NIH agrees to evaluate stalled scientific grants
Health officials have agreed to assess pending medical research grants after the Trump administration’s anti-diversity purge
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The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has agreed to review hundreds of therapeutics grant application They were barred under new diversity-related restrictions from the Trump administration. terms of agreementAmid an ongoing legal battle over science funding, NIH will assess each grant based on scientific merit and ignore anti-diversity mandates.
Stuck study applications covered trialThe suit was brought against NIH by science organizations, including the American Public Health Association, and individual scientists, on topics ranging from Alzheimer’s research to HIV to minority health and sexual violence.
“I look forward to seeing our funding proposal objectively evaluated,” said plaintiff Nikki Mephis of the University of New Mexico, who studies brain aging and the effects of Alzheimer’s and alcohol use. a statement,
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Earlier, in June a federal judge ruled that hundreds of NIH grants were to expire. “Void” and “Invalid” Because they violated discrimination laws, the status of the pending grant applications was left aside for a future decision. Internal NIH directives issued by the Trump administration in February and May effectively barred funding of research on diversity purposes, gender identity or COVID. At the same time, the Supreme Court in August Government The judge lacked jurisdiction in the case, refusing to overturn his finding that NIH’s instructions were unreasonable and unlawful. The dispute over the terminated grant has been referred to a federal appeals court in Boston, which will continue proceedings in early January. Meanwhile, NIH’s new settlement reopens stalled grant applications for review while the case proceeds, resolving that side of the dispute.*
“Defendants will complete their consideration of applications in the normal course of NIH’s scientific review process, without imposing challenging instructions,” the agreement states. A judge will oversee their good faith application.
NIH did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement or commit to funding the study; It will only review them. NIH declined to comment on the pending applications in a statement scientific AmericanSaid: “The agency is committed to supporting rigorous, evidence-based research that advances the health of all Americans.”
Still, while the agreement does not guarantee that the study will receive grant funding, science advocates were pleased by its progress.
“This settlement is significant progress for researchers affected by unlawful government interference in the standard grant review process,” says Colette Delavalla of the science advocacy group Dr. stand up for science“I am especially relieved for early-career scientists who have been disproportionately affected,”
*Editor’s note (12/30/25): This paragraph was updated after posting to correct the timing of the federal decision and to clarify the content and timing of the NIH directives.
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