Washington University receives hundreds of millions of dollars each year in federal grants and contracts, but St. Louis' flagship research institution is now facing a lawsuit alleging that its officials may have defrauded the federal government — and then fired the whistleblower who brought the scheme to a superior's attention. Science is expensive. In 2016 alone, Washington University handled nearly $500 million in government grants and $24 million in contracts, much of it supporting research into breakthroughs in medical technology. Back in 2010, the university landed one of its largest contracts in recent history: a five-year, $18 million deal from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study how nanotechnology could be used to treat heart and lung diseases.…