’s researchers and research projects who receive funding from US government sources, including NIH,” Dr. Smith said.
As Canadian researchers await clarity, institutions like Queen’s are closely monitoring developments.
“The Vice-Principal Research portfolio is closely monitoring the situation and the impacts on the research landscape in North America […] and we’re actively engaging with our researchers who are receiving and may receive NIH funding to ensure their programs of study are minimally affected if there are changes to access to those funds,” Dr. Smith added.
Queen’s researchers may need to consider whether Canadian funding agencies like the Canadian Institutes of Health Research—the government organization responsible for providing funds for medical and health research in Canada—can offset potential shortfalls.
“Our understanding of health and disease, and transformative, evidence-based innovations in healthcare requires access to relevant funding and collaboration among the best scientists irrespective of borders,” Dr. Smith said.
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