Vanderbilt Medical Center to cut $250M from research budget

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A spokesperson for Vanderbilt University Medical Center confirmed it will be reducing its research budget by $250 million due to cuts made regarding medical research at the federal level.

In a statement released this week, the spokesperson said the cuts will affect hiring for certain positions.

“In response to recent administrative orders impacting financial resources for medical research, it is necessary for VUMC to strategically reduce research operating costs. Hiring for most research positions will be paused, and other cost-saving measures will be implemented.”

Despite the research cuts, VUMC will continue to fill positions needed to staff the new wing opening later this year.

“VUMC is continuing to hire frontline staff for its health system to accommodate ongoing growth in patient care and in preparation for the October opening of the 180-bed Jim Ayers Tower.”

The spokesperson said the cuts are a direct result of the restructuring ordered by President Donald Trump against the National Institute of Health, which provides federal funding to universities and hospitals for biomedical research.

In 2023, the NIH awarded approximately $35 billion in grants to research groups, with those funds covering everything from researchers’ salaries and laboratory supplies to the administrative and facility costs needed to support that work.

The Trump administration has reportedly dismissed these expenses as “overhead.”

In a video statement on Thursday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the Department of Health and Human Services as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” and faulted the department for a decline in Americans’ health.

The health department is cutting 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers during the restructuring, according to reports.

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