Undercutting Resilience: The Ripple Effects of Defunding Transgender Science

In March 2025, we received a notice that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was terminating our research study about trans and nonbinary people's resilience. Our grant was originally awarded in 2022 after being evaluated by an extensive peer-review process where our proposal was rated more highly than 96% of the studies that we competed against. Despite the actual input from experts and scientists on the importance of this work, our termination notice questioned the scientific value of research on gender identity and stated that our of our work no longer aligned with the agency "priorities."

Paragraph from our grant's termination notice from the NIH.

Given the current administration’s systematic attempts to erase trans people, and the abrupt termination of grants focused on LGBTQ+ health, we can’t say that the notice of termination for our federally funded research grant on resilience in transgender (trans) communities was unexpected. The reasoning provided in the official termination notice, however, felt intentionally targeted and ill informed. Our grant termination is part of a deliberate attempt to undermine decades of science regarding gender diversity. We are one of hundreds of grants terminated.

This termination cuts deep, insulting our programs of research, attempting to invalidate our personhood, and undermining all that we overcame to obtain this funding. As a research group, we have collectively devoted nearly 50 years of our scientific careers to the field of trans health. Our study was designed to develop tools for measuring resilience in trans and nonbinary communities and to understand how resilience can help offset health disparities across time.

What We Had Gained

At the time our grant was terminated, we were nearing completion of year three of our four-year project. We had collected data from over 600 trans and nonbinary participants across the U.S., and started to follow their progress over time. We had developed a new way to measure resilience among trans and nonbinary people, and were about to publish a second measure specifically tailored to people of color.

Beyond these clear deliverables, our research team has engaged in what we have experienced as one of the best examples of science done right. From the beginning we engaged trans and nonbinary community members to ensure that our research is best attuned to the needs of the community. Ours has been a collaborative and generative process. We also had plans to extend the findings of this work to make a meaningful difference in the community through developing an intervention to promote resilience. This project also served as an important training ground for students and early career professionals.

“This position has transformed the trajectory of my academic career (and life) by providing instrumental training experiences, including research, grant-writing, and connection to an academic community to continue this valuable work. I am devastated by the loss of this grant and my position.” Zakary Clements, post-doctoral fellow

What We Have Lost

Disruption of Scientific Training

Dr. Clements was just one of our team members who abruptly lost his job. A full-time research assistant and at least 3 students will lose their positions, leading to drastic impacts on their future careers. The three lead scientists have lost parts of their salary and dedicated research time. The Trans-ilience team's Community Advisory Board composed of local trans and nonbinary community members may also be negatively impacted unless we can secure other funding for their efforts. Our team of investigators, students, trainees, and community members have dedicated years of our lives to this project, with these efforts abandoned by those funding this work.

“I have to find a new job, which is more difficult because of the across-the-board funding cuts. But these cuts are more than just an economic and career challenge – the language and the targeted nature feels deeply personal and intentionally emotionally distressing. I am not only  losing my job. The government also wants to suppress all research about my community, spread misinformation, and hamper research for generations to come.” Kye Campbell-Fox, full-time research assistant

We also lose the next generation of researchers. Our team and others in similar situations will be less likely to work with graduate students in the foreseeable future due to the lack of available funding for these students, changing the landscape of future scientists. In addition, junior academics will be less likely to gain tenure without university shifts in expectations to accommodate these urgent issues. The losses here are unimaginable as we will never know what contributions they would have made to science and society.

“It's hard to put one foot in front of the other. You have to tend to your classes, your work, your life, but suddenly your position is gone. When who you are and what you do align, attacks on your personhood become all the more difficult to navigate.” Mihael MacBeth, graduate student in Ecological/Community Psychology

Loss of Community Trust

Trans and nonbinary communities have often been researched under opportunistic and demeaning circumstances. Given this history, it takes deep commitment to overcome the justified reluctance of these communities to participate in research. Our study was grounded in community input, following the feedback from trans people that “we matter even when not in pain.” Community engaged research relies on trust and this abrupt termination and the language of the rationale breaks down these relationships.

As one of our Community Advisory Board members shared in response to the termination notice, “The wording was dismissive and dehumanizing. It's just one more thing that perpetuates the eradication of our community.” Donovan Dutra

Loss of Scientific Knowledge

Strengths-based research with trans and nonbinary communities is in its infancy. Our study would have provided novel insights into what predicts resilience over time, how resilience changes, what predicts these changes, and what factors lead to better health outcomes for trans and nonbinary people. This work, like the hundreds of other grants terminated, had great potential to lead to positive impacts on the public and society.

As our collaborator, Dr. Em Matsuno, shared, “The push to stop trans people from existing is overwhelming. But I’m still here. We are still here. Trans people cannot be erased.”

We are but one small example of this urgent issue. For the people who have lost their jobs (which are many across these hundreds of grants that have been terminated), the unrealized harms of the decimated pipeline for future scholars, the community members who will never see the benefit of the millions of dollars invested in these grants, and for the scientific knowledge that will never come to fruition, take some time to speak out against these unjust actions.

Written by Drs. Jae Puckett and Paz Galupo, two of the PIs of this study.