NSF hunts for “female,” other flagged terms

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other science agencies are continuing to scramble to comply with President Trump’s orders to eliminate federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, among other topics, while also beginning to restart some grant reviews.

The NSF, which paused its grant review panels last week, is continuing the pause through at least Feb. 7, according to National Public Radio.

In the meantime, the agency is reviewing thousands of active research projects that may be in violation of Trump’s executive orders. Dozens of terms are on a list of flagged words,  including “female,” “historically” and “male-dominated,” The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

And two weeks after the NIH abruptly paused its scheduled grant review panels, Science reported Monday that the meetings are back on track and scientists may resume travel for site visits and collaborative research. 

However, orders banning communication, including public speaking, remain in effect at the agency, though they were originally set to lift Feb. 2. In addition, advisory committees that meet to finalize grants will do so in secret and the NIH is still in the process of reviewing programs that could violate Trump’s executive orders banning funding for programs supporting DEI and “gender ideology.”

According to Science, review of grant applications that don’t clearly violate the anti-DEI policies can continue. Moreover, orders from federal judges issued Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 state that agencies can’t terminate awards based on an executive order from the president or memo from the Office of Management and Budget, which has since rescinded a memo ordering a freeze on all federal grants and loans.