NIH Funding Also Boosts Local Economy, Provides Jobs, Brief Argues

In its proposed budget released this week, the Trump administration called for big cuts to national medical and science funding institutions. In response, a medical research advocacy organization has published a brief on the impact of National Institutes of Health funding.

Most National Institutes of Health or NIH funding goes to major research institutes such as Johns Hopkins, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania. But smaller institutions such as West Virginia University and Marshall also receive funding for research into health issues such if fracking has impacts on cardiovascular health.

The new report, published by the NIH advocacy organization United for Medical Research, argues that in addition to supporting vital medical research, NIH grants have broad economic impact on the labor force and local economy. In West Virginia, for instance, they report that in 2017 the state received more than $28 million in funding, which generated $6 million in taxes for local governments and supported around 400 jobs.

The Trump administration proposed cutting the NIH 12 percent and the National Science Foundation 13 percent. Medical and science research institutes around the country have pushed back against the proposal.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.