In a devastating blow to Black maternal health research, Dr. Jaime Slaughter-Acey, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has seen her $2.4 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant abruptly terminated.
The termination is part of a sweeping move by the Trump administration that has alarmed public health experts and advocates.
The study, which was tracking the impact of social and biological factors on birth outcomes among Black families in Detroit, was axed in late March 2025.
UNC officials delivered the news to Slaughter-Acey with a chilling message from NIH: the research no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities and failed to “promise increased life expectancy.”
“It was heartbreaking,” Slaughter-Acey told The Guardian. “And honestly, infuriating given the high rates of maternal and infant mortality in this country.”
A Grant Pulled Mid-Research
Slaughter-Acey’s LIFE-2 study had already enrolled nearly 600 Black mothers in the Detroit area, many of whom also had their mothers (the infants’ grandmothers) participate.
With a unique multi-generational approach, the study collected blood samples, birth certificates, and conducted extensive surveys to examine how racism—structural, cultural, and intergenerational—affects the maternal epigenome and birth outcomes.
The cancellation halted the remaining $581,000 in funding, despite over two years of planned data analysis and outreach. The study was also set to build a public website to share findings with participants and the wider community.
“This was the first study to comprehensively examine how exposure to structural, cultural, and intergenerational racism throughout a Black woman’s life impacts her epigenome and her child’s birth outcomes,” Slaughter-Acey said.
Context: NIH Cuts and Political Interference
Slaughter-Acey’s grant termination is part of a broader rollback under the Trump administration, which axed 1,902 NIH grants totaling $4.4 billion between January and July 2025. The administration justified the cuts as part of a cost-saving effort directed by the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge) and new executive orders.
Other canceled projects included a study on prenatal exposure to contaminated drinking water and another investigating why women of color are disproportionately affected by cervical cancer. The administration also laid off most of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health in April, leaving gaps in the nation’s ability to track pregnancy-related deaths.
The same week Slaughter-Acey’s grant was pulled, the administration froze \$200 million in UCLA research funding, citing “antisemitism and discrimination in admissions,” signaling broader political interference in science.
“It’s part of a larger pattern of political interference in science that puts the health of all people at risk, especially vulnerable populations,” Slaughter-Acey warned.
The Urgency of the Research
According to recent CDC data, Black women remain the only demographic group in the U.S. whose maternal mortality rates did not decline in 2023. They die at a rate of 50.3 per 100,000 live births—over three times that of white women.
Slaughter-Acey’s study aimed to investigate not just survival, but what “maternal thriving” looks like. She criticized current metrics that only consider health in terms of avoiding death or severe morbidity.
“We need to get past this conversation of maternal survival and move to thriving,” she said. “The voices of these 500-plus moms and babies should not die or be silenced with the termination of this grant.”
Groundbreaking Findings So Far
Despite the premature funding cut, Slaughter-Acey’s team has already uncovered troubling patterns:
- 20% of mothers in the study experienced housing insecurity during pregnancy, a social determinant often absent from hospital records.
- Adverse childhood experiences among mothers correlated with higher conflict levels with their child’s father.
- Racial microaggressions were documented through a newly developed tool that tracked harmful experiences with healthcare providers and in daily life.
These findings paint a clear picture: social environments, historical inequities, and systemic racism profoundly influence Black maternal and infant health.
“We know that social support is key during pregnancy,” Slaughter-Acey said, “and this study is about understanding the root causes of poor maternal and infant health in this country – something that affects all of us, regardless of race or background.”
Hope for the Future
In June, Michigan State University stepped in with short-term bridge funding, enabling the research to continue through the end of the year. However, without sustainable financial support, the study’s future remains uncertain.
Slaughter-Acey has turned to LinkedIn and her professional networks to crowdsource donations through UNC’s Department of Epidemiology. She has asked supporters to earmark contributions specifically for the LIFE-2 project.
Meanwhile, policy experts warn that the Trump administration’s changes to grant structure—particularly requiring multiyear NIH grants to be paid upfront—could discourage new research proposals entirely and shutter university research labs.
Conclusion
As Black maternal mortality rates remain tragically high, the cancellation of the LIFE-2 study exemplifies how political priorities can undercut scientific progress. For many health advocates, the move feels like the erasure of Black mothers and babies.
“When science is silenced, communities suffer,” Slaughter-Acey said.
If you want to support the LIFE-2 study, donations can be made to the UNC Department of Epidemiology with a note designating support for Dr. Jaime Slaughter-Acey’s work.
