MIT President Sally Kornbluth told the campus that federally funded research on campus has dropped by more than 20% compared with the prior year and that new federal research awards are down by more than 20%. In a message to the university community, Kornbluth characterized the changes as a significant loss for one of the world’s largest research ecosystems, warning that the funding shift is affecting both research activity and graduate enrollment. The update frames federal policy changes as a direct driver of reduced research pipeline stability, putting additional pressure on lab budgets, hiring plans, and the university’s ability to sustain grant-funded work.