Medical Research Faces Fund Cuts

Research and training programs at the Medical School could be hard hit next year by cuts in President Johnson's proposed health budget, Dr. Robert H. Ebert, Dean of the Medical School, said this week. He attributed the budget cuts to the rising costs of the Vietnam War.

The reductions would be felt mainly by those projects now in the planning stages, many of which would have to be postponed.

"Programs underway will receive already allocated funds, but their grants are less likely to be renewed," Ebert said. "There won't have to be an immediate cutback, but the fund shortage will probably get worse."

Although 68.1 per cent of last year's overall budget at the medical school is provided from federal grants and contracts, Harvard is in better shape than most medical schools, an official said yesterday. "Unlike the majority of medical schools, our Faculty is financed entirely by endowment funds," he said.

Smaller Increase

The proposed amount of federal funds actually allocated to the Medical School through the National Institutes of Health would be up 7.8 per cent over last year. But usually the annual increase is over 15 per cent, allowing for expansion of research as well as rising costs in current programs. The smaller increase provides only for higher costs.

Department heads at the Medical School do not expect to feel the effects of the new budget--to be presented to Congress within the next month--for a year or two. Trying to anticipate possible cutbacks in the future, they are already seeking private sources for research programs.

Face Reductions

Ebert pointed out that the health budget may face further reductions from Congress. In past years, the chief supporters of the federal health program, Rep. John E. Fogarty (D-R.I.) and Sen Lister Hill (D-Ala.), have been able to push through the President's proposed NIH budget. But Fogarty died last year, and Hill, who is chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is not seeking re-election in November.

"There is no guarantee that whatever funds Johnson has recommended for next year will actually be appropriated," Ebert said.

"We expected that a platean in the tremendous growth in research grants would eventually be reached, but the sharp curtailment this year clearly related to the war is greater than anticipated," he added.