At one of the most respected research hubs in the country for LGBTQ+ health, the lights are going out.
At the heart of Northwestern Medicine’s Feinberg School of Medicine, the Department of Medical Social Sciences (MSS) has long been a powerhouse for LGBTQ+ health research—home to some of the most passionate, community-rooted, and equity-driven scientists in the nation. Now, that work is under siege.
Following a sweeping decision by the current federal administration to terminate all NIH funding tied to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, MSS has been devastated. In a single blow, 20 NIH-funded projects were canceled, and $9 million in active funding vanished—along with $20 million in future support that had already been peer-reviewed and approved.
This department was home to some of the largest and longest-running research efforts in the U.S. focused on LGBTQ+ health. Now, that work is on life support.
According to a post shared by an anonymous faculty member:
“This isn’t just bureaucratic shuffling. It’s targeted erasure. And it’s a warning sign we cannot afford to ignore.”
What’s Been Lost
This isn’t hypothetical funding for speculative projects. These were active, peer-reviewed, top-scoring studies that had already been greenlit by the National Institutes of Health—and they were making a difference.
Here’s a snapshot of what was abruptly canceled:
- The longest-running national study on the health of young men who have sex with men (MSM)—defunded after over a decade of data collection, just as it reached critical insights into HIV prevention and mental health.
- A five-person postdoctoral training program dedicated solely to sexual and gender minority health—gone, along with the early-career researchers it was training to carry this work forward.
- A major national study on alcohol use and its unique impact across the lifespan of LGBTQ+ individuals—shut down midstream.
- A landmark intervention testing a scalable, community-based model for HIV prevention—defunded before it could reach the communities most at risk.
- A brand-new, multi-city study examining the social and environmental roots of HIV disparities in five U.S. cities was terminated before a single interview could be conducted.
- An entire research program focused on the health of sexual minority women—a group already vastly underrepresented in health literature—was erased from the budget and the conversation.
This isn’t just research. It’s people. It’s real-world public health, lives saved, and futures rewritten. Now? It’s all frozen in place.
The Real-World Stakes
The health disparities are well-documented—and devastating:
- LGBTQ+ individuals are 2–3 times more likely to experience depression and anxiety than their cisgender, heterosexual peers.
- Over 40% of LGBTQ+ youth and more than 50% of trans and nonbinary youth have seriously considered suicide in the last year.
- Black and Latino gay and bisexual men account for the majority of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S.
- Nearly 1 in 6 LGBTQ+ adults say they’ve been denied care or discouraged from seeking it—1 in 3 for trans adults.
And yet, less than 0.5% of NIH funding is dedicated to research on sexual and gender minority populations. Now, even that sliver is under attack.
Lives, Careers, and Science—Erased
At Northwestern alone, the consequences are staggering:
- 20 NIH-funded grants have been canceled.
- 9 faculty members and nearly 20 research staff and postdocs have been left in professional limbo.
- Groundbreaking research initiatives are now permanently stalled or shut down.
What does that look like on the ground? Teams disbanded. Longitudinal studies—years in the making—interrupted. Promising new scientists pushed out of academia altogether. Public health interventions that could have saved lives shelved indefinitely.
This is not neutral. This is not apolitical. This is the systematic dismantling of public health infrastructure that supports queer and trans communities.
“We’re talking about real science, real lives, and real hope—erased by political spite,” the Northwestern employee wrote.
What You Can Do
This isn’t just happening at Northwestern. It’s part of a nationwide wave of rollbacks targeting trans and queer people, from school boards to statehouses to scientific institutions. But we are not powerless.
Here’s how to help:
- Share this story. Awareness matters. Silence protects systems of erasure.
- Donate to LGBTQ+ health research foundations or grassroots community orgs keeping this work alive outside of government grants.
- Know someone with resources? The department is seeking corporate and philanthropic partners to keep their staff afloat. Reach out, and we’ll help connect you.
- Raise hell with your representatives. Let them know you won’t stand by while your community is erased from public health policy.
We can’t let this go quietly. Because the truth is, this wasn’t just about cutting funds. It was about silencing stories. Shutting doors. Rewriting who gets to matter.
And we refuse to disappear.
