最新蜜桃影像

By Amber Mapel

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14168 titled 鈥淒efending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.鈥� Eleven days later, Dr. Mandi Pratt-Chapman was notified her grant had been terminated.

By 5 p.m. on January 31, her study on how rural cancer centers collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data was shut down.

Pratt-Chapman is the Associate Director of Scientific Communication & Dissemination at The George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center and a professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Prevention & Community Health.

鈥淭here was an intentional targeting of higher education and science鈥� and to an extent it worked,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here was an intention to be overwhelming and a lot of us were very overwhelmed.鈥�

Her grant was one of many canceled following the implementation of President Trump鈥檚 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), primarily focused on reducing federal spending. On the DOGE website, it states that 15,887 grants from various government agencies have been terminated, saving approximately $49 billion.

Pratt-Chapman鈥檚 funding was flagged because EO 14168 states that 鈥渇ederal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.鈥� It enforces a strictly binary understanding of sex and gender which is part of larger anti-transgender rhetoric from the Trump Administration.

Pratt-Chapman described her grant as relatively small, but its cancellation raised big questions on the future of LGBTQ+ research and federally funded science. She said the data lost will have lasting effects after Trump鈥檚 term.

Grant cancellations are just one part of the administration鈥檚 greater agenda against the education bureaucracy they say is failing. In another unprecedented EO last year, Trump dismantled the Department of Education, saying its closure 鈥渨ould drastically improve program implementation in higher education.鈥�

Pratt-Chapman’s terminated grant was for the study 鈥淪exual Orientation and Gender Identity Data Collection in Community Oncology Practice.鈥� Pratt-Chapman and her colleagues were following up on their study of how SOGI data of cancer patients is collected in urban and more populated areas.

They had already gathered more than one-third of the federally funded data, and planned to interview 16 additional rural cancer centers when they lost funding.

鈥淚 felt personally in a crisis,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I organized a space for others experiencing this to be heard and validated.鈥�

She began a monthly meeting for the sexual and gender minority interest group that was previously hosted by the National Cancer Institute. When the meeting series ended, Pratt-Chapman took over as a touchpoint for researchers to continue building community.

鈥淚 still have a monthly call for scientists in the LGBT community that want to talk about research or vent,鈥� Pratt-Chapman said. 鈥淚 still hold that hour every month just in case someone wants to call in.鈥�

In an interview, Dr. Lauren Houghton, an epidemiologist, researcher at Columbia University, and colleague of Pratt-Chapman described her as a leader in the sexual and gender minority cancer community.

鈥淪he immediately offered sessions and places for us as researchers going through a trauma to connect,鈥� Houghton said.

In addition to the monthly meetings, Pratt-Chapman surveyed 158 researchers and interviewed 22 on their experiences with grant terminations, financial instability and job changes. She anticipates the analysis being submitted to a journal by the end of March.

鈥淭he way I look at all of my research is trying to remedy an injustice,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was the same skillset, just applied to my peers.鈥�

On February 7th, 2025, Pratt-Chapman shared her experience in Science Magazine鈥� an action many other researchers were hesitant to do. She says she was shocked by the level of intimidation people felt and hoped that speaking out would lead to justice.

Houghton described Pratt-Chapman鈥檚 willingness to speak with the media as inspiring.

鈥淪he was one of the first people to do it,鈥� Houghton said. 鈥淚 think it was important to have that voice out there and not be afraid. She was so brave.鈥�

Pratt-Chapman said it felt like the natural thing to do. Being a point of connection not only helped strengthen her professional community, but document the shared experiences of researchers.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 state truth, then you are at risk of losing it,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd if you don鈥檛 stand up for the values that you believe in, then you lose them too.鈥�