NIH director removed four chief scientists among employees on a large scale
The Trump administration has fired four leaders and thousands of employees at the National Institute of Health at “One of the most dark days”.
J Bhattacharya took over as Director of the US National Institute of Health on 1 April 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
But Health economist J BhattacharyaOn the first day as the head of the US National Institute of Health (NIH), out of 27 institutions and centers, the heads of four, who make their agency-were also removed from their posts-including officials of the country’s top infectious-people. Comes amidst unprecedented steps Large -scale cuts to research NIH,
National Institute of Allergy and Infections Disease (NIAID), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Dispenser (NIMHD) and National Institute of Nursing Research (NIMHD) and Directors of Nursing Research (NINR) were informed on 31 March. Was kept on leave. Together, these leaders were in charge of US $ 9 billion in funding in NIH.
At least some directors were offered re -evaluation to a division of Indian Health Services, Department of Human Services (HHS) that provides medical care to indigenous people living in the United States. (HHS is NIH’s original agency.) “HHS has proposed to re-hand over you as part of a comprehensive effort to strengthen the department and promote the health of American people more effectively,” readers read an email. Nature Has received “This is worthy of the highest quality of the undested community service, and HHS needs individuals like you to distribute that service,” it says, offering revaluation at places like Alaska, Montana and Oklahoma.
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These are unheard of large -scale revaluation NIH, The world’s largest public funder of biomedical research: Although the director of NIH and the director of one of its institutes, the National Cancer Institute, is the political appointments selected by the US President, 26 directors of NIH institutions and centers are not commonly replaced when the President’s administration changes. (NIMHD director Eliso Perez-Stable, for example, was in his role for nearly 10 years under three different American presidents.) But US President Donald Trump, who took over in January, Not following the criteria of previous administration During his second chairmanship.
“It will go down as one of the most dark days in my 50 years in my 50 years in the business,” Michael Oosterhom says, an infectious-miscreant at the University of Minnesota in Minianpolis. “These research is going to suffer heavy losses for the community.”
When asked for a response, NIH directed Nature For HHS for comments. NIH’s top communication officer, Renet Miles, was also placed on administrative leave, according to an agency staff member who requested oblivion because he was not authorized to talk with the press. HHS did not reply NatureQuestion by publication time.
A consolidation of power
Removing directors leads to an announcement last week HHS chief Robert F. Kennedy JR Their agency, including NIH, will reduce its workforce by 20,000 employees, or about one-fourth of its staff members. Large -scale pruning on administrative staff has been targeted, but many scientists, including them, are included HIV Prevention Program and Research Have also been affected.
Sorting will a long time challenge the situation that NIH’s institutions and centers have within the agency-as in-deployment institutions. Within each institute, legislative, communication, IT and other administrative workers received the end notice in early 1 April, a step designed to strengthen power under the NIH Director. Another NIH official said, “NIH RIFS (reduction in force) will stop working; It will take months to bring things back online,” said NIH official who requested oblivion as they were not authorized to speak with the press.
On April 1, agency staff members in their first e-mail, which was obtained by NatureBhattacharya wrote: “The major NIH of these deductions in the workforce will have a profound impact on administrative functions … and how we pursue them will require a completely new approach.”
Bhattacharya has also written that he wanted NIH With the aim of restricting political influence on government science,
Meanwhile, in the last month, NIH has abolished the funding study of more than 700 research grants. Growing list of topics: Projects on transgender population; gender identity; Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the scientific workforce; Covid-19; Vaccine hesitant; And environment justice.
Of these grant cancellations, an inconsistent number comes from funded research in NIAID, NICHD, NIMHD and NINR. These institutions fund many projects that collide with Trump’s political ideology, a possible explanation to target these directors.
Niad-He was headed by an infectious-disease physician Jean Marzo and before that, it has been examined by Anthony Faussi, especially by Trump and other Republican politicians. Alleged deficiencies under grant supervision Financial research on risky pathogens and Sars-Cov-2 Koronwirus. Orthodox policy makers introduced a bill in February, which proposes to destroy the Niaid and divide it into three separate institutions.
Treatment of these directors is “clearly unconscious,” says Monica Bertagnoli, former NIH Director The predecessor of Trump, which biden, under a democrat. “These are all excellent leaders, who were allowed to go without accounting for losses that can be done with the loss of research productivity and the disadvantage of programs that distribute life-saving treatments.”
This article is reproduced with permission and was first published On April 1, 2025,
