EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) — Frozen without any warning or explanation: That’s what Northwestern says happened to millions of dollars of their federal funding for medical research back in March.
Now, up against a final deadline, the university is trying to salvage millions of dollars and years of medical research.
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Northwestern says they’re staring at the edge of a life or death cliff, as the close of a fiscal year looms, with lifesaving medical research hanging in the balance. Northwestern says they’ve not heard a word from the Trump administration about terms for re-instating federal money that was abruptly frozen.
“This is a place we’ve never been in before, and it truly is unsustainable,” said Dr. Sheetal Kircher, associate professor of medical oncology at Northwestern Medicine.
Since the Trump administration froze a $790 million lifeline from the National Institutes of Health in late March, Northwestern says it has been hemorrhaging tens of millions of dollars of its own money each month, bankrolling advanced medical studies on conditions like dangerous heart arrhythmias, and rare, and currently incurable, cancers.
“My patients are scared. My patients are coming to me with the worst diagnosis that they could imagine in their life, and they’re wondering, how will my treatment be affected? It is absolutely heartbreaking that I don’t have the answers to that,” Kircher said.
“It’s hard to play God, and that’s the position they’ve been put in,” Richard Moline told the I-Team.
A few months into a rare stage one pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Moline is now a patient in one of those potentially temporary medical studies.
“I am appalled. I am outraged. I’m confused. I’m sad. Of all things to cut, medical research? Human lives are at stake,” Moline said.
The abrupt pause of funds came as part of a fight waged by the Trump administration with universities over antisemitism on campus.
“Northwestern has never received communication, either written or verbal, that the funds are going to be frozen. Since then, we have not gotten any guidance on how to restore these funds,” Kircher said.
In a statement to the I-Team, Northwestern says it “took significant steps to address antisemitism in the summer before the 2024-2025 academic year, and those actions made a difference. President Schill will appear for a transcribed interview with the Committee to answer their questions and detail the progress Northwestern has made.”
The medical studies may have mere months to be re-financed before a looming fiscal year deadline in September.
“Right now, we still have hope that these fundings will be restored. But, if it gets transferred into a stop order or a termination of the study, we have no hope of getting those research dollars back,” Kircher said.
“I would like every lawmaker to look me in the eye: Why are you playing with human lives?” Moline said.
Northwestern says its president, Michael Schill, will testify on the university’s changes to antisemitism policies. Still, the university says they have not had any direct communication with the Trump administration.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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