Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin on Monday night touted the benefits National Institutes of Health funding have provided for the city as the Trump administration seeks slashing 15 percent to indirect grant costs affecting UAB and other research institutions in Alabama.

The cuts were supposed to take effect on Monday but were temporarily put on hold when a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked them pending a hearing.

UAB estimated the proposed cuts would cost the university $70 million annually.

“The National Institue [sic] of Health(NIH) is responsible for life-saving research performed throughout our country. In Birmingham, the NIH has also created community-sustaining jobs and provided the fuel for our growing bio-economy,” Woodfin tweeted Monday night.

On Friday, Trump announced plans to slash support for research grant overhead from as much as 69%, charged by some universities, to 15%. The White House argued that federal dollars should not be used to support so much institutional overhead.

NIH grants support research across Alabama, including work on heart health, kidney disease and diabetes. Indirect research costs also support work on clinical trials, new drugs and new procedures.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, HudsonAlpha and Southern Research Institute are all major recipients of federal grants.

“As NIH funding is flippantly cut,” Woodfin said, “it should also be clear that this negatively impacts the pillars of economic development in our city and cities like ours across America.

“And, while the US takes our foot off the gas in the global race for technology and research advancement, Woodfin continued, “foreign adversaries like China and Russia are making up ground.”

The mayor said there would be devastating impacts of reduced funding.

“So, what is the result of the NIH cuts? Research is stopped, lives are lost, American jobs are destroyed, communities are threatened, and our country loses the edge we need to win the future,” he said.

In an email to faculty and staff on Monday, UAB administrators said the institution’s “research advancements would slow significantly” and “negatively impact jobs and economic growth.”

The email from UAB President Dr. Ray Watts and other administrators did not quantify the impact.

“Since the announcement was made, key personnel have been working to assess and address the issue,” read the statement from Watts, Senior Vice President and Provost Janet Woodruff-Borden and Vice President of Research Chris Brown.

“This is a fluid situation, and we will continue to closely monitor rapidly evolving developments and work diligently and strategically to protect our research mission and the people who support it. the statement continued.

“We deeply value our research faculty and staff, as well as those UAB research serves, and we will provide updates as appropriate.”