URBANA Scientists in the seven laboratories at the Institute for Genomic Biology are studying the essence of life.

From gene function to the classification of life forms to climate change, more than 140 professors from across campus collaborate on federally funded research worth more than $20 million.

Consider what would happen if a tenth of that money, $2 million, suddenly disappeared. It would mean, professors say, less money to support the graduate students and research scientists who do much of the lab work. A year or more lopped off multi-year projects. Perhaps some research questions left unanswered. Real jobs lost.

Now multiply that by a factor of 20, and it's clear why UI officials are keeping a wary eye on federal budget negotiations in Washington.

The impending "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 2 would force substantial cuts to government programs that support more than $140 billion of research nationwide each year. Unless Congress reaches a budget agreement, automatic spending cuts known as "sequestration" will slash research budgets by 8.2 percent across the board, according to an analysis from the federal Office of Management and Budget.

And UI Chancellor Phyllis Wise said a National Science Foundation official indicated recently that the agency is preparing for cuts of up to 10 percent.

Even 8.2 percent would be a significant hit for the UI's Urbana campus, whose federal grants and contracts totaled more than $400 million in fiscal 2012. And Urbana is the largest recipient of NSF awards, with $195 million. The Chicago campus, with its heavy emphasis on health sciences, spent more than $300 million in federal funding in fiscal 2012.

Some of the federal money goes toward Pell financial aid grants (which are protected from the "cliff") and other activities, but the bulk is for research.

Universitywide, an 8.2 percent cut would mean a loss of at least $45 million in research dollars, according to Lawrence Schook, UI vice president for research. He said 75 percent of that goes toward salaries for hundreds of research scientists and academic professionals earning, on average, $50,000 to $75,000 a year.

"If you look at Urbana, this is 200 to 300 real jobs," he said. "These are high-quality, highly educated people."

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Officials estimate $45 million loss for UI if fiscal cliff deal isn't reached