Alzheimer’s research is latest casualty in Trump administration war against ‘DEI’

Grant cancellations at leading research institutions appear to target the study of the impacts of racism on brain health

A new round of scientific grant cancellations has hit brain health and Alzheimer’s disease research at two leading research institutions, Emory University and the University of Pittsburgh.

The latest cancellations are the Trump administration ’s most recent effort to remove disfavored topics from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) $47bn scientific portfolio – and appear to target the study of the impacts of racism.

“This kind of clear political interference – that’s not a good way to do science,” said Ann Cohen, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, whose grant was canceled. “I haven’t even thought much about the why this is being done because it’s so scientifically wrong that I can’t get past that piece.”

Cohen, and all researchers the Guardian interviewed, spoke in their personal capacity.

The Guardian has contacted representatives of the US Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, for an explanation of the cancellations. It did not receive a response.

At least three grants were canceled between the two institutions. In total, the cancellations represent $15m in grants that were meant to study how discrimination affects long-term brain health – millions of which have already been invested in the work.

“Those things we’re measuring are scientifically valid concepts,” said University of Pittsburgh associate professor of epidemiology Andrea Rosso, who co-led a grant canceled by the administration. “Whoever was doing this saw the words they didn’t like in our grant.”

An estimated 7.4 million people in the US live with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The disease primarily affects older people, but is not considered a normal part of ageing. Although a majority of those people living with Alzheimer’s disease are white, Black Americans are twice as likely to develop it or dementia.

“We don’t actually measure structural racism. We use that as a framing for why one population is at such high risk,” said Rosso. “We can’t come up with an intervention that’s going to stop structural racism – wish we could.”

The cancellations are the Trump administration’s latest disruption of scientific research, including Alzheimer’s disease research. In the spring of 2025, the administration canceled billions of dollars in federal grants with a perceived connection to “DEI”, or diversity, equity and inclusion. That kicked off lawsuits from major research institutions.

A federal judge ruled those cancellations were illegal and ordered their reinstatement. However, the Trump administration won in a shadow docket ruling from the supreme court, when justices voted 5-4 in an unsigned ruling that allowed the administration to cancel $783m in NIH funding .

Grants targeted in this round of cancellations are not covered by that litigation.