A new study led by University of Michigan researchers found gender-affirming hormone therapy is associated with a significantly lower risk of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms among transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse adults in primary care. Research in this field, however, is facing political scrutiny and funding cuts following executive orders from President Donald Trump amid heightened national debates around transgender health care and federally-funded research.
In a speech before Congress March 4, Trump criticized the National Institutes of Health for “making mice transgender,” referring broadly to transgender-related animal studies. Shortly afterward, a press release from the Trump administration denounced a $2.5 million NIH grant awarded to the University for a project on the reproductive consequences of steroid hormone administration used in female-to-male gender transition, which used animal models for experimentation.
As of March 25, based on information published by the Department of Health and Human Services and scientists’ self-reported data, seven grants to the University have been terminated, five of which were related to gender identity in some capacity. These five projects include research on HIV prevention, intimate partner violence, tobacco-related death and fertility preservation, summing $2.2 million in funding cuts. This is not a comprehensive list of all grant terminations related to transgender research or all grant terminations at the University, and uncertainty remains regarding the accuracy and completeness of shared or published data.
In each of these terminations, the NIH notified researchers through a letter via email, all of which explicitly stated that diversity, equity and inclusion are no longer priorities of the NIH.
“Research programs based primarily on artificial and non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness,” the letter reads. “Worse, so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics, which harms the health of Americans. Therefore, it is the policy of NIH not to prioritize such research programs.”
Sari Reisner, associate professor of epidemiology and author of the paper supporting gender-affirming hormone therapy to prevent depressive symptoms, saw his grant, “Strategies to Prevent HIV Acquisition Among Transgender MSM in the US” terminated. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Reisner emphasized the significance of these studies in protecting transgender health.
“Findings support the mental health-promoting role of hormones and contribute to the evidence base that hormones are a medically necessary treatment that improves mental health outcomes longitudinally for trans people who need them,” Reisner said. “Public health serves the public, and we have an ethical mandate to all members of the public — including trans people — to provide appropriate health care to the public that reduces health morbidity and mortality.”
Beyond direct funding cuts, research institutions and federal agencies are also erasing transgender health data from public health databases such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, among other sites. Furthermore, studies not primarily focused on transgender populations are facing restrictions if they include gender-affirming questions in their data collection. Researchers have been advised to avoid asking about gender in ways that acknowledge diverse identities, and some studies have been canceled entirely for using inclusive language.
A study published last summer found trans adults who are worried about their rights being taken away are 167% more likely to experience anxiety symptoms and 66% more likely to experience depression symptoms than those who are not worried. Shanna Kattari, an associate professor of social work and women’s studies, said the political climate has already caused damage to transgender and gender-diverse health care.
“The current political climate and anti-trans attacks have already harmed healthcare access for (transgender and gender-diverse) people, from directly clinics shutting down puberty blocks or HRT for young people … to more indirectly, (where) many TGD people (are) choosing to avoid needed care, whether preventative care or gender-affirming care, due to fear of being denied, mistreated or being put on a ‘list’ for accessing such care,” Kattari said.
In addition to their own grant approval being stalled, Kattari added that they know many faculty at the University who are seeing their work on similar topics terminated mid-project.
“Several faculty at the University of Michigan have (had) studies they are actively running or are on as co-investigators or consultants terminated mid-project,” Kattari said. “Myself and my main collaborator had an NIH grant re-submitted that was supposed to be discussed in February — it’s been sitting in limbo without being reassigned. Hundreds of other sexuality- and gender-focused trans health researchers across the U.S. have had their studies terminated with horrifically offensive language.”
Kristi Gamarel, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Health Equity, whose research focuses on addressing health inequities among LGBTQ+ communities, told The Daily she has received several grant terminations.
“Personally, I’ve received terminations for seven NIH-funded studies as of today, and my community partners have lost vital funding for essential services,” Gamarel said. “These political actions not only undermine scientific progress but also exacerbate health care disparities, which will have devastating consequences for all Americans.”
In response to these funding cuts, Kattari urged academics and allies to push back against these restrictions and support continued research on transgender health.
“We need our cis colleagues and those who do work outside of queer and trans research to show up for us,” Kattari said. “This can look like advocating at the university level to help trans health researchers fund our work in new ways, to sue the government for breach of contract. It can look like calling and emailing your representatives to let them know the impact. It can, and should, also look like including ‘good’ questions around gender in all your research — man/woman/other is so 2002.”
Despite political pushback, LSA senior Jackie Moreno, editor-in-chief of the student publication The Michigan Gayly, reaffirmed the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community in an interview with The Daily.
“No matter how much hate, fear or repression they speak into the world, queer and trans people have always existed and will continue to exist,” Moreno said. “It is not up for debate. You can change the rules of funding or which words are allowed, but that does not mean queer people will just disappear.”
Daily News Editor Emma Spring can be reached atsprinemm@umich.edu.
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