National Institutes of Health funding cuts have hit women researchers particularly hard. New research published by the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences says women were more likely to have grants terminated than men. The grants were also smaller in size and were terminated earlier, particularly on projects led by early-career women. The analysis notes that the NIH unexpectedly terminated almost 2,300 active grants in early 2025 worth $2.45 billion, highlighting the vulnerability of both early-career researchers and women. “Overall, the terminations unevenly affected women investigators,” the report says, “magnifying long-term consequences for the U.S. biomedical workforce.”
