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All articles tagged with #nih

politics6 days ago

Former Fauci aide pleads guilty to conspiring to dodge FOIA over COVID-era funding emails

David Morens, a longtime aide to Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to evade federal public records laws related to emails about coronavirus research funding. He admitted coordinating with outside researchers and using a personal Gmail account to hide exchanges to dodge FOIA requests and influence NIH funding for EcoHealth Alliance. Fauci is named in records as the Senior NIAID Official 1 but is not charged. Morens faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, with sentencing set for November 12 as part of a plea deal that dropped four other charges.

via Politico|
#ecohealth-alliance#fauci#foia
Alzheimer’s Research Cited in NIH Cancellations Amid DEI Debates
science8 days ago

Alzheimer’s Research Cited in NIH Cancellations Amid DEI Debates

Two leading U.S. universities say about $15 million in NIH grants studying how racism and discrimination affect brain health and Alzheimer’s risk were canceled as part of a broader DEI-tied effort. Researchers warn the moves disrupt scientifically valid epidemiological work, delay funding and pay, and follow a pattern of politically motivated interference. NIH maintains the projects no longer align with its priorities, while experts describe the strategy as a test case for defensible political action.

via The Guardian|
#alzheimers-disease#dei#funding-cuts
NIH grant cancellations cost Pitt more than $40 million, upending neighborhood-focused research
education18 days ago

NIH grant cancellations cost Pitt more than $40 million, upending neighborhood-focused research

Two NIH grants at the University of Pittsburgh were canceled, ending a combined research effort worth over $21 million and costing the university about $5.04 million in the final years of the awards. The losses hit Alzheimer’s researcher Ann Cohen and epidemiologist Tamara Dubowitz, including Cohen’s $3.5 million and Dubowitz’s $1.54 million, with at least seven staff downsized and ripple effects across labs and community studies involving about 1,100 participants. Since President Trump took office, Pitt has lost roughly $40.7 million in NIH funding, highlighting a broader funding crunch that Pitt says it will navigate while continuing its research and community-health work.

via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|
#community-health#education#grants
NIH Virologists Charged Over Smuggled Monkeypox Samples Sparking Biosecurity Debate
science1 month ago

NIH Virologists Charged Over Smuggled Monkeypox Samples Sparking Biosecurity Debate

Two NIH virologists are charged with allegedly smuggling non-infectious monkeypox samples into the United States after fieldwork in Congo, with authorities saying the samples contained MPXV DNA but were not infectious. The case has triggered political scrutiny of the Rocky Mountain Laboratories and renewed debate over import rules and lab biosecurity, as hearings are set for the involved researchers.

via Nature|
#biosecurity#import-regulations#monkeypox
HHS Unveils Bold Plan to Reclaim U.S. Leadership in Clinical Trials
health2 months ago

HHS Unveils Bold Plan to Reclaim U.S. Leadership in Clinical Trials

The Department of Health and Human Services today launched a department-wide effort to restore U.S. leadership in clinical research, accelerate drug development, and expand patient access to innovative therapies. Key moves include FDA pilots to shorten early-trial timelines and clarify expectations, NIH support for AI-enabled, well-powered trials, NCATS’ translational advances, NCI’s streamlined trial activation and enrollment, ONC’s patient-trial matching via electronic health records, and ARPA-H initiatives to modernize research—all aimed at reducing delays and strengthening domestic biomedical leadership.

via HHS.gov|
#arpa-h#clinical-trials#fda
Activists rally to shield HIV funding from sweeping cuts
health2 months ago

Activists rally to shield HIV funding from sweeping cuts

Activists across generations gathered near Stonewall Inn for a die-in and protest against proposed federal cuts to HIV funding, including Medicaid work requirements, the Ryan White program, and CDC prevention. They warn that interruptions in health coverage and treatment could endanger viral suppression for millions, threaten testing and care, and jeopardize global efforts like Pepfar amid moves to dissolve USAID and tighten NIH HIV research funding. The campaign combines lobbying, legal challenges, and direct action to pressure Congress and states to protect HIV programs and research funding.

via The Guardian|
#advocacy#funding#health
NIH funds UCLA biomaterials breakthroughs for eye repair and wound healing
science2 months ago

NIH funds UCLA biomaterials breakthroughs for eye repair and wound healing

UCLA chemical engineering associate professor Nasim Annabi has secured nearly $2.5 million in NIH grants to develop tunable regenerative biomaterials: a four-year, light-curable hydrogel that encapsulates mesenchymal stem cells to treat corneal injuries, and a two-year, roughly $368,000 award to improve UgiGel, a gelatin-based self-healing bioadhesive dressing with anti-inflammatory properties for chronic wound healing. The corneal project aims to enhance cell retention and tissue regeneration with two hydrogel variants (softer adhesive for epithelium growth and stronger adhesive for tissue repair), while the wound-dressing work seeks stronger adhesion, antioxidant improvements, and temperature-responsive removal, in collaboration with dermatology and medicine researchers at UCLA.

via Samueli School of Engineering, UCLA.|
#biomaterials#corneal-regeneration#nasim-annabi
NIAID taps Powers as acting director amid leadership limbo
health2 months ago

NIAID taps Powers as acting director amid leadership limbo

The NIH appointed John Powers III as acting director of NIAID after weeks of leadership limbo following the departure of former director Jeffery Taubenberger and other leadership reassignments. Powers, Taubenberger’s former deputy and a senior adviser, will lead the institute during a period of heightened attention amid hantavirus and Ebola outbreak concerns, as NIH funds about $6.5 billion for the institute. The appointment was communicated to NIH staff via email.

via statnews.com|
#health#infectious-diseases#john-powers-iii
NIH official backs MAHA at ADA meeting, pushing integrated diabetes research
health-policy2 months ago

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.

via statnews.com|
#ada#diabetes#funding
NIH Virologists Face Conspiracy Charge Over Alleged Monkeypox Shipment
science2 months ago

NIH Virologists Face Conspiracy Charge Over Alleged Monkeypox Shipment

Two NIH scientists, Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, are charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox (mpox) into the United States after returning from Congo with undeclared tubes that later tested positive for mpox DNA; prosecutors say Munster misled border officers by claiming the case contained diagnostics gear, while experts note the inactivated samples could be diagnostic controls, and the case highlights biosafety and border-enforcement tensions in outbreak research.

via Gizmodo|
#cbp#conspiracy#monkeypox
politics2 months ago

NIH Lab Researchers Charged Over Alleged Mpox Smuggling

Two NIH scientists at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, were charged with conspiring to smuggle deactivated mpox from the Republic of Congo into the U.S. and making false statements after authorities found 113 vials (some mpox, chickenpox, and human DNA) during a Detroit-bound shipment; the virus was reportedly deactivated. The case underscores biosafety questions at the lab, with potential penalties up to five years if convicted, and NIH stating it activated enhanced safety protocols and is cooperating with investigators.

via Politico|
#biosafety#department-of-justice#monkeypox
NIH Scientists Charged Over Monkeypox Vial Smuggling Case at Detroit Airport
crime2 months ago

NIH Scientists Charged Over Monkeypox Vial Smuggling Case at Detroit Airport

Two NIH researchers, Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, were charged with conspiracy to smuggle monkeypox into the United States and making false statements after arriving at Detroit from Congo with 113 vials. Federal investigators found that 17 of 20 tested vials contained deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained the chickenpox virus, and two contained human DNA, contradicting the pair’s claim that the box held diagnostics. The case, being pursued by the FBI, CBP and HHS-OIG, carries a potential maximum sentence of five years if convicted.

via Department of Justice (.gov)|
#biosafety-level-4#crime#detroit
Funding Cuts Leave Ebola Research Network Idle During Outbreak
science2 months ago

Funding Cuts Leave Ebola Research Network Idle During Outbreak

NIH-backed Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) received about $82 million over five years but were halted in 2025 after the Trump administration cut funding amid Covid-conspiracy theories; as the Ebola outbreak in the DRC grows, researchers in the U.S. are unable to help due to the funding gap, leaving on-the-ground testing, reagents, and genomic sequencing efforts unused—despite CREID’s past role in rapid detection and outbreak response across Africa.

via WIRED|
#creid#ebola#funding-cuts