Minnesota lawmakers, mental health leaders denounce proposed research cuts

Lawmakers, medical professionals and a woman who has benefited from Minnesota’s mental health treatment and research gathered on March 19 for a press conference decrying proposed federal cuts to research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which includes the National Institute of Mental Health. 

The cuts, proposed last month by the Trump administration, would limit NIH funding of medical research to 15% of indirect costs. Examples of such costs, said Sophia Vinogradov, might include things like rent, utilities, computer maintenance, and custodial services. Vinogradov is the Donald W. Hastings Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and head of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

She used a gardening analogy to explain the presence of indirect costs in the medical research field, saying that buying plants or seeds would equate to direct costs, but the soil needed to plant them in would be an indirect cost.

“I could be a wonderful gardener and I could have wonderful plants, but if there is no soil, I can’t make my garden right,” Vinogradov said. Relating the analogy to medical research, she added, “As soon as you destroy that infrastructure, the research itself has to stop.” 

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Minnesota research tied to suicide prevention

Several NIMH-funded research projects currently underway at the University of Minnesota relate to understanding and preventing teen suicide, said Kathryn Cullen. Cullen is a tenured professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Minnesota. These studies include investigations into brain changes related to teen depression and self-harm, as well as non-drug interventions for depression. 

“For example, using brain imaging, we found that 9- and 10-year-olds who have suicidal thoughts have low strength in the pathways connecting certain parts of the brain. Findings like this can shed light on finding new treatment ideas,” Cullen said.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in Minnesota for people ages 10-34, with 22% of high school students reporting they have considered suicide in the past year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Minnesota Department of Health, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and press conference organizer NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Minnesota. 

For information on suicidal ideation, mental health, and self-harm statistics specific to students at Eden Prairie Schools, see EPLN’s previous article on the growing mental health crisis among Eden Prairie students from our 2023 Silent Struggles special project on teen mental health and suicide.

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According to NAMI, the proposed federal research funding cuts would total at least $118 million in Minnesota. The proposed cuts are currently on hold after a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked them from taking effect while lawsuits filed by 22 state attorneys general, including Minnesota’s, and other medical and research institutions proceed.

Legislators oppose cuts, cite personal mental illness experiences

Lawmakers in attendance cited personal experiences with mental health issues. U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) referenced her struggles with depression when she was younger, while Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn., 2nd District), at times near tears, said one of her four sons has faced lifelong serious mental health challenges.

Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat representing Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes Eden Prairie, commented, “Mental health and mental illness obviously are not partisan issues. We need President Trump and Congressional Republicans to remember that and to prioritize the health of all Americans.”

Morrison also expressed concern that research funding cuts could lead to a “brain drain” of top-tier medical and scientific talent moving to other countries.

Smith commented,  “When people receive the mental health care that they need, they are able to live healthier, happier, more productive lives, and that is the most important thing. But also remember that it is important that this work saves our healthcare system money. This work saves taxpayer dollars. This work helps keep people out of the criminal justice system.”

She also expressed concern about staff cuts at the NIH, saying that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a special commission led by Elon Musk, had terminated between 1,000 and 1,200 “researchers and scientists and other experts. We asked, and they won’t tell us – even those of us in Congress – they won’t tell us exactly who and how many,” Smith said. 

On Tuesday, the CEO Alliance for Mental Health, a coalition that includes NAMI, issued a statement expressing concern about potential staff cuts to SAMHSA. A branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA’s functions include administering the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 

The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides immediate support via phone, text, or online chat to people having a mental health crisis or contemplating suicide. President Donald Trump signed into law legislation creating the 988 national dialing code for the Lifeline in 2020. In 2025, news reports from organizations such as The New York Times have indicated that SAMHSA could be facing staff cuts of up to 50%. 

At the Minnesota press conference, Craig encouraged those concerned about cuts to mental health research funding to call their representatives, particularly Republican members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

“It’s congressionally appropriated dollars,” she said. “By going along with this, what Republicans are saying is, ‘We’re going to let an administration completely take away the legislative branch’s power.’”

NAMI Minnesota Executive Director Sue Abderholden said the organization takes over 3,000 calls a year, with hundreds of people attending its classes and support groups. “They are desperate for research to make sure that we are finding ways to decrease symptoms, to decrease suicide,” Abderholden said.

Hope Grathwol, a participant in NAVIGATE, a first-episode psychosis (FEP) program, spoke at the press conference about her experience. Psychosis refers to a disease that affects the mind, causing a distorted perception of reality. Literature provided by NAMI Minnesota explained that FEP programs serve people ages 15 to 40 with early signs of psychosis. 

“The NAVIGATE program taught me how to keep myself safe (and) inspired me to regain insight into my condition and return my brain chemistry and thinking back within a scope of normal reality. What rings true most for me is that NAVIGATE not only saved my life, but saved my light,” Grathwol said.

For anyone experiencing a crisis, please call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text MN to 741741 for access to trained counselors who are available 24/7/365. If you or a loved one is at imminent risk, contact 9-1-1 and request a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officer.