Brittany Charlton

2 Apr 2025

🚨 BREAKING: I'm suing #RFKJr @ #HHS & #JayBhattacharya @ #NIH Canceling medical research grants threatens innovations benefiting ALL Americans, no matter your politics! 🇺🇸 Thanks to my lawyers @aclu.org @aclum.bsky.social @protectdemocracy.org & @cspi.bsky.social Long 🧵 on why I'm suing 👇 1/

statnews.comAustin WatersAustin Waters, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence, is documenting LGBTQ+ disparities, then dissolving them.

🏅 Austin Waters is a 2026 STAT Wunderkind! He studies who survives cancer and how policy affects LGBTQ people's health, and has taken work we had just begun—like food insecurity—further and faster. So fortunate to mentor him. #STATWunderkinds

⛔ Last year, this administration shut down work on topics they didn't like, including our LGBTQ health research. We sued. Courts restored thousands of grants. 📜 Now the Office of Management and Budget wants to reverse that, for good. 🔒 👇👇Here's what you have to do before Monday to stop it. 👇👇🧵

regulations.govRegulations.gov

Scientist or not, you can help 📣 Submit a comment: regulations.gov: www.regulations.gov/commenton/OM... Maybe it's the vaccine that kept your kid out of the hospital. Or the home health aide who visits your mom. Or the diabetes drug made possible by research. Write that, in your own words. ✍️**

📌 One substantive comment counts more than a thousand form letters; OMB must respond to every one, & it becomes part of the public record. ⏳ Do not be silent during one of the most consequential moments in our lifetimes. 🔥 Comment. Share this thread. Make noise.

Scientists could lose the ability to publish, present, or even talk publicly about their own findings. 🔇 If we can't speak, you don't hear about new treatments, outbreaks, or what's actually making your community sick.

This isn't only about OMB. The Bethesda Declaration, signed a year ago by tens of thousands of scientists & NIH staff, just released its 1-year update. 🚨 9 warnings. Every single one has gotten worse.

Buried inside: a clause banning research on how health & disease are distributed across populations. ⚖️ We won't be able to figure out who gets sick, why, or how to help them. That's a ban on public health & medical research. 🚫

Political appointees, not scientists, would decide which research gets funded. 🩺 That means they decide ✅ what gets studied ✅ what evidence exists ✅ what treatments ever get developed ✅ whether harm to your health can ever be proven

OMB's proposal is 400+ pages of new rules for all federal grants—not just health research. 📄 Medicaid. Food assistance. Disaster relief. Housing. Schools. Anything that runs on public funding. 🏫

brittanycharlton.combrittanycharlton.com

26 Jan

📢 Hiring: Postdoctoral Fellow in LGBTQ Reproductive Health Disparities at Harvard Medical School 🌈🧬 Focus on rigorous epi methods + big data (longitudinal cohorts, EMR, claims) 📊 Ideal for epi/biostats folks who want rich cross-Harvard collaborations Details👇 Please boost + tag! 📣

Some big movement in our NIH lawsuit ⚖️🧬 ⚠️ Our case challenges new rules that cut grants on LGBTQ health, racism, climate change, vaccines, and other health equity topics

"...Years of research were shut down overnight, and with that, we lost real progress that could have prevented illness and saved lives.”

statnews.comNIH begins review of thousands of delayed research proposals, funding 135 on first dayA deal between NIH and groups that sued the Trump administration over delayed DEI-related grant proposals is already bearing fruit

STAT: www.statnews.com/2025/12/30/n... Science: www.science.org/content/arti...

Some big movement in our NIH lawsuit ⚖️🧬 ⚠️ Our case challenges new rules that cut grants on LGBTQ health, racism, climate change, vaccines, and other health equity topics

Another key part of our lawsuit is making sure NIH reviews applications fairly and on time. We recently reached an agreement on that part: 🔹 NIH will use its standard scientific review process (not political directives) 🔹 NIH must decide on stalled applications by clear deadlines

As I told @statnews.com and @science.org: “This agreement offers a path, however imperfect, back to doing the work scientists were trained to do: documenting health inequities and developing solutions that save lives. At the same time, we should be very clear: the damage is already profound...

Some big movement in our NIH lawsuit ⚖️🧬 ⚠️ Our case challenges new rules that cut grants on LGBTQ health, racism, climate change, vaccines, and other health equity topics

✊ Today, we’re back in court for appellate arguments on the termination of existing grants, following the Supreme Court’s preliminary decision sending the case back down

Brittany Charlton reposted

Max Kozlov

@maxkozlov.bsky.social

25 June 2025

Just in: NIH staff have been instructed to REINSTATE these ~900 grants to comply with the court order, per sources. This comes after staff were also directed to cease any further terminations. You can see the lists grants to be reinstated in my post below.

Max Kozlov@maxkozlov.bsky.social

The judge intends to limit his order to universities in the plaintiff states (CA, MD, WA, AZ, CO, DE, HI, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, WI), members of the plaintiff orgs (APHA, UAW), and the researchers named directly, he said today. His written opinion will come in the coming days.

16 June 2025

The sense of relief, vindication, & hope in the courtroom was undeniable—the emotion was so thick you could feel it in the air as justice & the value of our research were finally affirmed

Protect Democracy@protectdemocracy.org

🚨BREAKING: In a huge win for public health and democracy, a federal court ruled that the NIH’s ideological purge of life-saving research grants is unlawful. Today, the rule of law prevailed — and science, once again, belongs to everyone.

16 June 2025

📢BREAKING: Just left the courthouse for our NIH grant termination case Judge ruled terminations are “VOID & ILLEGAL” As a plaintiff, I felt a wave of relief & hope; he acknowledged the discrimination & harm Closed by asking, ‘Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?’

aclu.org‘Devastated’ and ‘Hopeless.’ Researchers Speak Out on Funding Cuts | ACLU

⚖️Heartbroken but proud to stand with fellow researchers in court today⚖️ NIH’s sudden grant cuts: 🚫 Silence lifesaving health equity work ⏳ Undermine years of progress ⚠️ Put vital discoveries at risk We won’t stop fighting for science & justice 🧪 👇More details from our @aclu.org representation👇

protectdemocracy.orgChallenging politically-driven attacks on science and medical research - Protect DemocracyProtect Democracy is challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful termination of $400 million in federal funding.

From our lawyers @protectdemocracy.org "By excluding entire topics...the NIH divides & polarizes communities, undermines our shared sense of reality, & demonizes marginalized groups. Challenging these actions is vital for science, for equality, & for democracy." 🤞 for tomorrow's hearing

chronicle.comAn NIH Grant Is Restored, With a Catch: Cut a Study on Trans YouthHIV scientists were given a choice: eliminate a study of transgender youth or lose a shot to recover a larger series of grants. They chose the former.

Heartbroken for my colleague @kgamarel.bsky.social After decades of NIH support, HIV research network gets funding back—but Kristi's study on trans youth of color is singled out & cut Essential research for most vulnerable—lost 🙏 Powerful reporting @stephaniemlee.bsky.social in @chronicle.com

nytimes.comOpinion | Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat

✊ How to challenge authoritarianism? 🔥 3 proven approaches 1️⃣ Mockery & salacious humor 🤡 2️⃣ Expose corruption, hypocrisy (& not just calling for ‘democracy’) 💸 3️⃣ Spotlight an individual tragedy (& not sea of oppression) 💔 🔗 👇 Nicholas Kristof @nytimes.com

nature.comNIH killed grants on orders from Elon Musk’s DOGECourt documents and internal correspondence show the cost-cutting force has broad control over the world’s largest public biomedical funder.

Sworn testimony & leaked emails: more proof DOGE is hand-picking which NIH grants live or die—screening awards, handing out kill lists, & canceling science in hours 🙌 Shout out to @maxkozlov.bsky.social at @nature.com for breaking the story (again), in part due to brave NIH insiders

ifyoucankeepit.orgThe faces of the NIH cutsWhat sort of research is being slashed?

21 May 2025

🗣️ Tomorrow, our lawyers will ask the court for an injunction to halt the illegal cancellation of NIH research grants They'll argue violations of the Administrative Procedure Act & Constitution Meet the other plaintiffs & listen in on the hearing 👇🔬 #ProtectScience

bostonglobe.com‘A bloodbath’: Trump administration moves to terminate hundreds of federal grants at Harvard - The Boston GlobeHarvard researchers who rely on federal grants to study cancer, infectious diseases and a range of other topics began receiving termination notices en masse on Thursday from a number of federal agenci...

📍DEVELOPING 🪓 Hundreds of Harvard research grants slashed What I told @bostonglobe.com — full quote follows ⬇️ #AcademicTwitter #HigherEd #Science

My @bostonglobe.com quotes 💔 "The scale of what happened is incomprehensible—a bloodbath for research and the wider community. Entire labs are unraveling, and young scientists on training grants may be suddenly adrift. Work that could change lives—or save them—is being brought to a standstill.” 🔬

statnews.comScience is under attack. So I’m taking RFK Jr. to court“After losing every one of my grants — and seeing the human cost to my team, patients, and society — I knew silence was not an option,” writes Brittany Charlton.

📌 THREAD: I’m taking Health & Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. to court ⚖️ Not for me — but to defend science 🧬, LGBTQ health 🏳️‍🌈 & the future of public research 🏥 Here’s why 🧵 🔗 Full story via my op-ed in @statnews.com #DefendScience #LGBTQHealth #RFKJr #NIH #PublicHealth #AcademicFreedom

12/ That’s why I ran for local office 🗳️ — and won 🏆 We need scientists everywhere: 🔬 In labs 📚 On school boards ⚖️ In courtrooms Not just resisting — leading 🚀

13/ If you care about truth 💡 health 🩺 & democracy 🗳️ — fight with us ✊ We need a tidal wave 🌊

10/ I’m proud to be a Harvard faculty member 🎓 — & proud Harvard is also suing to defend academic freedom 📢🧠. More universities 🏛️ & institutions must join now This is DEFCON 1 🚨

11/ Philanthropy 💸 must step up Congress 🏛️ must act And the public 👥 must understand: this isn’t niche The research you rely on — cancer 🧬, HIV 🦠, vaccines 💉, mental health 🧠 — is next 🔥

8/ I’m not alone ✊ Leading researchers, the American Public Health Association 🏥 & others joined our suit — to stop unlawful grant terminations & protect science 🔬📚

9/ I’ve faced hate mail 💌 Disturbing threats 🚫 I've increased security around my office & family 🛑🏠. But the greater danger is silence 😶 We either defend science now — or we watch it vanish 🫥

6/ One canceled study found lesbians are 3x as likely to experience stillbirth 🫄 Another studied suicide risk in queer youth under anti-LGBTQ laws 🧒

7/ This is not just about me It’s about whether truth 🧬 will survive in a democracy 🗳️ — or if science will be rewritten by ideology 📉 That’s why I'm filing a federal lawsuit ⚖️ against RFK Jr. & the NIH

4/ That’s what makes what happened next so dangerous ⚠️ Dangerous for every American who relies on evidence-based health care

5/ The government destroyed $16 million in taxpayer-funded science that I was leading 💰 But that’s not what hurts most What hurts is this: vital, life-saving LGBTQ research is now in the trash — defunded, silenced, erased

2/ I’m a Harvard-trained epidemiologist. In the past decade: ✔️ Mentored 75+ rising health leaders ✔️ Published 100+ peer-reviewed papers ✔️ Ranked top 10% in NIH funding across Harvard ✔️ Built one of the largest LGBTQ health research programs in the world 🏥 I don't say this to brag...

3/ I share this because my work was rigorous & earned the respect of experienced scientists Now, it’s all been erased — because it’s no longer “aligned with agency priorities.”

🎙️ "Science Under Siege" panel via @statnews.com — powerful & urgent “Americans who deserve better — especially those who rely on government systems — will suffer and die because of what RFK Jr & his allies are doing.” 🎯 A few other standout remarks that hit hard👇🧵 #STATBreakthrough

🎙️ "I went to graduate school because I wanted data and facts to drive what we do.” — Indeed, the American scientific engine is built on evidence — not conspiracy theories. That foundation is cracking. #STATBreakthrough

🧬 Science is under siege — and so are the systems that protect lives. These aren’t just panel quotes. They’re alarm bells 🔔🔔🔔 #STATBreakthrough

🎙️ “There’s a gap that won’t be filled... when we lose trainees.” — Yes, mentorship and the future of biomedical science are at risk. Misinformation and politicized attacks push young talent away from the field #STATBreakthrough

nytimes.comTrump Administration Slashes Research Into L.G.B.T.Q. Health

11 May 2025

🗞️Grateful for the chance to clearly say in Sunday's @nytimes.com paper— Ending medical research with LGBTQ people doesn’t just hurt our community; it endangers everyone🏳️‍🌈 “When the people around you are sick, it affects you — even if you think it doesn’t” We're all connected. Always have been 💜

Brittany Charlton reposted

Max Kozlov

@maxkozlov.bsky.social

6 May 2025

With NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya dismissing my reporting as "false" and "spreading rumors" hours before releasing a policy that confirmed said "rumors," I feel compelled to respond. Here's an inside look into how this story was reported. It was a weird one. 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

9 May 2025

After 35+ years, the National Cancer Institute seems to be ending its Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program If my sources are correct, this is a loss for cancer prevention—a field that saves lives before treatment is ever needed 🛡️💔 And also, it's a pipeline of future leaders—gone 1/🧵

9 May 2025

This program trained scientists behind game-changing efforts: 🧬 HPV vaccines 🚭 Tobacco control 🔍 Early detection 💪 Survivorship care Ending this fellowship sends a clear message: 🛑 Prevention still isn’t a priority 🧠💸 2/🧵