Scientific gatherings and panels across federal science agencies were canceled on Wednesday, at a time of heightened sensitivity about how the Trump administration –and whack job Bob Kennedy — will shift the agencies’ policies and day-to-day affairs. Via STAT:
Several meetings of National Institutes of Health study sections, which review applications for fellowships and grants, were canceled without being rescheduled, according to agency notices reviewed by STAT. A Feb. 20-21 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, a panel that advises the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy, was also canceled. So was a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria that was scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29.
The scope of the cancellations was unclear. It was also unclear whether they were related to the Trump administration’s freeze on external communications until Feb. 1.
“Peer review via study sections is required by law in order for the NIH to disburse most of the $40 billion annual extramural budget,” said Norman E. Sharpless, a former director of the National Cancer Institute, part of the NIH. “If study sections and advisory council meetings are postponed for more than even a brief period, this will likely lead to interruptions in grant funding, which is bad for U.S. biomedical research.”
An NIH spokesperson did not answer questions about study section cancellations, but provided a general statement. “HHS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health,” said the spokesperson. “This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization. There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis.”
Oh great. It’s going to be a horrible four years, isn’t it? I mean, we knew that, but they will leave no stone unturned, thanks to Project 2025.
