Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 21, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 5 like UMass Chan save lives, she said. "All of that is under risk, and it's the result of a terribly misguided and self-inflicted wound by the Trump Administration," she said. e effects of NIH cuts won't confine themselves to within hospitals walls and will in fact be far-reaching into our local economies. Scientists and researchers fuel entire infrastruc- tures from the construction workers building their labs to the real estate agents selling the land to build them to the restaurants nearby that feed the employees, said Healey. "ere's so much to this ecosystem, and that is why I've said to every Mas- sachusetts business out there, 'If you're not in life sciences, understand life sci- ences is in you; because it really is part of our entire economy,'" said Healey. "It's why the ripple effects of something like NIH funding or cuts to research, cuts to health care, are so devastating." RFK Community Alliance CEO to step down Lancaster nonprofit RFK Commu- nity Alliance will see its long-term President and CEO Michael Ames step down by April 18 and be succeeded in an interim capacity by the organiza- tion's interim chief operating officer. Ames has been at the helm of RFK for the past 10 years, leading the former RFK Children's Action Corps through its merger with fellow Lancaster non- profit Doctor Franklin Perkins School to form the organization it is today. In 2022, Ames oversaw the hiring of RFK's first chief diversity and culture officer Jessica Pepple. "I could not be more proud nor grateful for all we have accomplished. e strength and dedication of our staff, along with the resilience of those we serve, continue to inspire me every day," Ames said in an April 14 press release. roughout his tenure, Ames has managed RFK's campus development project, the ongoing workforce crisis, and the evolving complexity of the organization's clients, according to the release. Ames will stay on with RFK in a consulting capacity as his leadership role will be filled by current interim COO Kathy Mills. He will collaborate with the nonprofit's executive leader- ship team to facilitate an uninterrupted transition as he begins stepping away from his daily responsibilities this week. RFK does not yet have an update as to who will replace Mills as COO, the Healey: NIH cuts will have irretrievable effects as UMass Chan to lose $80M A month aer UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester announced an insti- tution-wide hiring freeze in response to the President Donald Trump Admin- istration's intentions to cut National Institutes of Health funding, Massachu- setts Gov. Maura Healey is warning the effects of these cuts will be irretrievable, impacting residents, employees, and companies through all industry sectors. "e Trump Administration is ignoring court or- ders right now or is slow-walking in terms of delivering funds," Healey said. "It's having a devastating impact on our healthcare institutions here in Massachusetts, research institutions, teaching hospitals. It's not unique to Massachusetts, but Massachusetts is home." Healey made these remarks on an April 15 aernoon visit to UMass Chan, where she was underscoring the impact of Trump's cuts. Aer the Trump Administration's February announcement of its plans to cap NIH funding for indirect funds at 15%, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined 21 other attorney generals in suing the adminis- tration, receiving temporary restraining orders mere hours later. Still, the administration has frozen hundreds of NIH grants and been drag- ging its feet to deliver funding, including to UMass Chan. Last year, the institution received $193 million in NIH funding, but has announced it is at risk of losing up to $50 million from the cap, while an additional $30 million in grant funding is expected to be withheld or withdrawn, totalling a possible $80 million in total funding cuts. UMass Chan is home to an expansive suite of both common and rare disease research including neurodegenerative, infectious, and metabolic diseases. "You lose one month of research in a lab, you may be losing 10 years worth of research," said Healey. Along with its hiring freeze, UMass Chan has rescinded PhD program offers, announced upcoming layoffs, and cuts to discretionary spending. Massachusetts has been a leader in life sciences and healthcare innovation with an ecosystem supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in eco- nomic impact. Furthermore, institutions Continued on next page $62 million Counteroffer made by Marlborough tech firm ConnectM Technology Solutions to three of its largest institutional investors, as part of their effort to buy the company Source: ConnectM Technology Solutions 490 Main St. Groton site of a new UMass Memorial Health satellite emergency facility the Worcester healthcare system will establish in an effort to support the region after the August closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center Source: UMass Memorial Health $371,000 Median sales price for homes in Worcester County in March, a 6% increase from March 2024 Source: The Warren Group Unemployment rate in Greater Worcester in February, a 0.4-per- centage-point increase from the region's rate of 4.8% in January Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 5.2% 4.4% Points the Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index gained in March, bringing the region's score back into optimistic territory at 52.3 Source: Associated Industries of Massachusetts 123 Units the Arbella at Bramble Hill senior living housing complex will have when it opens in July. The Worcester complex is under construction. Source: United Group of Companies Six Retailers at seven locations in Central Massachusetts taking part in the Massachusetts Statewide Electric Bike Incentive Program aimed at making e-bikes more affordable for low- and moderate-income residentss Source: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Total price of a nationwide real estate deal that included the April sale of The Center at Hobbs Brook retail complex in Sturbridge for $30.6 million to an entity managed by RCG Ventures of Atlanta Source: Worcester District Registry of Deeds $1.1 billion Gov. Maura Healey

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