Women and early-career researchers bore the burden of NIH’s funding disruptions

By Rebecca Trager2026-04-07T14:59:00

A cartoon of a man and a woman both wearing lab coats on a balanced set of scales. They are both standing on piles of coins but the man's pile is a lot higher.

Source: © Pixxelstudio91/Shutterstock

Almost 58% of the studies the US National Institutes of Health suddenly cancelled last year were female-led

When the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) cancelled nearly 2300 ongoing research grants last year and froze funding for another 1500-plus projects, it was female and early-career researchers who were disproportionately affected. That is according to new analysis of public federal grant data by researchers who warn that the findings highlight the vulnerability of early-stage investigators and workforce diversity during periods of funding instability.