• Posted May 6, 2025

$800M in LGBTQ Health Research Funding Nixed by Trump Administration

TUESDAY, May 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The Trump administration has canceled more than $800 million in research focused on LGBTQ health, cutting hundreds of studies on cancer, HIV and other diseases that affect sexual and gender minority groups. 

Experts say the move could harm public health and reverse progress made in preventing disease outbreaks.

An analysis by The New York Times found that 323 of 669 grants terminated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were tied to LGBTQ health. 

In total, $806 million had been earmarked for the canceled projects. Many were expected to receive additional funding.

Among the halted research: A $41 million project at Florida State University to help prevent HIV in young people. Adolescents and young adults account for about 20% of new HIV infections each year in the U.S., The Times reported.

In termination letters to researchers, the NIH said their LGTBQ work "no longer effectuates agency priorities." The letters criticized some projects for being based on "gender identity" or "amorphous equity objectives."

Many LGBTQ-focused labs have had to lay off staff or stop clinical trials.

Simon Rosser, a University of Minnesota professor whose lab was studying cancer in LGBTQ populations, told The Times the moves have created a hierarchy of patients, with some seen as more worthy than others.

University of Michigan researcher Katie Edwards of said six of her studies were canceled, including one testing online mentoring to prevent self-harm and depression in transgender teens.

“We’re stopping things that are preventing suicide and preventing sexual violence,” she said.

HIV research was hit especially hard. Several grants were pulled from the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network, which helped develop PrEP, a medicine that prevents HIV. Trials testing new HIV prevention tools and combination therapies have also been stopped.

One study at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) was testing the antibiotic doxycycline to prevent sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, The Times reported.

Dr. Matthew Spinelli, an infectious disease researcher at UCSF, said the study had already enrolled participants and purchased thousands of doses of the medicine. The cancellations left him without the money to complete the work.

President Donald Trump also proposes cutting the NIH’s overall budget from $48 billion to $27 billion, citing what he called its efforts to promote "radical gender ideology." Lawsuits from researchers and several states have been filed, claiming that the terminations were made without a valid legal reason.

While NIH officials say they are focusing on "gold-standard, evidence-based science," researchers and critics argue the cuts are politically driven and will weaken care for a group that makes up nearly 10% of American adults.

More information

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy group, is tracking ongoing federal budget cuts.

SOURCE: The New York Times, May 4, 2025