Several active research grants related to studies involving LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are being canceled at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) because they allegedly do not meet the “priorities” of the current administration.
Starting last week, at least 24 termination letters were sent to researchers at various universities and dozens more have likely occurred, an NIH official with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity, confirmed to ABC News.
According to copies of some of the termination letters, viewed by ABC News, canceled grants involved research around “transgender issues” and “gender identity,” including studying stress in older LGBTQ+ adults and the epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia in LGBTQ+ older adults.
“This award no longer effectuates agency priorities,” all of the letters read. “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. Many such studies ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities. It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize these research programs.”
“The premise…is incompatible with agency priorities, and no modification of the project could align the project with agency priorities,” the letters continue.
The letters state that typically NIH allows grant recipients to “take appropriate corrective action” before a termination decision is allowed. However, the letters declare “No corrective action is possible here.”
It comes as President Donald Trump has made sweeping changes to the federal government in his first few weeks in office, including issuing new guidance that only recognizes two sexes, vowing to “defend women from gender ideology extremism” and issuing several executive orders aiming to dismantle DEI initiatives.
Neither the NIH nor the White House immediately replied to ABC News’ request for comment.
Additionally, NIH institutes and centers are being asked to review awards for new and ongoing projects to ensure they do not “contain any DEI research activities or DEI language that give the perception that NIH funds can be used to support these activities.”
According to a guidance document, obtained by ABC News, NIH employees are being asked to place these projects in one of four categories. Category one is if the project’s purpose is solely related to DEI, in which case the award cannot be issued.
Category two involves projects “partially” supporting DEI activities. The award can only be granted if the “non-compliant” activities are negotiated out of the project.
Category three involves projects that do not support DEI activities but may contain DEI-related language, which must be removed before an award can be issued, and category four involves projects that do not support any DEI activities.
It’s unclear what it exactly means for a project to support DEI activities or contain DEI language, but the guidance document includes examples such as the purpose of a meeting being diversity or “a statement regarding institutional commitment to diversity.”
On Wednesday, a federal judge issued a nationwide order blocking the NIH from making cuts to research funding that researchers warned could catastrophically harm medical and scientific research and potentially affect treatments in the U.S.
“As made clear by the declarations in support of a preliminary injunction against the implementation of the Rate Change Notice, the risk of harm to research institutions and beyond is immediate, devastating, and irreparable,” U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley wrote about the attempt to cap indirect costs at 15%, adding the attempt to cut funding violated federal law.
It remains to be seen if the injunction will have an effect on the projects from universities that received termination letters.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
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