The freezing orders of travel, meetings, communications and hiring at the National Institutes of Health – and all the other agencies of the Ministry of Health and Social Services – have funded by some researchers funded by the federal government to a few days a few days before President Donald Trump’s second term.
The researchers say that they have received emails canceling key meetings which determine which research projects to finance and that they are concerned about the way in which these disturbances and others could block the billions of dollars in the projects financed by the Universities of NIH.
“I suspect that people outside the sciences do not understand how short delay in funding decisions can be disrupted Posted on Bluesky Thursday alongside many other researchers concerned. “This is how we lose enormous amounts of scientific capacity, of scientific capacity that we, as a collective, have already invested enormous amounts of time and money, simply lighting it on fire to watch the flames. “
Some research policy experts say that a break is typical of the first days of a new administration and that it is too early to say if this week’s order is a concern. Others, however, interpret it as part of a broader message from Trump, which has repeatedly undermined the scientific conclusions on COVID-19 and climate change and Nominé Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Who wrongly claims that there are no safe or effective vaccines, to direct the HHS.
While Kennedy, who previously has sworn to promulgate mass dismissals At NIH, and the other candidates of Trump’s office await confirmation from the Senate, Trump has already expressed a blitz decrees – including some that retreat diversity And environmental justice initiatives, as well as protections for federal workers and immigrants – during the White House retirement on Monday. (In addition to those of HHS, all federal agencies are also under a job freeze.)
“It is not unknown to see certain things on a break when a new administration takes over, but when we look at the whole of the language and the decrees that have been released this week, they are all linked together,” said Jennifer Jones, Director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of CONCEDIVE Scientists. “The objective is to intimidate, cool and create this kind of exact fear.”
A communications freeze
This fear for researchers affiliated with NIH came after Dorothy Fink, interim secretary of HHS, sent a memo on Tuesday To all HHS division chiefs, including NIH directors, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Food and Drug Administration.
“While the new administration considers its plan to manage federal policy and public communication processes, it is important that the appointments and designates of the president have the possibility of examining and approving any regulations, orientation, documents and other Public documents and communications (including social media), ”explained the service note, which asked the agency employees to refrain from many forms of communication, including subsidy announcements and speaking In public, until a man named presidential can see them again. The note is in force until February 1.
A spokesperson for the NIH said ED inside By e-mail that the restrictions apply to communication “not directly linked to emergency or essential to the preservation of health” and that “exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions think that the mission is critical” will be made ” case by case ”.
On Wednesday, Glenda Conroy, a senior travel manager for NIH, sent an email to NIH employees informing them that all sponsored trips for HHS employees are also suspended until further notice.
Research disturbances
Currently, all these restrictions mean that the scheduled meetings have been canceled or postponed, including the NIH study sections, which convene scientific experts to decide which projects to finance.
And researchers affiliated to the university constitute an important part of the subsidy request pool. The NIH of $ 44 billion is the largest source of federal research funding for colleges and universities, which receive billions of subsidies every year to support medical research and other scientists, including those who have advanced treatments for current diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Chrystal Starbird, assistant biology professor and cancer researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine a few days ago, he was canceled.
“In the end, the NIH will continue to work, so it may not be a huge problem, but for people examined now,” she said. “None of these subsidies will be examined in time. The question is: how are they going to come together again to review the grant? »»
And the reassessment of study sections for weeks or months after the ascent of communication restrictions can disrupt certain current projects.
“Some people may use this funding to carry out research that may have more time pressure,” said Starbird, noting that clinical research generally adheres to strict patient monitoring calendars. “We must recognize that there is already a significant impact of this break.”
“Too early to assume” the worst case?
Carrie Wolinetz, a consultant in science and health policy that worked for the NIH between 2015 and 2023, said in an email that communications frost was similar to the memos of previous transitions. Although she recognized that the break of the study section meetings seem wider than the previous transitions, this does not strike it “as a lot outside the standard of activities that could be interrupted while a new team is in transition ”.
And although it is understandable that all these restrictions “provoke anxiety”, she said that he was “too early to assume this worst scenario”.
“It becomes a concern if there is a long cessation of activity, the kind you might feel if there was a prolonged government closure,” she said. “There will probably be a minimum short -term impact – other than people who jumped on flights only to discover that their meeting was canceled, which I imagine was quite irritating.”
But others warn that the implementation of such restrictions for a short period could force people to get out of their work, create a talented vacuum and potentially stall innovation.
“Even if it is a short time, the uncertainty of financing can have implications for career change, in particular for young scientists,” said Erica Goldman, former academic and director of political entrepreneurship for the Federation of American scientists, in an email.
“If conferences or trips are canceled, for example, the inability to present new ideas and network with senior colleagues can have cascade effects,” she continued. “I remember the experiences, data and professionals who have left the field during COVID-19. Even temporary breaks can have lasting consequences. »»