Federal funding cuts have led to the termination of 43 grants totaling $39.4 million at UNLV and UNR, halting efforts to increase mental health access in rural areas, improve care for Alzheimer’s patients and monitor youth substance abuse.

In a Tuesday email obtained by The Nevada Independent meant to rally UNLV’s research community and provide an update on the depths of the cuts, Dave Hatchett, the vice president of research, said that three grants had been terminated before research began, and that 22 grants that were in the implementation process were canceled, “disrupting ongoing research, limiting student engagement, and undermining essential community partnerships.” In total, 25 research grants worth $16.3 million have been cut.

At UNR, the losses are even steeper. The university has lost $23.1 million across 18 sponsored grants from federal agencies — some of which were nearing their end date, according to a university spokesperson.

Although some individual project cancellations have been reported, the full scope of cuts affecting UNLV and UNR has not been reported. At a Board of Regents meeting in March, UNLV officials said the university had lost six grants totaling $4 million.

Across the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), there have been more than 50 terminated grants valued at about $57 million, but about $35 million had not been spent yet, according to information provided by NSHE on Friday. Universities do not spend the entirety of grant awards upfront and are instead reimbursed as projects move forward.

The Indy has reached out to UNR and UNLV for clarification on how much of their terminated grants had already been spent.

NSHE said that researchers are receiving termination notices without advance notice, and in some cases have had no opportunity to appeal the decision.

“The recent disruptions in federal grant funding have introduced serious challenges for researchers and students alike,” NSHE Board of Regents Chair Amy Carvalho said in a statement.

The cuts are part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented offensive against academia: cutting scientific research, freezing funding at schools over practices the president disagrees with and investigating schools, including UNLV, for perceived violations of the administration’s policy against diversity, equity and inclusion. Public health research in particular has experienced significant cuts as the administration moves to slash the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget to save money or end what it describes as waste, fraud and abuse.

Hatchett said a lack of consistent federal investment will lead to shrinking research operations, the loss of “promising scientific and social innovations” and the disappearance of programs serving vulnerable populations. 

Numerous groups — including Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and other Democratic attorneys general — have sued the Trump administration to restore research funding. 

The following UNLV initiatives have been terminated or paused, according to Hatchett:

• Research into advancing care for Alzheimer’s patients
• Federal pandemic response projects
• Investigations into bacterial infections that can cause diarrhea and colitis, “a growing concern due to antibiotic resistance”
• Support for the Nevada Afterschool Network, which provided “enrichment and care for K-12 children, especially in underserved areas”
• A “groundbreaking project” that monitored substance use by analyzing wastewater in high schools and higher education institutions
• Two grants aiming to improve mental health care in rural Nevada, the cancellation of which would “intensify existing disparities in access to care”
• Programs supporting first-generation and low-income students
• Outreach initiatives aimed at Native American students 

Additionally, the email stated that UNLV has seen fewer award approvals from NIH and the National Science Foundation (NSF), particularly in the health, science education and engineering fields. The termination of two NSF awards “disrupted the work of promising early-career faculty,” and UNLV is also monitoring the renewal of certain NIH grants funding work that is in progress, according to Hatchett.

At UNR, four NSF awards were recently terminated. Grants from the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Agency for International Development and National Endowment for the Humanities have also been cut.

Hatchett also criticized the administration’s efforts to target not just the science itself, but the university research apparatus. The federal government helps subsidize the costs of compliance and grants staff and maintaining research facilities — known as indirect costs — through negotiated rates. 

Through the NIH, the Trump administration is moving to cut indirect cost reimbursement rates to 15 percent, which would necessitate steep cuts at UNLV (which currently has a 51.5 percent indirect cost rate) and UNR (47 percent). The Nevada Independent has reached out to UNR to see if it has compiled similar information.

In his email, Hatchett said the rate change would result in a 71 percent reduction in funds available to cover these indirect costs — forcing the university to redirect its limited funds toward keeping the proverbial lights on in its research facilities. 

Updated at 8:30 a.m. on 5/1/2025 to include information from UNR, and at 1:05 p.m. on 5/2/25 to include information from NSHE.