ACE and six other higher
education associations filed an amicus brief Thursday supporting a legal challenge to the National
Institutes of Health’s (NIH) sudden cancellation of research grants that it
claims no longer align with the agency’s priorities.
Filed in Commonwealth of
Massachusetts v. Kennedy—a case brought
by 16 state attorneys general earlier this month— the
brief forcefully opposes the unprecedented blacklisting of research perceived
to be connected to politically disfavored topics, as well as the blatant
illegality of terminating hundreds of existing awards without adequate
explanation, notice, or adherence to legal process. The associations warn that these
actions threaten to destabilize the entire biomedical research system.
In the brief, which was led
by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and submitted in the
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the associations underscore
the severe consequences for institutions, researchers, and patients who
participate in federally funded studies.
The amicus brief details the
critical importance of funding stability. For generations, higher education
institutions and their medical schools, academic health systems, and teaching
hospitals have relied on transparent and stable NIH grantmaking.
“Widespread termination of existing
NIH awards would destroy the reliance interests at every level of the research
enterprise,” the brief states, pointing to the significant investments colleges
and universities make in research infrastructure and personnel, as well as the
ethical commitments involved in clinical research.
The associations explain
that abruptly terminating this research funding in areas ranging from HIV to
vaccine hesitancy to gender identity without explanation violates the Administrative
Procedure Act, which requires federal agencies to follow
fair and transparent processes when making policy changes, including providing
advance notice and a reasoned explanation. They also emphasize that the
terminations violate NIH’s statutory obligations to fund research consistent
with Congress’s funding authorizations, and without violating federal civil
rights laws.
In the wake of the cuts, longstanding
research initiatives have been abruptly halted. The Adolescent Medicine Trials
Network for HIV/AIDS Intervention—a 24-year program aimed at improving outcomes
for young people—was terminated for being “based on … amorphous equity
objectives,” cutting off participants’ access to life-saving medications. Grants
for other programs were cut with no warning, including for suicide prevention
efforts for high-risk youth, which led to “the immediate termination of
services upon which lives depend,” according to the brief.
Even before the grant
terminations, NIH had reported a significant decline in the number of
postdoctoral scientists nationally. Institutions warn the current situation
could accelerate the decline, as researchers consider leaving the field or
moving abroad. The brief cites reporting in Science magazine warning
that “[t]hese abrupt grant terminations could be a death knell to the academic
careers of many promising scientists—a possibility that NIH failed to
consider.” The article also suggests that NIH’s actions could prompt U.S.-based
researchers to seek academic opportunities overseas or leave the scientific
field altogethe.
The filing reflects a united
stance from major higher education organizations concerned about the long-term
effects of NIH’s actions.
“We cannot stand by and watch a partnership that the
federal government and our research institutions maintained together for
decades be incomprehensibly and illegally torn apart in weeks,” said Peter
McDonough, ACE vice president and general counsel. “Approximately 80 percent of NIH’s annual budget supports
the work of more than 300,000 people at over 2,500 institutions. It is the
largest funder of health and medical research in the world. The impact of these
grants cancelations would be devastating. Patients in clinical trials will die, promising research will
stop, researchers will lose their jobs, and training the next generation of
physicians and scientists will be derailed.”
Along with ACE, other groups
joining the AAMC-led brief include the Association of American Universities,
the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the American Association
of State Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities
and Colleges, and COGR. Together, the organizations represent thousands of U.S.
colleges, universities, and medical centers that conduct the majority of
NIH-supported research.
A preliminary injunction
hearing is scheduled for April 28.