The letter informing Penn researcher Aaron Richterman that his multiyear, multimillion-dollar NIH grant was being terminated came at the very end of May, 131 days after Donald Trump and his team took control of the federal government and the dismantling began.
Richterman’s study — he and a team were looking at the health impact of a city of Philadelphia program that stabilizes housing for people with HIV — was being defunded.
“DEI,” the missive said. “Research programs based primarily on artificial or non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to science inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce sickness.”