Congresswoman Terri Sewell Warns of Devastating NIH Budget Cuts to UAB Research

Proposed NIH Budget Cuts

• ⚠️ Congresswoman Terri Sewell highlights proposed budget cuts to the National Institute of Health (NIH) by the Trump administration.
• 🎯 These cuts, initially targeting overhead costs, are now part of a leaked 2026 Republican budget proposing to slash the NIH budget by nearly half and reduce its institutes from 27 to 8.

Impact on UAB and Research

• 💡 The University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), a leading research institution, receives significant NIH funding ($47 million last year) for critical research.
• 📉 Sewell warns these cuts could cost UAB approximately $70 million annually, impacting essential infrastructure, equipment, and facilities.
• 🔬 Research into conditions like strokes, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes at UAB could be slowed or halted, jeopardizing potential medical breakthroughs.

Economic and Livelihood Consequences

• 💼 The proposed cuts threaten thousands of jobs and livelihoods supported by UAB's research activities, as UAB is one of Alabama's largest employers.
• 💰 Sewell frames the cuts as a trade-off: sacrificing life-saving research to provide tax breaks to the wealthy.

Call to Action

• ✊ Sewell emphasizes the need to fight against these "draconian cuts" to research, stressing that research dollars are tied to lives, livelihoods, and life-saving technologies.
• 🗣️ She urges constituents to amplify their voices, asserting that the research conducted at UAB is invaluable and will not be allowed to be undermined without a fight.