DOGE-related Funding Cuts Threaten the Fight to End the HIV Epidemic

By: Ranier Simons, ADAP Blog Guest Contributor

Actions driven by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continue destabilizing the U.S. public health and scientific research infrastructure. Funding cuts, including eliminating grants and dismissing thousands of employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), are being announced increasingly quickly. The onslaught of DOGE actions is aggressively wielding a hatchet from multiple angles without guidance to those affected, leaving confusion and a paucity of guidance in its wake. Diverse stakeholders are concerned about the potentially grave impending impacts of these cuts on the fight to end the HIV epidemic and public health overall.

Photo Source: NBC News

One notable loss was incurred by the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN). Recently, NIH announced the halt of two of its principal funding grants, pulling $18 million annually from its operations (Oza, 2025). The ATN was established over 20 years ago when evidence-based research identified the very specific needs of adolescents and young adults living with HIV as compared to children born with HIV or adults living with HIV. The ATN’s work includes several multidisciplinary clinical trials aimed at improving HIV prevention, as well as treatment improvements across the entire HIV care continuum for youth, which are all being eliminated. One of the many successes of ATN is the development of a PrEP protocol for adolescents, which was approved in 2018. The termination of funding effectively terminates current trials, such as examining doxycycline prophylaxis in women and an investigational study for a multipurpose injectable to prevent HIV and pregnancy (Oza, 2025).

NIH grant cuts are also targeting health equity research. Health equity research seeks to identify and address avoidable adverse health outcomes experienced by specific populations due to social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status and race (Braveman et al., 2017). The current administration does not appear to recognize health disparities as a credible public health threat and views the work as baseless DEI conjecture. 

One such canceled grant involved research on maternal health. Jaime Slaughter-Acey, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was studying the poor maternal health and birth outcomes of black women (Hellman, 2025). The health crisis of poor maternal and infant mortality among black women is backed by sound scientific data and is a recognized consensus in the medical community. The risk of maternal mortality is the most significant disparity among all conventional population perinatal health measures, regardless of geographic location (Krishnamoorthi et al., 2023). 

Photo Source: Inquisitr

Multiple health disparity grants specifically focused on LGBTQ issues have also been canceled. For example, several researchers at George Washington University lost grants for studies exploring HIV outcomes in minority populations (Lee, 2025). NIH grant funding was canceled for Jonathon Rendina, an associate research professor of public health, who was studying the inequities of HIV experienced by women and transgender people of color. The research was already underway and will lose $1.4 million that had not yet been spent. Derek Dangerfield II, an associate professor of prevention and community health, lost two grants. His grants funded studies investigating healthcare outcomes and systemic stigma in the healthcare system for Black men living with HIV. Together, both grants took almost $1.5 million away (Lee, 2025).

Explicitly, NIH has targeted and canceled funding for transgender health studies. It has issued internal guidance stating it no longer supports any research on transgender health issues or gender identity (Kozlov, 2025). Sari Reisner, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan, lost his grant entitled “Strategies to Prevent HIV Acquisition Among Transgender MSM in the US” (Spring, 2025). At least five of seven recently canceled grants at the University of Michigan involved gender identity research. Studies show that HIV disproportionately impacts transgender individuals. Transgender women are 49 times more likely to have HIV compared to the general population, and transgender men have higher rates of HIV acquisition as well (Baral et al., 2012).

Transgender health, in general, has been under consistent attack. Shanna Kattari, an associate professor of social work and women’s studies at the University of Michigan, explains, “The current political climate and anti-trans attacks have already harmed healthcare access for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, from directly clinics shutting down puberty blocks or HRT for young people … to more indirectly, (where) many TGD people (are) choosing to avoid needed care, whether preventative care or gender-affirming care, due to fear of being denied, mistreated or being put on a ‘list’ for accessing such care” (Spring, 2025).

Photo Source: THEM

The majority of those receiving notification of their grant funding by NIH received letters with verbiage expressing that NIH no longer holds their research as a priority. The letters state, “Research programs based primarily on artificial and non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific 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 illness…”(Spring, 2025). They further legitimize their choice to defund, adding, “…so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics, which harms the health of Americans. Therefore, it is the policy of NIH not to prioritize such research programs”(Spring, 2025).

There is a human toll to the Trump Administration's slash and burn. Michigan resident Jeremy Toney summarized, "Being directly affected by these recent funding cuts to public health, specifically HIV prevention and research, has left me feeling very uncertain about the future. My team and I experienced a massive direct cut to our NIH R01 research grant that was set to change how we look at HIV Prevention in Primary Care from a health system perspective. We were on the heels of implementation as we put time and effort into building a project from scratch. The devastation of our grant being terminated without warning and true reason is quite egregious and speaks to how this current administration views science and the work that so many credible individuals have put into saving lives. We're all feeling unsafe and uncertain about the future of our jobs, the loss of impactful research, and the distrust of the government, but we must fight back against it."

Population health is not an amorphous equity objective. HIV prevention and treatment studies do indeed enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness. The average estimated lifetime HIV-related medical expenditure per individual in the U.S. is around $420K (Bingham, 2021). Saving over $420K per person by preventing HIV infection is a significant return on investment. Medical knowledge gained from the study of population subsets can be expanded to application to the general population. That is the epitome of expanding our knowledge of living systems. As we continue to monitor ongoing DOGE-related funding cuts and “reductions in force,” it is imperative to find ways to mitigate the present dangers as well as offensively protect the future.

[1] Baral, S. D., Poteat, T., Strömdahl, S., Wirtz, A. L., Guadamuz, T. E., & Beyrer, C. (2012). Worldwide burden of HIV in transgender women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 13(3), 214–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(12)70315-8. Retrieved from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(12)70315-8/fulltext

[2] Bingham, A., Shrestha, R. K., Khurana, N., Jacobson, E. U., & Farnham, P. G. (2021). Estimated Lifetime HIV-Related Medical Costs in the United States. Sexually transmitted diseases, 48(4), 299–304. https://doi.org/10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001366. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33492100/#:~:text=Results:%20We%20estimated%20an%20average%20lifetime%20HIV%2Drelated,and%20$326%2C411%20in%20our%20least%20favorable%20scenario.

[3] Braveman, P., Arkin, E., Orleans, T., Proctor, D., Plough, A. (2017, May 1). What is health equity? Retrieved from https://www.rwjf.org/en/insights/our-research/2017/05/what-is-health-equity-.html#:~:text=In%20a%20report%20designed%20to,in%20discussions%20around%20the%20concept.

[4] Hellman, J. (2025, March 24). Trump cancels NIH grants on equity research. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/trump-cancels-nih-grants-on-equity-research/ar-AA1BzOLx?ocid=socialshare

[5] Kozlov, M. (2025, March 26). Exclusive: NIH to cut grants for COVID research, documents reveal. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00954-y

[6] Krishnamoorthi, M., Balbierz, A., Laraque-Arena, D., & Howell, E. A. (2023). Addressing the National Crisis Facing Black and Latina Women, Birthing People, and Infants: The Maternal and Child Health Equity Summit. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 141(3), 467–472. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000005067. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9974748/

[7] Lee, J. (2025, March 31). GW researchers lose five NIH grants amid federal funding cuts. Retrieved from https://gwhatchet.com/2025/03/31/gw-researchers-lose-five-nih-grants-amid-federal-funding-cuts/

[8] Oza, A. (2025, March 25). NIH cuts halt 24-year program to prevent HIV/AIDS in adolescents and young adults. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/25/nih-cuts-include-hiv-aids-prevention-program-for-adolescents/

[9] Spring, E. (2025, March 26). NIH pulls funding from UMich transgender health research. Retrieved from https://www.michigandaily.com/news/research/nih-pulls-funding-from-umich-transgender-health-research/

Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association, but rather they provide a neutral platform whereby the author serves to promote open, honest discussion about public health-related issues and updates.

Through Her Tears, Compassion, and Hope, Hydeia Loren Broadbent Changed the Narrative on HIV/AIDS

By: Ranier Simons, ADAP Blog Guest Contributor

Hydeia Loren Broadbent came into this world on June 14, 1984, and the sun set on her life on February 20, 2024.[1] Having been born with HIV, she literally spent her entire life as an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. Hydeia was diagnosed with HIV at a time when HIV was a death sentence, before the advent of the antiviral medications available today, and when HIV/AIDS stigma and fear ran high due to the unknown. As a child, the doctors predicted she would only have a life span of a few years, yet Hydeia defied their odds and lived 39 full, powerful years dedicating her life to making change.

Photo Source: hydeiabroadbent.com

Normalcy and compassion were what Hydeia desired and were the messages she promulgated. When she was seven years old, during a Nickelodeon news special, she told Earvin “Magic” Johnson, “I want people to know that we’re just normal people.”[4] HIV/AIDS carried a dark stigma during Hydeia’s earliest years as it was viewed as an intravenous drug user and gay men’s disease. Before Hydeia’s journey, Ryan White had to legally fight for the right to attend public schools in Indiana, far away from Hydeia’s home of Las Vegas, Nevada, before he died in 1990. Even though she was able to start public school, she endured travesties and abuses no child should have had to process. One time in kindergarten, a teacher aware of her HIV status sprayed Clorox bleach on her when she sneezed.[2] After that incident, Hydeia was homeschooled with tutors until she started junior high school.[2]

Hydeia was born with HIV in 1984 but was not diagnosed until the age of three. She was adopted at six weeks of age before HIV testing was normalized. Hydeia’s birth mother was denied custody due to drug addiction, hence Hydeia ended up in the adoptive system.[2] Hydeia’s adoptive parents had her tested when they were notified by health officials her birth mother had given birth to another child that she and the child were HIV positive. By age five, Hydeia’s condition had progressed to AIDS. She was one of the first pediatric patients treated with AZT. Rubgie Lucas, an infectious disease investigator in Clark County, where Vegas is located, remembered Hydeia stating, "We had to learn how to treat her because the adult medication was too strong."[3] Anthony S. Fauci remembers treating Hydeia at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Regarding her life, he stated, “her accomplishments are substantial.”[2]

Hydeia touched many lives both domestically and internationally. She traveled around the world spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS, advocating for treatment and care, and promoting prevention through abstinence and safer sex practices. She is well known for her activism and high-profile public speaking moments, such as when she was on the Oprah Winfrey Show at age 11. Her passion and mission also gave her a platform on shows such as Good Morning America and 20/20.[5] Hydeia was featured in many publications such as The New York Times, People, National Geographic, Ebony, POZ, and was even on the cover of TV Guide.[5] Her knowledge, poise, and personable nature opened doors for many speaking engagements. She spoke to audiences singularly and as a part of panels at institutions such as Morehouse School of Medicine, Duke University, and UCLA. In 2006, Hydeia was a speaker at the International AIDS Conference.

Photo Source: hydeiabroadbent.com

Hydeia gave of herself selflessly while simultaneously dealing with her own humanity. As she spoke to the world as a child, she still dealt with serious health issues such as blood infections, brain fungus, and heart issues. While navigating the demands of being a very public figure, she had to deal with her personal life. She expressed how hard it was to date given her diagnosis yet was optimistic about finding love and being married one day. During her teen years, at the height of her speaking and advocacy, she dealt with depression and perfection anxiety to the point of resenting being such a public figure and speaking to the world. She stated during an episode of Where Are They Now on Oprah’s OWN network that she had to find her inner peace.

In 39 years, Hydeia experienced more life than most people could handle or even comprehend, no matter how long they lived. She experienced HIV/AIDS from the very beginning before there were many treatments through the advent of antiviral drug cocktails. Her life and message touched millions internationally. Hydeia represented children born with HIV, was the face of African American women living with HIV and was a pioneer who forged her way just like Ryan White. She was once quoted as saying, “…with all that we know about the virus, it is clear to me that contracting HIV/AIDS today is a choice, and we can’t allow anyone the power to make that choice for us!”. Hydeia’s legacy is a life fulfilled and a continuing burning torch of compassion and hope to continue to be passed along until we one day conquer HIV/AIDS.

[1] Schilken, C. (2024, February 2022). Hydeia Broadbent, who teamed up with Magic Johnson in HIV/AIDS fight, dies at 39. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/hydeia-broadbent-who-teamed-up-with-magic-johnson-in-hivaids-fight-dies-at-39/ar-BB1iJLdt?ocid=socialshare

[2] Langer, E. (2024, February 23). Hydeia Broadbent, young activist for HIV/AIDS awareness, dies at 39. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/02/23/hydeia-broadbent-hiv-aids-dead/

[3] Nomura, A. (2024, February 27). Retired county disease investigator reflects on late HIV/AIDS activist from Las Vegas. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/retired-county-disease-investigator-reflects-on-late-hivaids-activist-from-las-vegas/ar-BB1j04HL?ocid=socialshare

[4] Kornelis, C. (2024, February 23). Hydeia Broadbent, Who Helped Change the Conversation About HIV/AIDS, Dies at 39. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/hydeia-broadbent-who-helped-change-the-conversation-about-hivaids-dies-at-39/ar-BB1iMwJU?ocid=socialshare

[5] BounceTV. (2020). Community Activist Award 2020 Trumpet Award Bio. Retrieved from https://www.trumpetawards.com/award-honoree/hydeia-broadbent/1184/#:~:text=Broadbent%20is%20also%20considered%20a,Award%20and%20an%20Essence%20Award.

Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association, but rather they provide a neutral platform whereby the author serves to promote open, honest discussion about public health-related issues and updates. 

The Quest for an HIV Cure Looms Large

By: Sarah Hooper, intern, ADAP Advocacy Association, and senior at East Carolina University

Earlier this year, it was revealed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it would pump $14.6 million into a HIV research program headed up by the University of Southern California (USC) and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The aim of the research program is to eliminate the need for HIV patients to take daily medication, and to hopefully achieve an overall cure. 

Photo Source: RT News App

According to End Points News, the therapy would allow a patient’s own stem cells to fight the HIV infection and allow them to make new immune cells when the infection is fought. (End Point News)

“The approach was inspired by three patients who appear to have been cured of the virus — all of whom received blood stem cell transplants from donors who carried a mutation in the CCR5 gene. One of them, dubbed the “Berlin patient,” had been off antiretroviral drugs from 2007,” End Point News said.

In 2006, Timothy Ray Brown (also known as the Berlin patient) was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia. In 2007, Brown received two bone marrow transplants, and halted his HIV medications in the process (ScienceMag). Since the bone marrow transplant, researchers have only found traces of HIV, none of which is able to replicate in Brown’s system- effectively curing him of HIV.

NIH’s new research program is using similar technology in its search to find a cure for HIV. By using stem cells to fight the disease, the need for medication is much lesser, as one’s own body can fight HIV. However, the process Brown went through to fully cure himself of HIV is intense.

“The first is the process of conditioning, in which doctors destroyed Brown’s own immune system with chemotherapy and whole-body irradiation to prepare him for his bone marrow transplant. His oncologist, Gero Hütter, who was then with the Free University of Berlin, also took an extra step that he thought might not only cure the leukemia but also help rid Brown’s body of HIV. He found a bone marrow donor who had a rare mutation in a gene that cripples a key receptor on white blood cells the virus uses to establish an infection. The third possibility is his new immune system attacked remnants of his old one that held HIV-infected cells, a process known as graft versus host disease,” ScienceMag said. 

In September 2020, Brown passed away from his cancer, and the HIV community mourned his loss.

Photo Source: HIV Plus Magazine

The search for a cure to HIV has been ongoing since the virus was discovered. Treatment with antiretrovirals has been a massive step away from a death sentence and towards a normal life for HIV patients. The issue with the HIV virus is it can be hidden in cells while being suppressed by current HIV treatment. The only HIV patients who have been successfully cured of the virus were also undergoing intense treatments for a separate cancer diagnosis, according to ViiV Healthcare. 

These patients underwent a bone marrow transplant in which an HIV free bone marrow was placed in their body, which is a high-risk surgery as is. 

“While their treatments were extremely high risk and not amenable to wide scale implementation, these instances of cure bring hope of what is possible in our efforts to end the HIV epidemic,” ViiV Healthcare said. 

The NIH initiative to eliminate the need for daily medication is an incredible effort made available by years of previous research and effective treatment. If successful, this effort could change the lives of millions of HIV patients in the United States and around the world. 

References:

• A cure for HIV the end goal. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://viivhealthcare.com/en-gb/our-stories/innovation-hiv-science/towards-a-cure-exploring-cure-and-remission-in-hiv/
• DeFeudis, N. (2020, September 03). Researchers teamed up to develop a 'three in one' HIV treatment - and the NIH is throwing in $14.6M. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://endpts.com/researchers-teamed-up-to-develop-a-three-in-one-hiv-treatment-and-the-nih-is-throwing-in-14-6m/
• Jon Cohen Sep. 25, 2., Meredith Wadman Sep. 16, 2., Adrian Cho Sep. 15, 2., Ian Morse Sep. 14, 2., Eli Cahan Sep. 14, 2., Scott Waldman, E., . . . Rebekah Tuchscherer Aug. 26, 2. (2017, December 10). How did the 'Berlin patient' rid himself of HIV? Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/09/how-did-berlin-patient-rid-himself-hiv

Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association, but rather they provide a neutral platform whereby the author serves to promote open, honest discussion about public health-related issues and updates.