In late July, Brown reached a voluntary agreement with the federal government that restored the University’s National Institutes of Health funding and permanently closed three open reviews by federal agencies assessing Brown’s compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws. Reimbursement for costs related to awarded NIH grants had been frozen since April, creating significant funding challenges that jeopardized financial resources for research and education. 

The resolution agreement includes key provisions that preserve Brown and The Warren Alpert Medical School’s academic independence, as well as a commitment to pay $50 million in grants over 10 years to workforce development organizations, of Brown’s choosing, in Rhode Island. 

Writing to the Division of Biology and Medicine community after the announcement, Dean Mukesh K. Jain, MD, addressed aspects of the agreement that prohibit Brown from providing gender-affirming care to students who are minors. Students needing such services will be referred to community providers. 

“It’s essential to point out,” Jain wrote, “that the agreement does not impact medical teaching or training. Nor does the agreement apply to health systems that are separate entities from Brown, including Brown University Health and Care New England. It also specifically states that no provision gives the federal government the authority to dictate Brown’s curriculum.”

While federal grant funds are once again flowing, researchers remain concerned about what the future may hold. At press time, Congress was debating proposed cuts to the NIH budget for fiscal 2026, and the indirect cost recovery rate—the percentage of a grant’s total cost that the government provides institutions to maintain facilities and support the administrative requirements of grant-funded research—is almost certain to be reduced. 

“It may not be the 15 percent the administration tried to impose earlier this year, but it is very likely to be lower than the current rate,” says Thomas Roberts, PhD, senior associate dean for the program in biology. (Brown’s current indirect cost rate is 59.5 percent.) “That, combined with a likely overall decrease in the federal research budget and an increase in competition for available funding, is a challenge we’ll have to meet as we seek to maintain and grow the Division’s research productivity in the years to come.”