FEATURED
Civil rights experts question legality of program
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities continues to fund a State University of New York program that trains “underrepresented” physicians to research the role of racism in healthcare.
The institute awarded the Clinical Research Scholars Training Program $522,020 for fiscal year 2026. The grant began in 2022 and has received more than $2.6 million in total federal funding. It is scheduled to continue through February 2027.
According to the grant abstract, the program is designed to prepare nurses and physicians to conduct research that “addresses health disparities and advances health equity.”
The abstract states “[t]he COVID-19 pandemic coupled with acts of social injustice all converge to reinforce that racism is a fundamental driver of racial and ethnic health disparities” and cites those developments as rationale for needing a “health-equity focused research training program.”
The grant includes instruction on “applying antiracism, structural competency, and trauma-informed frameworks.” It says eligibility is limited to those trained in the medical profession with “backgrounds that are underrepresented in biomedical research.”
The accompanying project narrative aims to increase the number of “underrepresented physicians and nurses” conducting clinical research and argues that “diversifying” the clinical research field will help “reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.”
Graduates receive a master’s of public health from SUNY Downstate.
The CREST program leaders did not respond to multiple requests for comment via email and phone call in the past several weeks regarding how they define “underrepresented” and what the program eligibility and instruction entail.
The minority health agency did not respond to the inquiry, as well as questions about whether the program is consistent with the Trump administration’s policies on DEI programs and if programs like this are under review.
A representative of the Department of Health and Human Services said the program is open to all when asked by The Fix.
“NIH is committed to supporting the next generation of biomedical researchers while ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly,” an emailed statement read. “The CREST program is open to physicians and nurses with doctoral degrees who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents as NIH continues to ensure its programs align with the Administration’s priorities.”
Several civil rights legal experts said the program’s language raises concerns.
The grant’s language could raise legal issues because it limits eligibility to medical professionals “from backgrounds that are underrepresented in biomedical research,” while also emphasizing workforce diversity, according to William Jacobson. He is the founder of the Equal Protection Project and a law professor at Cornell University.
Jacobson said some institutions have increasingly substituted terms like “underrepresented” or “marginalized” as a workaround against civil rights laws that prohibit explicit racial classifications.
However, since the grant abstract does not clearly define what qualifies as an “underrepresented” background, he said it is unclear how eligibility is determined.
“Both [recruitment and eligibility] could be a violation of law if done in a way that advantages or disadvantages potential applicants on the basis of race, color, or national origin,” Jacobson told The Fix via email. “Recruiting in such a way as to discourage certain groups from applying is a legal violation, even if such groups are not barred from the program.”
The executive director of the American Civil Rights Project agrees the program’s language could raise legal issues but noted it could also mean “underrepresented” in another capacity.
“It could limit based on a background of having a native language that’s underrepresented or something else that our nondiscrimination laws don’t specifically address,” Dan Morenoff wrote in an email to The Fix.
However, if it refers to race, color, or national origin, then the eligibility requirements discriminate “exactly the way Title VI forbids any federal funding recipient from behaving,” Morenoff said. “[I]t would be illegal for SUNY Downstate to do it and potentially unconstitutional for NIMHD to condition funding on it.”
Morenoff noted that the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities’ mission is “to lead scientific research in humans to improve minority health and reduce health disparities in the United States and its territories,” which itself is concerning under the Trump administration’s policies on DEI.
“[I]f that’s the mission of the agency and Administration’s view of the Constitution, the President’s Budget proposes eliminating NIMHD entirely. The CREST grant you’ve identified matches the mission and underscores why the Administration and Congress should move forward with the proposed closure.”
