The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) approved $728,119 in February 2026 for a project based at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, according to an investigation published by The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire reported that the award was approved in February 2026 and is tied to research involving puberty suppression for transgender adolescents at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Several details presented in public discussion of the project could not be independently verified from accessible primary records. NIH’s RePORTER database typically provides authoritative grant summaries and annual funding totals, but the specific project page cited in related coverage could not be reviewed without JavaScript access through the NIH RePORTER site.
The Daily Wire also reported that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told the outlet the project “does not involve giving puberty blockers to kids,” and instead recruits patients from gender clinics who are considering puberty blockers.
Because primary grant documentation was not accessible for independent confirmation, key claims about the study’s design—including the reported number of participants, the involvement of three hospitals, the identity and roles of specific researchers, whether participants are split into treatment and non-treatment groups, and the total multi-year federal funding amount and year-by-year allocations—could not be verified from independently reviewable sources.
