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Scientists affiliated with the National Institutes of Health pen a public statement condemning the Trump administration's actions of grant revocations and dismissals.

Scientists from NIH Criticize Trump Administration in Open Letter Signed by Over 300 Scientists, Addressing Recent Policy Moves, on Monday.

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Scientists from the NIH, over 300 in number, pen an open rebuke to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, their...
Scientists from the NIH, over 300 in number, pen an open rebuke to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, their director, on Monday, over the Trump administration's controversial decisions.

Scientists affiliated with the National Institutes of Health pen a public statement condemning the Trump administration's actions of grant revocations and dismissals.

NIH scientists have come together, penning a bold open letter to criticize the Trump administration's policies they believe are harming the health of Americans and global citizens alike. This Bethesda Declaration, signed by over 300 scientists, voices concerns over politicized research, interrupted global collaboration, and budget cuts that hinder important scientific work.

The letter, with 92 named signatories and 250 anonymous but verified ones, states: "We dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe." They argue that these policies prioritize political momentum over human safety and responsible stewardship of public resources.

Some of these NIH professionals, speaking on their personal capacity, shared that their efforts to raise concerns internally have fallen on deaf ears. With urgency, they feel the need to speak up, especially as the Director of NIH, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, is set to testify on Tuesday at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the proposed NIH budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Jenna Norton, a program officer at the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and one of the lead organizers of the letter, expressed fear but asserted the importance of speaking out. "I think a lot of people are focused on the risk of speaking up, but we also need to think about the risk of not speaking up."

Modeled after the Great Barrington Declaration, with Bhattacharya as a co-author, the Bethesda Declaration advocates for a new approach to handling the pandemic by protecting vulnerable individuals but allowing most to resume normal activities and achieving herd immunity naturally. This was widely criticized by public health professionals when it was published in October 2020.

The letter urges Bhattacharya to reverse grants that have been delayed or terminated for "political reasons," to allow work with foreign collaborators, to reverse a policy capping indirect costs for research at 15%, and to reinstate essential staff who were fired at NIH. Bhattacharya responded, stating, "Respectful dissent in science is productive. We all want the NIH to succeed."

The signatories' concerns extend beyond the Trump administration's policies. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to our website's request for comment. As protests continue, scientists urge individuals to sign the public letter in support or reach out to their congressional representatives to express concerns. Ian Morgan, a postdoctoral researcher at the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, expresses hope that the letter will give people a message of hope and demonstrate that there is still time to right the ship and move the research direction in the right light.

[1] https://indicesofscience.com/2020/09/27/nih-scientists-warn-of-politicization-in-covid-19-research/[2] https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/25/nih-sexual-harassment-investigations-backlog/[3] https://www.khn.org/news/nih-scientists-say-health-disparities-studies-are-underused-and-endangered/[4] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nih-climatechange-idUSKBN28S2A4[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/17/nih-director-defends-covid-19-research-policy-amid-scientific-uproar/

  1. The international scientific community has expressed concerns over the Trump administration's policies, which they believe are causing harm to both American and global citizens' health, through the Bethesda Declaration, a letter signed by over 300 NIH scientists.
  2. This declaration criticizes policies prioritizing political momentum over human safety and responsible stewardship of public resources, causing issues like politicized research, interrupted global collaboration, and budget cuts that impede important scientific work.
  3. The signatories of the Bethesda Declaration argue for a shift in the approach to handling health-and-wellness, including mental health, within the workplace and across general news, emphasizing the protection of vulnerable individuals while allowing most to resume normal activities and achieve herd immunity naturally.
  4. The letter also advocates for policy-and-legislation changes, such as reversing grants that have been delayed or terminated for "political reasons," allowing work with foreign collaborators, and reinstating essential staff who were fired at NIH.
  5. Beyond the Trump administration's policies, scientists have voiced their concerns about various topics, including sexual harassment investigations backlogs, underused and endangered health disparities studies, climate change's impact on research, and the lack of transparency in COVID-19 research policy amid a scientific uproar.

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