Skip to main content

What’s at risk

Harvard is home to the world’s most cutting-edge medical, scientific, and technological research. For decades, that research has been supported by the federal government, among many other sponsors. That support is essential for the continuation of groundbreaking innovations that impact countless human lives.

Without federal funding, this work will come to a halt midstream, and researchers will lack necessary resources to finish ongoing projects or to finance new ones in the numerous fields Harvard supports, including:

Changing lives through medicine
Click to Play Video

“It’s through research that we can live longer, healthier lives.”

Harvard scientists discuss potential impacts of federal funding cuts — from U.S. brain drain to fewer medical breakthroughs.

Read more about the vital research happening at Harvard

Funding cuts to Harvard have a broad impact

Funding cuts to Harvard reverberate far beyond our campus. Each year, Harvard researchers partner with universities and hospitals across the country to utilize their expertise, gain new perspectives, and collaborate on solutions.

Recent funding cuts have impacted dozens of hospitals, universities, and research institutions across 32 states, from Morehouse School of Medicine to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

By the numbers

Federal funding is the University’s largest source of support for research, playing a pivotal role in enabling studies that deliver widespread societal benefits. More than one third of research carried out at Harvard is funded directly by the University.

  • 402

    Innovations reported by Harvard researchers in the 2024 fiscal year

  • 155

    U.S. patents issued in 2024

  • 162

    Number of Harvard Nobel laureates, including one from 2024

  • $1 billion

    research funding from a combination of federal, foundation, and industry sponsors in 2024

  • $526 million

    Research funded directly by the University in 2024

A person in a lab filling test tubes

The history of federal funding and the real-world price if it’s halted

An illustration of people in a lab creating new drugs
  • In the Media

Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs

The Washington Post
Trump slashed funding for universities that helped create these vital drugs
  • In the Media

After funding halt, Harvard nurses health study scrambles to save 50 years of samples

A person in a lab taking samples out of cold storage
After funding halt, Harvard nurses health study scrambles to save 50 years of samples
  • News

Court victory for Harvard in research funding fight

Widener Library on Harvard campus
Court victory for Harvard in research funding fight
  • Statements

An Update on Our Litigation

Harvard campus against blue skies, and the Charles River.
An Update on Our Litigation
  • Documents

Federal District Court Decision in Funding Freeze Litigation

Federal District Court Decision in Funding Freeze Litigation
  • In the Media

Judge reverses Trump administration’s cuts of billions of dollars to Harvard University

A tower with a red roof on the Charles River.
Judge reverses Trump administration’s cuts of billions of dollars to Harvard University