Key Michigan universities adjust to dwindling research funds

Michigan State University is currently building a 130,000 square foot bioengineering facility. It's scheduled to open in 2015. Scientists across the U.S. are competing harder for tight federal grant funding, particularly from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Bioengineering facility is planned at MSU.

Credit MSU Office of Planning and Budgets

Universities across the U-S are settling into the fall semester. Here in Michigan, a large amount of their research focuses on biomedicine and life sciences. The bulk of federal funding for these pursuits comes from the NIH, the National Institutes of Health. But the NIH has had its budget squeezed in recent years, and times are tough for scientists facing intense competition for dwindling dollars.

We wanted to take a closer look at how well the money stream is flowing into Michigan.  Current State talks with two experts.  Jeff Mason is the executive director of the University Research Corridor. It’s a partnership between Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. Dr. Stephen Lanier is the vice-president of research at Wayne State University.