27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 5/17/26

Written By Anna

Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Protect your peace, check on your people, and keep showing up for the work that matters. Here’s what we think matters this week.

Vigil “Auntie” News 

- The Good -

New resource: 27 UNIHTED brings you fact vs. fiction in Bhattacharya’s Congressional testimony. In his March 17 appearance before the House Appropriations Committee, NIH Director Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya made multiple deceptive claims to lawmakers. Arm yourself with the facts! 27U members have prepared an in-depth analysis that highlights examples of Bhattacharya’s misleading, incomplete, and false statements on topics such as censorship and political interference during the grantmaking process. Watch out for future fact-checks of the NIH Director at 27unihted.org. 

States continue to step up for research funding. Last week, we covered a California lawmaker’s $23B bond proposal. This week, Connecticut announced the release of $35 million in state funds to UConn Health and the University of Connecticut’s academic research programs to help offset federal funding cuts of nearly ~$100 million. 

U.S. Senate gets in the boat with federal workers on pay suspension during government shutdowns. It is an existential responsibility of the U.S. Congress to fund federal agencies. So, in a year that’s seen multiple government shutdowns over funding fights including the longest ever total and single agency shutdowns, it’s been a sore point that most federal workers go without pay during these periods while lawmakers continue to collect their wages. Following a unanimous vote this week, U.S. Senators will now share that pain, with all salaries suspended in solidarity during any appropriations lapse in federal agency funding.

- The Bad -

Administration’s message about “efficiency” and “science for all” conflicts with actual results of policy shifts. Our federal leadership has characterized the rapid contraction of civil service staff as a move towards a “more efficient and effective” workforce and anti-DEI policies in health research as ensuring benefits for “all Americans”. In practice, these changes are having the opposite effect. At the NIH, which has lost 20% of its workforce, staffing shortages are slowing funding rollouts in some institutes as employees concentrate on processing existing grant renewals over new funding awards. Meanwhile, the addition of “text analysis” to flag grant language like “gender” and “racism” for modification, justification, and/or additional layers of approval not only wastes the time and talents of highly trained scientists and reviewers but is also disproportionately stalling research involving historically marginalized study populations. This censorship is also disproportionately impacting minority and female scientists, who are more likely to be doing science that focuses on these populations. Finally, cuts, shortages, and slowdowns at the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, including in addiction monitoring programs, are predicted to have ripple effects for decades, despite their focus on a topic the Administration has declared a priority.

Research institutions and scientists suffer the fallout from federal funding cuts. 

- The Ugly -

Long-time coronavirus researcher faces funding suspension, possible debarment. HHS has suspended funding and initiated debarment proceedings against tenured virologist Dr. Ralph Baric. Dr. Baric’s research helped to understand how RNA viruses infect, spread and evolve (e.g., in SARS, MERS, dengue fever). His lab pioneered a reverse genetics technique that enabled scientists to study viral mechanics in the lab and prepare for potential pandemics. His historically respected work has recently come under attack, however, as the origin of the COVID-19 SARS-CoV2 virus has been politically weaponized. Dr. Baric has announced his retirement but is fighting the threats against his scientific reputation after decades of contributions to vaccine development.

Hundreds of HHS employees reclassified to “at-will”. The politicization of the civil service is here. Supervisors at multiple HHS agencies were notified on Friday that hundreds of senior staff would have their positions re-classified to “at-will” status, stripping employment protections that have long made career civil service a stable career prospect that was resistant to changes in administration. Previously, these senior staff could only be fired for cause and had the right to appeal termination. According to an HHS official, this is only the first wave of rescheduling; more will follow. The re-classifications follow an executive order issued by a President made popular by yelling “You’re fired!” on national television. The shift of “schedule F” employees to the new “Career / Policy” classification is a major risk to a politically independent civil service. While the administration argues that this move increases accountability, those of us on the ground see a growing threat to the integrity of federal science and public health when scientists and experts are no longer shielded to pursue evidence over politics.

Evidence is optional: RFK Jr. targets antidepressants, supports teen tanning beds. Overprescription and an American pill culture are at the root of a failing mental health policy structure, according to some at the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Wellness Summit on May 4th. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a MAHA leader and summit speaker, was particularly critical of SSRI antidepressants, which he has linked in past comments, without evidence, to violence and fetal endangerment. While a better understanding of antidepressant discontinuation and withdrawal could have wide benefits, unfounded stigmatization of the American Psychiatric Association’s first-line recommendation for depression treatment is unhelpful and likely to cause significant harm (as happened when unfounded claims were made about the safety of vaccines, leading to parent hesitancy regarding vitamin K shots for babies and the measles vaccine). Kennedy’s apparent disregard for scientifically grounded policies is also suggested by his abrupt withdrawal of a proposed FDA ban on sunlamps and tanning beds for minors, despite strong evidence linking early UV exposure to a heightened risk of skin cancer.

Science Interrupted

What We’ve Lost: Research on Youth Suicide Risk and Prevention

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people in the United States ages 10-34, with rates on the rise since the turn of the century. The risk for suicide is higher among minority groups, including black, indigenous, and LGBTQI youth. We mentioned a Guardian story last week reporting the removal of trans youth questions from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which has been used to guide suicide prevention programs. But the administration has also terminated multiple NIH grants on this topic, ostensibly for focusing on high-risk groups that overlap with the administration’s anti-DEI priority shift. Dr. Sarah Goff was studying how to improve mental health care delivery for higher-risk children in Massachusetts when her termination notice arrived.

“It is devastating to have state-sanctioned dehumanization and exclusion. I am afraid for what these messages will do to the mental health of youth who are told they don’t matter or, for some, that they don’t even exist by parts of society.” - Dr. Goff

Grant Witness lists several similar NIH grants as “terminated”, including:

  • Biological Mechanisms of Suicidal Behavior among Sexual Minority Adolescents (K01MH117142)

  • A culturally centered CBT protocol for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Latinx youth (R01MD013907)

  • Towards a reliable and valid assessment of preteen suicidal thoughts and behavior (R01MH129457)

  • Violence Exposure and Perpetration in Black and Minoritized Youth (R36MH133338)

Reflection from the Community

“A year later, I still feel waves of grief – not only for what happened to me personally, but also, and especially, of the destruction to NIH and to science. I miss my colleagues, my work, the beautiful spirit and energy of campus. I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing it.”

— Anonymous RIF'd NIH Worker

Leadership Watch

According to Nature, three more leading scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are being pushed out by being reassigned or forced to retire. That would leave only 2 senior officials left out of the 10 in place at the beginning of Trump’s second presidential term. This adds to a growing leadership vacuum at NIH where 16 of 27 Institutes and Centers still lack permanent directors. 

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has officially resigned. FDA’s top food regulator, Kyle Diamantas, is taking over as Acting Commissioner. Mr. Diamantas is a former lawyer and a personal friend of Donald Trump, Jr. but at least one Stat+ writer hopes he’ll be a stabilizing force, at least for the biotech industry, at an agency that has been rocked by significant staff churn in the past year. 

At FEMA, the re-appointment of former acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton is also being received with cautious optimism given that he was fired from the same position in May 2025 one day after advocating before Congress for FEMA’s continued existence. 

AP reported this week on the growing number of temporary and unfilled leadership roles at HHS and on the notable lack of scientific expertise at the top of America’s federal health infrastructure. 

Calls To Action

*NEW* Stand up for the National Science Board. On April 25, the Trump administration dismissed all sitting members of the National Science Board, an independent advisory group for the National Science Foundation. Fight back by signing this open letter to Congress from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine, asking for the reinstatement of fired members and appointments for all vacant positions. 27UNIHTED added its organizational endorsement this week.

Make your voice heard by taking the Federal Employee Exit Survey. The Accountability and Reform Research Consortium (ARRC) invites federal employees who left service on or after November 5, 2024 or who are actively planning their departures to participate in a 20-minute survey to share their experiences and perspectives. Results will be reported publicly in aggregate form; individual responses are confidential. Follow this link to take the survey by May 29.

Submit your comments on NIH’s next strategic plan. NIH has published a brief outline of the agency’s strategic plan for FY27-31 on the Federal Register. Let them know what you think by May 26.

Add your name (or anonymous voice) to urge Congress to impeach OMB Director Russell Vought for unlawfully dismantling government services Americans rely on. The Impeach Vought campaign has over 1,750 of its desired 2,000 signatures! Share the link with friends.

Urge the NIH Assembly of Scientists to support open dialogue. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya’s new “Scientific Freedom Lecture” series opened with a discussion on the origins of COVID-19, hosted by Matt Ridley (a vocal proponent of the controversial lab leak hypothesis), but with no balancing voice in opposition. We urge the NIH Assembly of Scientists to engage in Dr. Bhattacharya’s public commitment to open dialogue by hosting a scientist who supports the animal origin theory of COVID-19.

Reach out to your members of Congress about issues that matter to you. Some possible topics:

Help the NIH Community: Review a resume, host a job workshop, plan a happy hour, volunteer, and/or advocate with 27 UNIHTED. Check out the links on our website to take action and volunteer. 

Upcoming Events

27 UNIHTED Events

Community Events

  • 5/21 - The Professional Services Council (PSC) is hosting their annual FedHealth Conference in Rockville, MD. This event brings together senior government officials and health industry leaders to discuss the policies and issues impacting federal health agencies. NIH Director Bhattacharya will be a featured speaker. May 21, 12 - 5:30 pm, in person and virtual options. Free tickets for full-time federal workers. Register here. 

  • 6/9-10 - For those with an interest in public health policy and advocacy, The American Public Health Association will hold their Policy Action Institute June 9–10 in Arlington, VA and online with an optional Hill Day on June 11. Discounts available for federal agency members and students. Registration required. 

Wellness Weekly

Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self care are:

  • Lift your face to the rain and feel the drops

  • Schedule a meeting with yourself and then cancel it for morale

  • Learn more about Mental Health Awareness Month

  • Check out our new merch shop

  • Donate to your favorite non-profit supporting biomedical research, public health, and the federal scientific workforce

In solidarity,

27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils

Anna
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27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 5/9/26