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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Possible federal funding cuts by the National Institutes of Health could cost Memphis hospitals and universities millions of dollars for life-saving research.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and the University of Memphis all receive some funding from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH.

The Trump Administration has proposed to cut billions from that agency, though a judge has paused the decision for now.

But Congressman Steve Cohen says NIH funding is critical to the economic health of Memphis, and cuts could be devastating.

“It could be very harmful to the state and to Memphis, because of the University of Tennessee, but more importantly St. Jude,” said Cohen (D-Memphis). “St. Jude gets a lot of NIH money to do research on cancer, treatments for children.”

According to the NIH’s list of awards by organizations, this year, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital receives 25 awards totaling more than $10 million, while St. Jude’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences receives one award totaling almost $50,000 dollars.

In past years, those grants have totaled more than $100 million for St. Jude.

In a statement to WREG, St. Jude says, “Much of these support structures are made possible by the indirect payments from federal grants.”

They go on to say, “These cuts likely mean fewer new treatments will be developed for children and therefore, fewer children will be saved.”                

The NIH’s list of awards by organizations shows the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis receives 16 awards totaling more than $7 million.

“UT gets money, too, and so does the University of Memphis and across the state, Vanderbilt University gets a ton of money,” Cohen said.

The University of Memphis receives two awards totaling more than $1 million.

Cohen says he understands the need for government accountability, but he says it should not come at the expense of improving therapies and saving lives.    

“We’re the leading country in the world on medical research,” Cohen said. “So, we’re talking about something that could harm the whole world, because most of these discoveries come out of the USA, and they come out of NIH, and the NIH, in my opinion, is our Department of Defense.”

Right now, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a plan by President Trump to cap funding for research institutions.

National Institutes of Health Awards

  • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: 25 awards totaling $10,971,893
  • St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences: 1 award totaling $49,474
  • University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center: 16 awards totaling $7,386,275
  • University of Memphis: 2 awards totaling $1,303,051

St. Jude’s full statement:

“Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children in the United States. The mission of St. Jude is to advance cures and means of prevention for catastrophic diseases of childhood through research and treatment. St. Jude has a proven ability to develop better treatments that save children’s lives. Our cutting-edge research requires everything from buildings and laboratories to high performance computing. It also requires the people who wash glassware, repair equipment, schedule meetings and ensure patients are kept safe on clinical trials so that scientists can focus on doing the research. Much of these support structures are made possible by the indirect payments from federal grants, which is why direct and indirect federal grant support is key to the pursuit of our mission. These cuts likely mean fewer new treatments will be developed for children and therefore, fewer children will be saved.”

Cohen’s full statement: 

“NIH funding is critical to the economic health of Memphis and the Mid-South region. Due to the medical research at our medical school, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the University of Memphis, among several other institutions, our community receives more than $100 million that supports physicians, researchers, and other support staff. This funding goes to peer-reviewed projects that have great potential to save lives and improve therapies. This is not the kind of cost-saving Americans want because it is sure to cause unnecessary harm. I join a chorus of medical research professionals in demanding that this short-sighted and dangerous policy be reversed immediately.”