In 2024, Mohottige, a nephrologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, was awarded a grant by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how structural racism contributes to kidney disease in a group of Black individuals who are already vulnerable to the condition because of a genetic variant. The NIH, a major funder of biomedical science worldwide, scored her grant application highly, and by February, Mohottige had even received a notice that her second year of funding had been awarded. But about two week later, the funds were frozen ' and on 19 March, the grant was terminated. The notice of termination stated that the award had been cancelled because it related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). US President Donald Trump, who took office in January, has targeted the concept of DEI as 'radical' and as undermining US civil-rights laws by prioritizing certain groups over others. 'It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize such research...
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