The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently canceled more than $12 million in grants scheduled to go to the University of Wisconsin–Madison due to concerns that the funding would go to projects related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
According to a federal lawsuit filed on April 4 by Wisconsin and 15 other states, around a third of UW-Madison’s annual research budget is supplied by the NIH. “In fiscal year 2024, UW-Madison received direct funding from NIH to support 588 projects, totaling more than $404 million,” the lawsuit explains.
Yet, recently, the NIH has eliminated four research grants that were previously set to be distributed to UW-Madison, costing the school more than $12 million.
“The total amount of funding anticipated under these awards is $25,149,959, and of that amount, $12,631,870 has not been disbursed to UW-Madison,” the lawsuit reads.
One grant was canceled because the study highlighted “gender identity,” which the NIH identified as “unscientific,” as noted by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans,” the NIH stated in its explanation for why the grant had been canceled.
The NIH, which has an annual budget of over $47 billion, has a history of supporting left-wing causes.
For instance, the NIH previously distributed $2.6 million to the University of Arizona and other schools to study “LatinX” LGBTQ youth.
The agency also gave millions of dollars to multiple schools in order to study “transgender mice.” The grants included more than $4 million to the University of Michigan to create transgender mice and study their fertility, and more than $400,000 to Duke University to study potential HIV treatments for transgender mice.
NIH also gave $19 million to the City University of New York (CUNY) for a “health equity” center.
Campus Reform has also reported that the NIH is now attempting to remove its support for DEI initiatives.
Earlier this year, for instance, the NIH removed DEI requirements for grant applications, including requirements that applicants submit “Plans for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives” and “Recruitment Plans to Enhance Diversity.”
Campus Reform has contacted the National Institutes of Health and the University of Wisconsin–Madison for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
