A Supreme Court ruling challenges NIH’s authority, leaving public health research hanging in the balance

The Supreme Court’s partial stay in a case against NIH has left dozens of public health studies in legal limbo. At the center are canceled grants focused on vaccine hesitancy, LGBTQ health, and racial disparities; topics critics say were targeted for political reasons. Here to explain the ruling and its impact on scientific independence are Dr. Susan Polan and Shalini Goel Agarwal. Dr. Polan is associate executive director for public affairs and advocacy with the American Public Health Association. Ms. Agarwal co-leads Protect Democracy’s Free Expression and the Right to Dissent team. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .