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By forcing rigid definitions of sex across all federal agencies, Republicans are undermining the administrative state’s capacity to protect public health and safety.

I’ve dedicated my career to understanding and improving the lives of older adults, including veterans. That’s why it was devastating to learn that a $1.4 million research grant, approved by the Department of Defense to study Alzheimer’s disease among veterans, was suddenly no longer going to be funded, with no clear explanation other than that our work no longer aligned with “agency priorities.”

51�ԹϺ��� professor Jason Flatt’s research into Alzheimer’s and its effect on the LGBTQ+ community was inspired by his grandmother’s social isolation and struggle with the disease. But his dreams of improving the lives of caregivers and elderly LGBTQ+ people were dashed earlier this year when the federal government canceled all federal funding toward his work — nearly $5 million in grants — on the basis that the projects dealt with transgender issues.

Jason Flatt has conducted public health research since 2013 examining how diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s affect the LGBTQ+ community.

Researchers say threats to federal research funding and President Donald Trump’s promise to eliminate any policy promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion” are threatening a decades-long effort to improve how the nation studies the health of women and queer people, or improve treatments for the medical conditions that affect them. Agency employees have been warned not to approve grants that include words such as  “women,” “trans” or “diversity."

Trump's federal funding cuts are shutting down studies on Alzheimer’s care, uterine fibroids and pregnancy risks — all because they focus on gender.

51�ԹϺ��� professor Jason Flatt was finalizing his $1.4 million grant in February for research related to dementia and caregiving among LGBTQIA+ veterans. Despite having received the notice of award before President Donald Trump took office, the Department of Defense revoked it afterward.

Four months ago, Tara McKay, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, received an award from the National Institutes of Health recognizing her contributions to the field of LGBTQ+ health research.