Federal Research Grants: Tracking the Change
It’s been hard to keep track of the headlines: the executive orders and judicial tussles, the many acronyms and large sums of money.
With a team of journalists, designers, and data analysts, The New Journal set out to clarify the effects of the last nine months. Where does Yale’s federal research funding stand?
Impacted Yale federal research grants
Yale lost $31.6 million in federal research grants as of August 12, 2025. Eighty-six grants have been impacted.
Federal agencies awarded these grants in one of three ways: directly to a Yale faculty member, to a team including a Yale faculty member, or to another institution which granted funding to Yale.
Nine schools and centers across Yale have lost federal research funding, with the Schools of Medicine and Public Health sustaining the largest losses. This is likely because the majority of Yale’s federally-funded research grants are supported by the National Institutes of Health.
In the graph below, each red square represents one impacted grant. View these grants grouped by Yale recipient or awarding agency using the dropdown menu below.
Data source: Tina Posterli, OPAC.
Hover your mouse over the agency logos to read more about the three federal agencies from which Yale lost the most research funding.
National Institute of Health
Congress created the National Institute of Health in 1930. Since then, the organization has grown to encompass numerous specialized institutes. Discoveries such as the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and HIV’s connection to AIDS were supported by NIH grants. Today, the NIH operates within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
U.S. Department of War
The U.S. Department of War (formerly the U.S. Department of Defense) offers grants for a range of defense-related areas, including military technology and health concerns such as toxic exposure and skin cancer.
U.S. Agency for International Development
The U.S. Agency for International Development partners with universities to support global agricultural innovation and food security. Other grants support educational programs and research on democracy around the world.
Yale internal and federal research funding in 2024, in millions.
According to Tina Posterli, OPAC. This graph does not include corporate, state, or foundation sponsorship.
In the 2024 fiscal year, Yale received $663 million in research grants from the NIH.
This marked an all-time high for the university and placed Yale in the top 0.2 percent of NIH grantees, or eighth in the country, according to Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
Institutions with most NIH funding in 2024
Data source: Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Note that Yale Office of Public Affairs reported a slightly higher amount of NIH funding received by Yale ($663 million).
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Johns Hopkins University
$858M
1
-
UCSF
$815M
2
-
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
$734M
3
-
Washington University St. Louis
$732M
4
-
University of Pennsylvania
$691M
5
-
University of Pittsburgh
$661M
6
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
$655M
7
“At Yale in 2024 alone, NIH funding supported over 2,200 clinical trials in cancer, mental health, and heart disease, among other conditions; and care for 38,000 patients, including adults with Alzheimer’s and patients of all ages with cancer and other illnesses.”
— Tina Posterli, OPAC
Twenty-nine of Yale’s previously terminated awards have been reinstated as a result of legal actions by sponsoring agencies and other organizations, according to OPAC. Some reinstatements are still pending and subject to possible reversal on appeal.
“It is important to note that while some awards at Yale have been reinstated, the suspensions disrupted research timelines, impacted resources, and delayed projects in ways that researchers are still navigating.
— Tina Posterli, OPAC
What does a loss of $31.6 million mean for our university? This amount is 3.5 percent of what Yale received from federal agencies in 2024.
Of the total $663M received in federal funding (2024), Yale has retained 96.5 percent.
Yale has lost substantially less funding than other Ivy League schools.
Graph based on Grant Witness, a self-reported data-base that lists fewer terminated grants than the number provided by OPAC.
But the consequences of research funding cuts on campus are visible and career-altering. The New Journal followed researchers at Yale whose labs have lost NIH funding.
Find their stories below.
Credits
Reporters:
Mia Rose Kohn, Sabrina Thaler, Tina Li, Calista Oetama
Web Developers:
Samhita Kumar, Leslie Kim
Data Analysis:
Lena Qian, Leslie Kim
