NIH begins mass termination of transgender and LGBTQ+ health research grants
- Date
- Actor
- National Institutes of Health
- Type
- Funding action
Summary
Starting February 28, 2025, NIH sent form termination letters stating each project "no longer effectuates agency priorities," cancelling ongoing grants on transgender and LGBTQ+ health — among the first wave, at least 14 grants on transgender human health, plus studies of LGBTQ+ seniors, Alzheimer's prevalence among LGBTQ+ elders, HIV prevention, and cancer care data collection. Cumulative analyses found NIH cancelled or reduced 669 grants by mid-2025, at least 323 of them (worth over $800 million) addressing sexual- and gender-minority health — nearly half of all terminated awards — out of roughly 2,291 total NIH terminations worth about $2.45 billion. Researchers who were women, transgender/nonbinary, or BIPOC were disproportionately hit.
Status
Terminations ruled unlawful and vacated as to plaintiff-connected grants in APHA v. NIH (June 2025); Supreme Court stayed the termination-vacatur portion August 21, 2025 (jurisdiction lies in Court of Federal Claims); approximately 900 grants had already been reinstated (see 2025-06 item), and NIH ceased new terminations; non-plaintiff grantees' terminations stand unless pursued in the Court of Federal Claims.
As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.
Related litigation
Sources
- ascopost.com/issues/june-10-2025/how-the-elimination-of-federal-gender-related-…(opens another site)
- theconversation.com/our-trans-health-study-was-terminated-by-the-government-the…(opens another site)
- cancerhealth.com/article/2025-nih-grant-terminations-targeted-health-equity-gen…(opens another site)
- statnews.com/2025/03/03/nih-terminates-ongoing-grants-for-lgbtq-research(opens another site)