UMN sees NIH grants restored amidst court rulings

Court Strikes Down NIH's Unlawful Termination of Research Grants on Topics Including DEI and Gender Identity

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research — began an ideological purge of its grants in February. Without warning, hundreds of research projects were abruptly cancelled. The NIH targeted research that was purportedly connected to “gender identity” and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), or other topics such as vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 based on sweeping, unsubstantiated, and pol…

Court Orders NIH to Reinstate Grants While Litigation Continues

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) must reinstate grants that it ended before being sued by states and organizations, an appeals court has ruled. Referring to the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH’s parent agency, U.S. Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman wrote in a unanimous opinion on July 18 from a U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit panel, “The department has not met its burden of establishing the grounds for a stay in th…

UMN sees NIH grants restored amidst court rulings

Research grants at the University of Minnesota, which were terminated by the National Institutes of Health earlier this year, are in the process of being restored following recent court rulings.  Near the end of June, federal Judge William Young reinstated roughly 900 grants across the country. Young ruled the termination of research initiatives to be unlawful and discriminatory, according to the ACLU.  The ruling was in response to two lawsuits…