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Updated September 19, 2025, at 2:41 p.m.

Millions of dollars in federal research grants from the National Institutes of Health began to flow to Harvard on Friday, the first grant money to return to the University since a judge struck down the Trump administration’s sweeping funding freeze on Sept. 3.

The disbursements covered roughly 200 grants, according to a person familiar with the matter, and mark the first large-scale return of grant money since the funding freeze took effect in May.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton confirmed the restoration of funding in a statement to The Crimson.

“We are pleased to see the disbursement of $46 million in research funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which we received just before noon today,” Newton wrote.

“This is an initial step, and we hope to continue to see funding restored across all of the federal agencies,” he added.

The roughly 200 grants that have been returned make up a significant but small fraction of the more than 1,500 active NIH grants at Harvard. The agency is the largest federal funder of Harvard’s research ecosystem, giving the University $488 million in fiscal year 2024 — more than 70 percent of its federal funding last year.

The disbursements hit Harvard’s accounts two weeks after U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs struck down the Trump administration’s suspension of Harvard’s federal research funding, calling the freeze unconstitutional. Burroughs ordered agencies to reinstate Harvard’s grants and resume the flow of payments that had been halted since the spring.

In the days that followed, Harvard researchers began receiving notices that their awards were being reinstated, but the wait for funding lasted until Friday.

Though the White House vowed to appeal Burroughs’ ruling, the administration has not yet continued the fight in court. More than two weeks later, no appeal has been filed — and a spokesperson for the administration did not immediately answer if it still plans to appeal the ruling.

The disbursements are likely to offer a measure of relief to researchers in Harvard’s Longwood campus, where major research projects have been forced to scale back or shutter and researchers have relied on limited bridge funds. Since April, officials have announced layoffs at HMS and HSPH and warned that the firestorm of federal actions could cost Harvard upwards of $1 billion annually.

But even the return of frozen funds may not solve Harvard’s long-term financial crunch, especially as the Trump administration threatens to cut agency budgets or redirect funding toward its own political priorities. On Wednesday, HMS Dean George Q. Daley ’82 said the school would slash 20 percent of its research spending in what appeared to be a preparation for longer-term austerity.

“Given the dark clouds hanging over — not only Harvard’s federal grant dollars, but all of NIH — reducing our research spending and focusing on our most critical research is the responsible thing for us and other institutions to do,” Daley said, also citing this summer’s endowment tax hike as a source of strain.

The increase — which will raise the tax on Harvard’s endowment income to 8 percent — is expected to cost the University more than $200 million per year. Harvard has said that will impact the flexible funds the University allocates to research, financial aid, and faculty salaries.

It is unclear if other federal agencies whose grants to Harvard were paused or terminated have also resumed payments.

The restorations after Burrough’s ruling were the first time the NIH has begun awarding grants to Harvard. The agency began issuing some grants in July after an earlier court order, but at that time, drawdowns through a federal payment system were quietly blocked by Department of Government Efficiency officials because Harvard hasn’t struck a settlement with the White House.

​​—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.