Indy medical research targeted in Trump funding cuts (2025)

For years, Timothy Richardson has worked to create new treatments in Indianapolis.

The research professor at Indiana University School of Medicine runs a lab developing therapies for Alzheimer’s, a degenerative disease that killed more than 119,000 older Americans in 2021.

Now, he’s worried the quest for a cure will be slowed — or even stopped.

As part of President Donald Trump’s promise to cut federal government spending, the president last week slashed grants from the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest public funder of medical research. The move came just weeks after Trump ordered a freeze on federal funding, including millions of dollars that support programs at universities and hospitals across the country.

Both of those decisions are being litigated in court, but Richardson is worried about potential disruptions to his lab — and what could happen next with the NIH under Trump’s control.

If all of the cuts go through, they would impact the center where Richardson works, which received more than $10 million in NIH grants this year.

“I could see the possibility of my grant not being renewed in September,” Richardson said. “If that’s the case, I will just end up shutting down the lab.”

The uncertainty has a wide reach in Indianapolis. The president’s decision last week would specifically cut off what’s known as indirect funding, which is typically used to keep labs running and to pay support staff.

For Richardson’s research, for example, about $2.3 million in indirect funding is at risk of being cut, which could force him to lay off staff. All told, the IU School of Medicine could lose nearly $43 million in indirect funding, according to higher education analyst James Murphy.

“It’s going to almost certainly lead to people losing their jobs and worse services in American health care,” said Murphy, the director of postsecondary policy at the nonprofit Education Reform Now.

A spokesperson for IU School of Medicine did not respond to Mirror Indy’s multiple requests for comment about the proposed funding cuts or the projects that would be affected.

Other concerns in Indianapolis

Richardson isn’t alone in his worry. Sarah Honaker, who studies sleep disorders in Indianapolis, is in limbo, too.

The clinical psychologist does not have grants right now and is relying on indirect funding from IU School of Medicine to keep her research going. That includes studies into sleep apnea in children and insomnia in teenagers.

“My research salary is on the line,” Honaker told Mirror Indy. “If you slow science down, it has a ripple effect for decades.”

That matters for Indianapolis, she said, because residents could lose out on participating in research and clinical trials in their own communities. And jobs covered by indirect funding would be eliminated, too.

“They pay for our space and our labs,” Honaker said. “They pay for the people who write the budgets and support all that we do.”

Attorneys generals in 22 states sued to block Trump’s funding cuts for medical research, arguing they violate rules for how federal agencies develop new regulations.

Indiana is not among them. Attorney General Todd Rokita did not respond to Mirror Indy’s requests for comment about the cuts or why his office did not join the lawsuit — though he is a vocal supporter of Trump’s policies.

A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden in Massachusetts temporarily blocked the funding cuts on Monday in the states taking legal action and set a hearing for Feb. 21. By Tuesday afternoon, the halt was extended nationwide.

U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve, an Indianapolis Republican, did not immediately respond to Mirror Indy’s requests for comment on Tuesday afternoon.

U.S. Rep. André Carson, an Indianapolis Democrat, called the cuts “dangerous and short-sighted” and pointed blame at the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising the president on ways to reduce government spending.

“Slashing NIH funding will result in layoffs to thousands of Indiana workers and hurt medical research projects at our premier institutions,” Carson said in a statement, in part. “Republicans are bowing to Elon Musk and silently allowing him to line billionaires’ pockets instead of helping sick kids.”

Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.

Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire at claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org or on Instagram/X/Bluesky @clairerafford.

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