Cutting-edge American biomedical research could dull in coming years if the National Institutes of Health do not receive more government funding for projects, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust told a Senate panel last week.

She presented her report, “A Broken Pipeline? Flat Funding of the NIH Puts a Generation of Science at Risk” on March 11, and said five years without increases in federal funding could keep researchers from making headway in potentially lifesaving medical research.

Although the congressional budget has always included funding for government research, it has not increased to keep pace with the rate of inflation, said American Association of Advancement of Sciences director of budget Kei Koizumi.

The AAAS does not define a “right amount” of funding, but does note that it has not increased since 2004 and will stay at the current rate until the 2009 budget. “That puts a lot of stress on researchers,” Koizumi said.

He said because of inflation, the average research grant is shrinking. Because the NIH needs more money each year for its own operating budget, the portions for each research subject have declined in recent years.

“NIH is able to fund fewer proposals, and especially with the cost of research going up, you’re getting less research for the same amount of money,” he said.

Koizumi said the United States is in danger of losing its “cutting edge” in biomedical research.

“We could be losing the next generation of biomedical researchers,” he said.

In the past, the government has always provided the largest percentage of scientific research funding, said Boston University Medical Campus Office of Research Administration Director Jane Kinsel.

Kinsel, a former NIH employee, said the budget is on a three-year cycle to distribute money to each of its 27 institutions and centers. A small percentage goes to employees’ salaries, supplies and programs within NIH, she said.

She said the static budget greatly affects the BUMC, which gets most of its money from NIH for biomedical research. The BU Biosafety Level-4 Laboratory now under construction also receives money from NIH.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Nick Thomas, a biology major, said despite static funding levels, he would not change his career field.

However, if research continues to be under-funded, he would consider switching to academia or pharmaceuticals, “where the money is,” he said.

If the 2010 federal budget does not increase with the rate of inflation, Thomas said, other countries will pull ahead of the United States in scientific research.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore Rich Whalley said those who feel passionate about their work will find a way to fund it no matter what.

“With less money, the progress of research may be slower,” he said. Declining research budgets will keep first-time researchers from gaining experience and “learning the ropes,” and will hurt the scientific community’s future, Whalley said.