(Radio Iowa) –  The University of Iowa could lose 33-point-four MILLION dollars in federal funding for research if budget cuts proposed for the National Institutes of Health go into effect. Representative Adam Zabner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it’s a concerning situation because the cuts could put ongoing research in jeopardy and end patient participation in clinical trials.  “The University of Iowa has a proud tradition of doing life saving research,” Zabner says, “both basic research to understand the world better, but also research on really important diseases impacting Iowans — Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, cancer.” Last year, the N-I-H provided nearly 191 million dollars’ worth of grants to the University of Iowa.

“It’s a huge driver for the economy of our community,” Zabner says. “I mean, we have many, many businesses that have come out of University of Iowa research and then, of course, we have the folks in our community who are actually doing that research and all of those people consume at local businesses.” Iowa State University could lose about three MILLION dollars in National Institutes of Health funding if the cuts take effect. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the cuts ordered by the Trump Administration.

The administration’s proposal would let no more than 15 percent of a grant cover indirect costs for things like laboratory construction and maintenance as well as administrative costs. The University of Iowa had been reimbursed for 28 percent of those indirect costs. The National Institutes of Health website indicates the agency awarded a nearly half a million dollar grant to the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research in Davenport last year.