Northwestern should be safe from losing out on more research grants from the National Institutes of Health for the time being.
According to a Wednesday NIH memo verified by multiple news outlets, agency staff has been directed to halt further terminations of grants.
The internal email was sent by Michelle Bulls, the director of an NIH office that oversees compliance and manages grant policy.
“Effective immediately, please do not terminate any additional grant projects. Please unrelease all grant projects that are in the cue to be terminated. Again, do not terminate any additional grant projects,” she wrote.
The move comes in the aftermath of two recent federal court rulings that ordered the federal government to restore certain NIH funding, pending an appeal. In both cases — one in Massachusetts and the other in California — the judges said some of the Trump administration’s funding cuts should be blocked or voided, arguing that the reductions were discriminatory.
It remains unclear whether Wednesday’s memo was related to those cases or whether the government has opted to reinstate that funding.
A $790 million federal funding freeze, grant terminations, stop-work orders and payment suspensions have all muddled the future of some NU research projects, particularly those tied to LGBTQ+ health.
University officials also previously confirmed that researchers have yet to receive payments for NIH grants since March and indicated those funds may have been frozen.
While Wednesday’s memo does not indicate that these funds will be reinstated, it could provide safeguards against additional cuts. It is not clear how long the directive will hold.
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Related Stories:
— NIH nixes at least 10 NU research projects related to LGBTQ+ health issues
— Northwestern officials confirm ‘significant impacts’ on university research due to funding freeze
