In a message posted today, the Wyss Institute’s founding director, Dr. Don Ingber, says the halted contracts represent more than $20 million in total costs.

The lost federal funding comes as the Trump administration freezes more than $2.2 billion in funds to Harvard after the university refused to comply with an extensive list of demands ranging from admissions to hiring to the recruitment of international students.

“When we learned that Harvard University made the bold decision to reject the administration’s unprecedented demands that would require it to relinquish its independence and severely constrain academic freedom, we could not have been prouder,” Ingber said.

The frozen $20 million funding for Wyss halts potential life-saving advances in their tracks, Ingber said. “But this will not stop us. We will not cease to pursue our mission, and will continue to support our scientists, engineers, and staff members who have devoted themselves to saving the lives of others and the world in which we live.”