The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has agreed in lawsuit settlements with potential grantees and state attorneys general to review applications that were frozen, denied, or withdrawn earlier 2025 year because of directives by President Donald Trump’s administration targeting research related to topics such as transgender health and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The agency will evaluate each application “in good faith” using its standard processes, stated a joint stipulation filed with plaintiff scientists and several groups representing them.

That settlement, which concludes many months of litigation, is “an unmitigated victory” for the NIH applicants, says Scott Delaney, an epidemiologist and former attorney who created a database to track cancellations of NIH grants but wasn’t a party to the suit. He and Brittany Charlton, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, remain skeptical, however, that NIH will fairly evaluate the applications – or that the Trump administration will allow approved grants to proceed without interference. “Political meddling is so institutionalized now,” he says.

Source https://www.science.org/content/article/after-legal-deal-nih-review-grant-proposals-frozen-denied-or-withdrawn-because-trump

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