Trump Administration Cancels At Least 68 Grants Focused On Lgbtq Health Questions

A surge of grant cancellations hit researchers focused on the health of gay, lesbian and transgender people last week, as the Trump administration continues to target what it describes as ideologically driven science.

Last week the U.S. government terminated at least 68 grants to 46 institutions totaling nearly 40 million when awarded, according to a government website. Some of the grant money has already been spent, but at least 1.36 million in future support was yanked as a result of the cuts, a significant undercount because estimates were available for less than a third of grants.

Most were in some way related to sexual minorities, including research focused on HIV prevention. Other canceled studies centered on cancer, youth suicide and bone health.

Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon said the agency is "dedicated to restoring our agencies to their tradition of upholding gold-standard, evidence-based science." The grants were awarded by the National Institutes of Health, an agency under HHS.

One canceled project at Vanderbilt University had been following the overall health of more than 1,200 LGBTQ people age 50 and older. Most of the money has been spent from the grant funding the project, but it was up for renewal in April, said Tara McKay, who leads Vanderbilt's LGBTQ Policy Lab.