UMass Chan freezes hiring and rescinds PhD admissions

UMass Chan Medical School has announced a hiring and spending freeze due to uncertainty over federal funding, particularly related to a proposed 15% cap on indirect costs for NIH grants. All hiring, including faculty and internships, is paused. The school also rescinded admissions for its biomedical science PhD program, affecting several dozen applicants. This decision aims to protect current students from funding disruptions and ensure future students have adequate research opportunities. Other Massachusetts institutions, like Harvard, have also implemented hiring freezes amid similar funding concerns. UMass Chan could face annual losses of $40 to $50 million if the funding cap is enforced.