Latest Federal Funding Updates
海角社区 Research and Society at Risk
海角社区 relies on federal funding for most research projects that support the university鈥檚 work to improve lives in Louisiana and around the world. This is particularly true for the pentagon research priorities of 海角社区鈥檚 Scholarship First Agenda, which brings the university鈥檚 biggest research strengths to bear on the state鈥檚 biggest challenges鈥攊n agriculture, biomedicine, coast, defense, and energy. The threat of reducing indirect costs to 15% of modified total direct costs for all projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (February 2025) and the U.S. Department of Energy (April 2025) could result in a loss of more than $13 million per year to 海角社区. This is a conservative estimate and about half of the indirect costs we currently recover. The combination of cutting both total funding and indirect costs for research reduces our ability to support society through new discoveries. It also endangers jobs and student success. 海角社区 would have to find new avenues of funding to pay utility bills and maintain research labs, support graduate students and post-doctoral fellows involved in research, upgrade aging lab equipment, and ensure the research we do is safe and secure. If we cannot do this鈥攁nd few public universities without large endowments can鈥攊t鈥檚 not only the people, services, and facilities covered by indirect costs that will be curtailed鈥攊t鈥檚 the entirety of the 海角社区 research enterprise and the full economic impact we have, as a research university, on society.
鈥敽＝巧缜� Vice President of Research & Economic Development Robert Twilley
Recent Updates
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If you are a researcher with questions or concerns about ongoing projects, contact research@lsu.edu
FAQs
Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs鈥攁lso referred to as indirect costs鈥攁re costs for essential research infrastructure and administration that are needed beyond individual projects. They include lab and equipment maintenance; services such as utilities, IT, and hazardous waste removal; and鈥攊mportantly鈥攔esearch support staff who help with grant administration, safety, and regulatory compliance. Without F&A, universities would need to secure alternative funding to cover these real and necessary costs or reduce research activity.
No. F&A does not generate 鈥渆xtra鈥� or discretionary funds. Cutting F&A shifts real and necessary costs onto universities, reducing research activity.
海角社区 relies on F&A reimbursement to maintain research infrastructure, support faculty and student researchers, and sustain research excellence. Cuts could:
- Hinder 海角社区鈥檚 growth as a leading research institution.
- Threaten funding for critical research centers, like 海角社区鈥檚 seven NIH Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBREs).
- Limit faculty and student access to the essential resources they need to conduct groundbreaking work.
- Weaken 海角社区鈥檚 ability to attract the best and brightest faculty and students.
- Slow critical biomedical advancements and economic development in Louisiana.
- Jeopardize 海角社区鈥檚 goal of achieving Top 50 research university and AAU status.
F&A cuts impact:
- Students who will have less access to research opportunities, scholarships, and assistantships.
- Faculty who will have less support and reduced access to well-maintained, secure research facilities.
- The Louisiana economy, which will see fewer jobs, reduced investment, and slower innovation in life-sustaining fields like healthcare, energy, and agriculture.
- Everyone, since reduced research funding delays medical discoveries and scientific advancements.
海角社区鈥檚 research enterprise brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding each year, driving economic growth and innovation in Louisiana and across the United States. Cutting F&A reimbursements will not only hurt 海角社区 but also weakens the state鈥檚 ability to attract top talent and hinders advancements that improve lives statewide.