New lawsuit argues NIH violated First Amendment rights of grant applicants

Thirteen named and four anonymous researchers have filed a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH), alleging that the agency violated their First Amendment rights. The legal action claims the NIH infringed on freedom of speech by screening grant applications for specific words and phrases during the funding decision process.

The lawsuit is seeking to halt the NIH's current process of searching grant applications for targeted terminology. This legal challenge centers on the criteria used by federal health authorities when evaluating and distributing research funding.