Columbia medical school freezes hiring and other spending amid threat of federal cuts

Columbia University’s medical school is preemptively tightening its belt due to potential sweeping cuts in federal research funding that were ordered by the Trump administration but are being challenged in the courts.

Dr. James McKiernan, interim dean of the university’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said in a letter to faculty on Tuesday that the school was immediately implementing pauses on spending and hiring to control costs.

"Cost containment measures, which will help to preserve our financial flexibility, will include a temporary pause on activities such as hiring, travel, procurement, capital projects, and events," McKiernan wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Gothamist.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on these measures and whether other parts of the university were affected.

The federal National Institutes of Health on Feb. 7 announced a cap on federal research funding for facilities and administrative costs. The Greater New York Hospital Association, an industry group, estimated the move would sap $850 million from research institutions across the state. A federal judge on Monday paused the cuts pending a hearing on Feb. 21.

It’s unclear how many other universities are taking similar preemptive measures. The University of Iowa said it would slow or pause hiring and other spending following the NIH announcement last week, but then rescinded that guidance once the court put the cuts on hold.

Columbia University Health Sciences is among the top recipients of NIH funding in the country, according to news reports.

McKiernan wrote that the cost-cutting measures came in light of “recent executive orders and other federal actions, including recent NIH guidance to substantially reduce facilities and administrative cost recovery for federally funded programs.” He added that the university was also seeking to evaluate its system and develop new revenue models.

McKiernan said he was in “close touch” about this guidance with leadership at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, which encompasses Vagelos and three other clinical and research institutions, including the Mailman School of Public Health, the School of Nursing and the College of Dental Medicine.

Dr. Joshua Gordon, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Vagelos and executive director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, shared the news in a separate letter to Columbia's psychiatry faculty on Tuesday.

“Pauses on travel reimbursement, events, capital expenditures and hiring from Columbia funds start immediately, regardless of the source of funding,” he wrote.

Gordon added that he has instituted a “brief pause in unrestricted funds” at the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, a nonprofit housed within the New York State Psychiatric Institute that helps facilitate the research objectives of various state agencies, including the Office of Mental Health.

“This will give us a clearer picture of our current financial state and allow us to set policies that ensure decisions at Columbia do not adversely affect [the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene’s] stability,” Gordon wrote. “I hope to be able to relax this pause within a few days.” He said expenditures that have already been approved will be permitted.

The director of the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene did not immediately return a request for comment.

Gordon served as the director of the National Institute of Mental Health for eight years before taking on his current role in August. His letter said an in-person town hall to discuss the new developments will be held at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on Wednesday.