Several scientists studying LGBTQ+ health issues have had their grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) canceled effective immediately, according to a March 3 report from Stat.
Researchers on at least three grants from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA) received a letter, signed by NIA grant management employee Jeni Militano, saying that their work no longer supported the agency’s priorities, the news outlet reported.
“Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans,” the letter said, according to Stat. “Many such studies ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities.”
LGBTQ+ individuals face significant health disparities compared to heterosexual and cisgender people. This includes a heightened risk for certain conditions, including infectious diseases like HIV and chronic health problems like chronic kidney disease, as well as less access to healthcare.
The affected projects include a Vanderbilt University study on aging in the LGBTQ+ population and an Emory University effort to help connect LGBTQ+ patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia to clinical trials, according to Stat's report.
It was not immediately clear whether the grant cancellations are legal. Federal judges have blocked previous efforts by the Trump administration to halt or cancel funding, such as the Jan. 20 order to end grants and contracts related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
According to Stat, the letter claims that the cancellations are legal due to a 2022 NIH policy statement that allows termination “if an award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”
The language in the letter echoes that of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and President Donald Trump. The president signed an executive order on the day of his inauguration declaring that the U.S. government recognizes two sexes, male and female.
“These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” the order reads.
When reached for comment about the canceled grants, an HHS spokesperson said the department is “complying with President Trump’s Executive Order.”
On Feb. 19, the HHS followed up that order with plans to restore "the concept of biological truth in federal government."
“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” RFK Jr. said in the release. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”
Trump in a separate Jan. 28 executive order sought to ban gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19. A federal judge, however, placed an indefinite hold on that order on March 3.
Numerous scientists have since said that the idea of two immutable sexes is not supported by research. For example, intersex people, born with a combination of male and female traits, are estimated to make up about 2% of the global population—the same percentage as natural-born redheads.
The World Health Organization's policy currently states that gender is a social construct that has always been fluid, varying across time and cultures.
The canceled grants come amid a whirlwind of changes at major health agencies. Scores of federal employees have been fired, leaders have departed and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has terminated leases for 30 FDA facilities across 23 states.