Key facts
- A class-action lawsuit was filed against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday.
- The suit alleges the Trump administration used a list of 235 keywords to block and cancel scientific grants.
- The keywords reportedly include terms like 'gender' and 'racist', affecting research on health equity and climate change.
- The lawsuit claims the administration is violating the First Amendment by censoring speech it dislikes.
- Ann Cohen, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, stated that losing funding forced her team to cancel participant appointments and slow data analysis.
- Arghavan Salles, a surgeon at Stanford University, said she can no longer accurately describe her research on gender equity and sexual harassment due to the keyword list.
Researchers filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday, alleging that the Trump administration has been blocking and canceling scientific grants as a means of censorship. The suit, filed in San Francisco, claims the administration has used a list of 235 keywords, including terms like "gender" and "racist," to prevent funding for research on topics such as health equity and climate change.
According to the lawsuit, this practice violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by suppressing speech that the government dislikes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest are among the groups backing the suit.
Ann Cohen, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, stated in a press release that the loss of funding for her Alzheimer's disease study has forced her team to cancel participant appointments and slow critical data analysis, putting years of trust and scientific progress at risk. Similarly, Arghavan Salles, a surgeon and clinical associate professor at Stanford University, said she can no longer accurately describe her research on gender equity and sexual harassment because using such terms would be flagged as inconsistent with NIH priorities.
The lawsuit notes that grants have historically been awarded through a scientific peer review process, but the administration's actions have added a layer of ideological review. The suit seeks to cover researchers whose grants have been affected by these practices, including those who have faced renegotiations, delays, or denials. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.