Funding Suspended for Research Focused on Diversity and LGBT Issues

WASHINGTON – The Department of Human Services, under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, has halted nearly $122 million in grants aimed at research on LGBT issues and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), deeming them too narrow in focus for taxpayer funding.

These grants, which supported 195 projects, were initially challenged by the Trump administration for being too concentrated on sexual and racial minority groups. This decision has ruffled feathers within the Biden administration, leading to at least one notable resignation this week.

Getting a precise measure of savings from these cancellations is tough since some awards are distributed over multiple years. Most grants were scrapped in March with input from the Ministry of Government Efficiency, but the final cancelations rolled in just this month.

Among the significant grants was $5.5 million awarded to the Vanderbilt First initiative at Vanderbilt University Medical Center by the National Cancer Institute. The initiative aimed at hiring 18 tenure-track professors from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, as indicated in the reviewed data.

Vanderbilt University, based in Nashville, Tennessee, boasts a sizable endowment—over $10 billion—and ranks among the top 20 universities in the U.S. University officials have pointed out that these funds are crucial for addressing systemic issues that hinder engagement and advancement for racially diverse academics.

Drexel University, while not as affluent, has similarly received over $4.6 million from the National Cancer Institute to foster a diverse faculty dedicated to health disparity research.

The budget cut also impacted a $2.4 million grant awarded to the University of Virginia from the National Institute of Mental Health aimed at studying neurodevelopmental indicators related to late diagnoses of autism in women and gender-diverse individuals. This project had previously announced a $12 million grant in 2022.

The University of Michigan reported losing a $1.1 million grant aimed at enhancing the inclusion of Asian Americans and Latinx populations in Alzheimer’s disease studies.

In total, more than $8 million has been cut from various research projects, including a collaboration between Western University’s clinical and translational science faculty and CLE Health, which focuses on understanding barriers to diverse participant recruitment in clinical trials.

Another significant loss includes over $3.4 million from the University of California, San Francisco, which was awarded for a project titled “Asian Americans and Racism: Personal and Structural Experiences.”

The research topics that faced funding cuts varied widely, covering ordinary to unusual subjects. For instance, approximately $208,000 was reclaimed from the University of Washington to adapt interventions aimed at reducing stigma between Indigenous sexual minority men and traditional healers in Mesoamerica.

One researcher shared the goal of addressing stigma affecting Indigenous gay and bisexual men in Guatemala, particularly aiming to increase HIV testing and treatment adherence.

An additional $576,000 was withdrawn from a Loyola Marymount University study examining digital gaming interventions to mitigate alcohol and mental health risks among sexual minority women.

The Boston Medical Center also faced complete funding withdrawal for a study on dementia impacts in transgender populations.

Notably, the University of Minnesota’s project on HPV Oropharyngeal Cancer among gay and bisexual men, set to receive $350,000, is now shelved.

Further, around $275,000 was earmarked for examining integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention among bisexual women at Rhode Island Hospital.

A Columbia University study that secured $814,000 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for analyzing how intersectional stigma impacts blood pressure has also been axed.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who pointed out the critical equity-focused research cuts, resigned as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, citing significant disagreements with the new leadership at HHS.

Requests for comments sent to about 12 grant recipients have gone unanswered.

Rich Danker, a secretary tasked with official duties at HHS, remarked that under the Trump administration, NIH medical research would once again benefit all Americans and avoid being swayed by political agendas related to DEI.