NIH official backs MAHA at ADA meeting, pushing integrated diabetes research

At ADA's 2026 scientific sessions, a senior NIH adviser endorsed the Make America Healthy Again agenda, framing diabetes as a case for NIH-wide, integrated prevention research and acknowledging funding cuts under a new administration. He defended MAHA’s emphasis on rigorous, root-cause science—including exposome, environmental factors, and vaccines research—while avoiding a vaccine-autism link. His remarks followed the NIH director’s cancellation of a Trump-era venue appearance; the talk elicited applause amid policy questions about peer review and grant disbursement. Five ADA registrants were escorted from the conference for distributing a critical editorial about changes to biomedical research, according to ADA.