The Trump administration has abruptly terminated dozens of federal grants for HIV prevention and treatment research, a move scientists warn could derail years of progress in combating the epidemic—and even lead to a deadly resurgence of the virus.
Over the past month, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has canceled more than 300 research projects, including 65 focused on HIV care and prevention. Many of these studies targeted high-risk populations, such as Black men and transgender women, who face disproportionate infection rates. Researchers were blindsided by the cuts, with some receiving termination notices just days before their projects were set to continue.
“We Are Going to Lose a Generation of Scientists”
The NIH, the world’s largest funder of medical research, has not provided a full explanation for the cancellations. However, a termination letter reviewed by The Guardian cited concerns over “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) studies,” suggesting they could promote “unlawful discrimination.”
Critics say the decision is politically motivated—and catastrophic for public health.
“The loss of this research could very well result in a resurgence of HIV that becomes more generalized in this country,” said Dr. Julia Marcus, a Harvard Medical School professor who lost two NIH grants. “These drastic cuts are rapidly destroying the infrastructure of scientific research, and we are going to lose a generation of scientists.”
Undermining Trump’s Own HIV Elimination Plan
The move is particularly shocking given Trump’s 2019 pledge to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. At the time, he called it a “once-distant dream” within reach, securing a deal to provide free PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)—a daily pill that prevents HIV—to 200,000 low-income Americans.
Now, researchers say the administration is actively sabotaging its own initiative.
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Dr. Amy Nunn of Brown University had tailored her studies to align with Trump’s HIV elimination goals, including a project on improving PrEP access for Black men in Mississippi. Last week, her funding was axed.
“They finally adopted these policies at the federal level,” Nunn said. “Now they’re undercutting their own successes. It’s so strange.”
“You Get Sick and You Die”
The cuts don’t just affect research—they endanger lives. Dr. Pamina Gorbach, a UCLA epidemiologist, had tracked hundreds of HIV-positive men for a decade to improve their treatment access. Her funding was canceled mid-study.
“If you’re living with HIV and you’re not on meds, you know what happens? You get sick and you die,” Gorbach said.
Clinics may now lay off staff, and patients could lose critical care.
Even completed projects are feeling the fallout. Nathaniel Albright, a PhD candidate at Ohio State, learned his NIH-funded dissertation research—already finished—was defunded. He now struggles to secure a postdoctoral position, as universities deem HIV research “too high-risk.”
Dr. Erin Kahle, whose University of Michigan grant was canceled, warned:
“Scrapping an entire category of disease from research will have innumerable downstream effects on healthcare.”
See also: Massive Layoffs at HHS: Trump Administration Cuts 10,000 Jobs in Historic Agency Overhaul
“This Is Setting Us Back Decades”
With 30,000 new HIV infections still occurring annually in the U.S., the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to HIV research grants threaten to reverse decades of progress. Terminated studies focused on critical gaps in prevention—particularly for Black, Latino, and transgender communities who face disproportionate infection rates.
“We’re not just losing progress—we’re losing people,” warns Dr. Erin Kahle, whose disparities research was axed.
Without these targeted interventions, experts fear a dangerous resurgence of the epidemic.
“This is erasing an entire population of people impacted by an infectious disease,” Kahle said. “This is setting us back decades.”
The human cost could be devastating. PrEP, the daily pill that prevents HIV with 99% effectiveness, remains out of reach for many vulnerable populations—precisely the communities these canceled studies aimed to help. Clinics may shutter, research staff face layoffs, and promising young scientists are already abandoning the field.
“This isn’t just about dollars—it’s about lives,” stresses epidemiologist Dr. Pamina Gorbach, whose decade-long HIV care study lost funding.
The $35 million in cuts pales compared to the billions that unchecked HIV transmission could cost healthcare systems.
The parallels to the 1980s AIDS crisis are alarming—another preventable tragedy fueled by government inaction.
“We know how to end this epidemic, but we’re choosing not to,” says Harvard’s Dr. Julia Marcus.
With research infrastructure crumbling and prevention efforts gutted, America risks replacing scientific progress with something far darker: a deadly step backward in the fight against HIV. Lives are on the line, and history may remember this moment as when America turned its back on ending AIDS.
