Over 60 staff members from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have collectively voiced their concerns in a letter sent on Monday. The letter sharply criticizes what they perceive as the deterioration of America’s medical research infrastructure under the Trump administration. They accuse the administration of not only illegally withholding funds but also of jeopardizing participants in ongoing studies and suppressing crucial research findings.
The letter, addressed to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the NIH director, was also shared online, marking a significant public reproach of the agency’s leadership. Signatories, while acknowledging potential job risks, felt compelled to speak out against directives they believe to be both unethical and, in some instances, illegal.
“We dissent to administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe,” the employees stated in their four-page letter. They further emphasized that despite raising these concerns with NIH leadership, they continue to face pressure to implement detrimental measures.
The letter, known as “The Bethesda Declaration,” draws signatories from various sections of the agency’s 27 institutes and centers. Its name pays homage to both the location of the NIH headquarters and a 2020 statement by Dr. Bhattacharya, which opposed Covid-19 lockdowns.
In that controversial 2020 declaration, Dr. Bhattacharya, then a Stanford University economist and professor of medicine, advocated for lifting lockdowns to allow the virus to spread among younger, healthier demographics. Despite facing criticism from NIH officials at the time, after his nomination to lead the agency, he vowed to “establish a culture of respect for free speech in science and scientific dissent at the NIH.”
This recent letter from NIH employees tests this promise, as they concluded, “We hope you will welcome this dissent.”
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