Lynda Coughlan

A short sighted decision which will lead to deaths and impact preparedness for future infectious disease outbreaks.

There is so much damage being done to our country right now but surely turning HHS over to a gang of malignant and scientifically illiterate goons is among the worst of it

JUST IN: HHS shuts down BARDA mRNA vaccine program

Scrapping the fastest platform we have is a reckless move rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of vaccinology. No respiratory vaccine blocks all infections. mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives.

www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds The Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration, by abruptly canceling NIH grants, had violated a 1974 federal law

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/g... via @statnews.com

Florida reports 21 cases of E.coli infections linked to raw milk The Florida Department of Health said on Monday that there have been 21 cases of Campylobacter and E. coli infections linked to drinking raw milk in the state, including six children under 10.

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We poke fun at RFK Jr.’s nonsense — intimate lamprey encounters, aluminum conspiracies, raw milk evangelism — but it’s not just absurd.

His ideas cause real harm — especially to people with the least protection from bad policy. 🧵

Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked ... This report describes a Salmonella outbreak linked to ...

more on raw milk: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

My colleagues and I are meeting with the NIH Director this afternoon to discuss the impacts of recent policy changes on early career researchers.

It's a packed agenda, but if you have something you'd like me to try and share, please let me know.

Why have NOAs for F grants almost ground to a halt? Particularly from NIAID. If the NIH Director is so keen on supporting ECRs why are awards for grants with fundable scores (and JIT submitted months ago) not forthcoming?

Senate committee endorses NIH budget increase, rebuking Trump administration’s proposed 40% cut Senators from both parties endorsed a $400 million increase to the budget of the National Institutes of Health on Thursday

Senators from both parties endorsed a $400 million increase to the budget of the National Institutes of Health www.statnews.com/2025/07/31/n...

With boost to NIH budget, Senate panel rejects Trump’s plan to slash agency Republicans on spending committee push back against proposed reorganization and overhead cuts

Will NCI and others revise their paylines? Or does forward funding making it meaningless for the transition period?

www.science.org/content/arti...

Senate appropriators approve Labor-HHS bill with NIH bump The vote and lawmaker comments show that most senators aren't going along with the White House's proposed 40% budget cut to NIH.

BIG NEWS:

“Senate appropriators on Thursday approved an FY26 Labor-HHS bill that included a slight bump in funding for the NIH, with a strong 26–3 bipartisan vote.”

Thank you to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on both sides of the aisle!

www.axios.com/pro/health-c...

Extra kudos and thanks to all the staff at NIH and NSF and other federal funding agencies for working extra hard in very small windows of opportunity to get grants reviewed and funds released before the attention-addled federal policies change again (on an hourly basis).

Let's please keep the remaining staff at NIH, NSF, etc in our thoughts even as you lose sleep over your own lab and scientific career.

They are enduring pure chaos to try to hold the fort.

See snapshot from wapo.st/4feKKuu (gift 🔗) saying they are "barely holding it together"

NIH director talks grant terminations controversy, Bethesda Declaration, making America healthy "We haven't yet achieved the mission of the NIH, which is research that improves the health and longevity of the American people," Jay Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya has been making the rounds following the #BethesdaDeclaration roundtable.

It’s disappointing (but not surprising) to see him spreading the same disinformative talking points colleagues corrected at the roundtable.

federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2...

This is deeply disappointing.

Congress mandates that the WH have an Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy and a director

www.congress.gov/crs-product/...

Trump administration halts, then releases, NIH research funding The decision temporarily froze $15 billion in federal funding, according to one senator. It came as Trump officials wrestle over federal spending levels.

A senior leader at one NIH institute said: “At my level we are legitimately trying to figure out how to keep funding high-impact science given what we expect will happen.”
The senior leader added: “Our grants people are barely holding it together because they are at the center of this chaos.”

Trump administration halts, then releases, NIH research funding The decision temporarily froze $15 billion in federal funding, according to one senator. It came as Trump officials wrestle over federal spending levels.

Okay, serious whiplash. WaPo is reporting funds are back on. The Aug 15 pocket rescission date still stands. But hopefully we have a little more time. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump administration blocks NIH from awarding any research grants and contracts The order applies to the entirety of new and, possibly, ongoing research grant dollars that go to universities and academic medical centers.

“President Trump and Russ Vought are working to make it official that they do in fact intend to decimate lifesaving research in this country,”

www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/t...

Trump administration blocks NIH from awarding any research grants and contracts The order applies to the entirety of new and, possibly, ongoing research grant dollars that go to universities and academic medical centers.

#Breaking: Trump administration blocks NIH from awarding any research grants and contracts
www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/t...

The White House heard all your concerns about 4% paylines

The solution? 0% paylines

Between this and the news that Vought has stopped the NIH from issuing any more grants this year — (illegally) refusing to spend money that Congress has allocated — we're getting a glimpse of what could be a really ugly future for higher ed and science / technology in the US. And it's coming fast.

Trump Administration Puts New Chokehold on Billions in Health-Research Funding The National Institutes of Health can’t award grants to outside researchers under a new White House restriction.

NEW
The White House is blocking the NIH from awarding new research grants for the rest of the fiscal year

Chokes off billions in research funding

Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol... with @nidhisubs.bsky.social

...and Clinical Center expenses.

Research grant, R&D contract, or training awards cannot be issued during this pause. We are working to make this limitation short-term and temporary, and will provide updates as available."

Trump administration still illegally impounding funds, despite Congress politely asking it to stop impounding funds.

I can confirm the news. Leadership received an email today saying

"NIH has received the full-year apportionment from OMB, but it contains a footnote that limits our obligations. At the moment, ASFR has interpreted this footnote to permit NIH obligations only for salaries, administrative expenses...

Trump Administration Puts New Chokehold on Billions in Health-Research Funding The National Institutes of Health can’t award grants to outside researchers under a new White House restriction.

The NIH can’t award ANY grants to outside researchers under new WH restriction, reports @wsj.com.

The pause came in the form of a footnote from OMB Director Vought, in a document that doles out federal funds to the NIH.

Prelude to rescissions, especially after his comments over the weekend?

Trump administration blocks NIH from awarding any research grants and contracts The order applies to the entirety of new and, possibly, ongoing research grant dollars that go to universities and academic medical centers.

STAT Story

www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/t...

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Vinay Prasad departs the FDA A top FDA official is out after less than 3 months on the job.

#Breaking: Vinay Prasad, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration, has suddenly departed after a series of controversial decisions about a treatment for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/v...

Welcome to the 12th century