RICHMOND, Va. — In an effort to trim the budget, the Trump administration recently announced significant cuts to federal programs and agencies, including the National Institutes of Health.
The NIH is the main federal agency for medical research, providing billions of dollars to fund cancer research.
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center in Richmond is one of the leading cancer centers in the nation, known for its care and its research. CBS 6 spoke to Dr. Robert Winn, Massey's director and president of the American Association of Cancer Institutes, about the cuts and potential impacts.
"I think all cancer centers, including here at Massey, are feeling for the first time a level of uncertainty," Dr. Winn said. "We are trying to navigate waters but we're not certain what these waters are because they seem to change quite frequently."
Dr. Winn said cancer centers are now in uncharted territory not knowing if funding for research will run out.
"We understand that all federal programs they can be refined, cut out, or at least trim a little fat but I think the manner in which it happens is going to be important," Dr. Winn said.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Trump's pick to lead the NIH, gave insight on how he plans to distribute funds.
"My plan is to ensure that the NIH invests in cutting edge research in every field to make big advances rather than just small incremental progress over years," Dr. Bhattacharya said.
Dr. Winn said that so far, Massey is not experiencing the cuts and clinical trials are still being run.
"At Massey we've been lucky enough even blessed enough that at the very moment we have certainly been thinking about programs we may have to pause unlike what's happening in the rest of the country," he said.
According to recent reports, the NIH is cutting spending and canceling grants elsewhere.
"We now have people who are at the NIH and NCI who were on trials . And those trials were paused. So, where do those people turn?" Dr. Winn explained.
From funding to reimbursements, the Trump administration is imposing a 15% cap on indirect costs. Those reimbursements from the NIH cover facilities and equipment expenses at cancer centers.
On Feb. 7, the NIH posted on X saying that last year, $9 billion of the $35 billion that the NIH granted for research was used for administrative overhead. It goes on to say that the 15% reduction will save more than $4 billion dollars a year. Massey currently has a 50% cap.
Last year, $9B of the $35B that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) granted for research was used for administrative overhead, what is known as “indirect costs.” Today, NIH lowered the maximum indirect cost rate research institutions can charge the government to 15%, above… pic.twitter.com/FSUYpEGKsr
— NIH (@NIH) February 7, 2025
"I think for us it would be a substantial hit. Maybe somewhere in the neighborhood of $26-$28 million just to the university," Dr. Winn said. "How do you make those dollars up?"
Dr. Winn told CBS 6 that the biggest concern is the potential delay in progress. According to the CDC, there has been a 34% reduction in cancer deaths over the last 30 years.
"It turns out prevention and screenings and new miracle molecules that become miracle medicines are working," he said.
As research projects continue and the nationwide legal battles over funding play out, Dr. Winn says he will continue to lead through these uncertain times.
"I'm unwavered, undaunted. Undaunted that we're going to do the job that we said we were going to do, take care of the people," Dr. Winn said.
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