The National Institutes of Health is the largest funder of research at UC, which received more than $2.6 billion for the last academic year – more than half of its total research awards.

California and 21 other states are suing the Trump administration to stop the feds from cutting National Institutes of Health funding. Why it matters: The University of California and research institutions across the state rely on billions of dollars in NIH funding to advance medical research and treatments for cancer,

The funds, known as “indirect costs,” help universities maintain expensive labs and other infrastructure. Trump’s administration seeks to cut that funding by roughly half the current amount.

The funding cuts would affect medical and scientific research at institutions including the UC and CSU systems, according to the AG's office.

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, Feb. 10 joined a coalition with 21 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health “for attempting to illegally slash grant funding to universities and research institutions across the country.

Attorneys general from 22 states sued the Trump administration on Monday, seeking to freeze a plan that would cap National Institutes of Health payments covering overhead at universities and medical research centers.

A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan to cut funding for the National Institutes of Health.