Usha Lee McFarling

Thank you @usha.bsky.social & colleagues at @statnews.com for always speaking truth to power! ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾

Terminating or not funding health disparities research is not the path to making Americans healthier.

Denying scientists funding by terminating grants or opportunities does not make it a meritocracy.

Thanks Jeremy. We felt this important to document.

Jay Bhattacharya once studied health disparities. As NIH director, he’s allowed such research to wither Jay Bhattacharya’s tenure as NIH director has seen health disparities research swept up in the Trump administration’s attack on DEI

NEW: Massive and confusing inconsistencies at NIH. New director says health disparities research is critical yet grants are being cut left and right. With @aniloza.bsky.social and @ericboodman.bsky.social. (Also my last story for STAT. 😢) www.statnews.com/2025/08/01/n...

The 2025 Freeman Hrabowski Scholars | HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholars are outstanding early career faculty who have the potential to become leaders in their research fields.

Congratulations to all the amazing scientists named 2025 Freeman Hrabowski Scholars by @hhmi.org! We’re proud to have to #BlackInBiophysics faculty members, @doctheagrif.bsky.social and @cobarnes27.bsky.social among this outstanding group. We wish you the best in this next stage of your careers! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Why a lot of Native American deaths are not counted Native American deaths are significantly undercounted because of errors in death certificates, a new study claims.

Important story: Native American longevity rates even lower than previously thoughts because their race is often recorded wrong on death certificates. Story by new STAT intern Marissa Russo. www.statnews.com/2025/06/18/l...

Please, please, please give money to @thecity.nyc You saw @gwynnefitz.bsky.social's video of Lander's arrest today.

I'll say it: @thecity.nyc is very poor. The staff is working on measly salaries. You can count on Gwynne to cover ICE and all of the protests. They need help to keep going.

⚡️👀MEMPHIS: “The @NAACP filed an intent to sue Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI over concerns about air pollution generated by a supercomputer located near predominantly Black communities.”
www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

Reading these quotes from Judge Young is just so satisfying. They validate what so many of us have been saying inside #NIH.

He called it “palpably clear” that what was behind the government actions was “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community.”

CDC interim leaders, in first all-hands meeting, speak of 'myth-busting' and 'resilience' The interim leadership of the CDC held its first all-hands meeting of the Trump administration, and STAT listened in.

Things at CDC really mind-boggling. Of course STAT's @helenbranswell.bsky.social is on the case. www.statnews.com/2025/06/17/c...

The Minnesota shooter apparently used data broker websites to find the home addresses of the people he shot and murdered.

Congress has had years to do something about data brokers and they've sided with the tech lobby over and over again.

Their inaction is deadly.

Subject: From the NIH Principal Deputy Director: Guidance relating to NIH Priorities Colleagues, It has come to our attention that some staff are giving guidance to various employees that the word "diversity" may not be used in any context, and that anything with the word "diversity" in it is not allowed. This is not true. For example, an employee was told they could not go to a conference to discuss research on "neurodiverse individuals." Others are being told not to use the phrase "genetic diversity." Obviously, this is bad guidance. There are clearly many appropriate uses of the word diversity, and in no way does the NIH police speech or ban

Please ask your staff to use common sense when implementing NIH priorities or ensuring compliance with executive orders. If they are not sure about something, they should ask up their chain of command to get an answer. For NIH to continue its important mission, all staff must work collaboratively to promote rigorous science that does not discriminate and that will lead to potential breakthroughs for the health of all Americans. Please share this information with other leadership across your ICOs as appropriate. Matt

In an email to staff, NIH deputy director Matt Memoli says: "It has come to our attention that some staff are giving guidance... that the word 'diversity' may not be used in any context."

"Obviously this is bad guidance... Please ask your staff to use common sense when implementing NIH priorities."

THIS IS IT! THIS IS HUGE!!

PLAINTIFF'S WIN!!

Judge Young rules that the NIH grant terminations at issue in these cases are illegal and therefore vacated. BOOM!

While funding cuts on "topics such as geosciences, computer science, biology, and social science" have been heavily covered. "What you don't see is #healthequity, which I think is a really glaring lack and something we as reporters need to start focusing more on," @usha.bsky.social McFarling said.

Uncovering misconduct among the Alzheimer’s ‘amyloid mafia’ At HJ25 in L.A., Charles Piller spoke about his book delving into the world of Alzheimer's research misconduct.

Fraud, misconduct, and group-think in Alzheimer’s research - thanks to @healthjournalism.org and @usha.bsky.social for inviting me to speak to health journalists about the findings in my book, "Doctored" -- good recap by @emilybazar.bsky.social healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/06...

Hundreds of NIH grant terminations are 'void and illegal,' federal judge rules A federal judge ruled that some of the grant terminations by the National Institutes of Health on DEI grounds are “void and illegal.”

“I have never seen racial discrimination by the government like this” in 40 years on the bench, says Reagan-appointed judge (to gasps in the courtroom) as he calls NIH grant terminations "void and illegal." Story by @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/n...

Cutting the NIH—The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe This JAMA Forum discusses the recent budget cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH), the effects of these cuts on scientific research and health of individuals in the US, and the prospects for cha...

Over the next 25 years, if proposed cuts in NIH funding are made real, “In a population of more than 340 million, this reflects **82 million** fewer years of life.”

In the US alone.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

In fight over research overhead funding, universities propose alternatives to Trump's cuts Exclusive: Facing NIH cuts in "indirect cost" funding, universities float new models to streamline requests and ensure support for research overhead, labs, and federal grants.

More on the battle over indirect costs within research funding by my colleague @jonathanwosen.bsky.social (who you should follow!) www.statnews.com/2025/06/13/n...

HHS reverses hundreds of CDC firings The Trump administration has reversed the firings of hundreds of staffers at the CDC.

More rehiring of fired federal employees. Anyone else dizzy? By @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/06/11/h...

Ousted CDC vaccine adviser says RFK Jr.'s message is clear: ‘Scientific expertise is no longer of use’ Terminated CDC vaccine adviser Helen Chu spoke with STAT about her fears for the future of vaccine policy

Helen Chu is one of the ousted #ACIP members. She spoke to me today about her grave concerns for future vaccination policy and vaccine access in the United States. www.statnews.com/2025/06/10/c...

NIH restores DEI prohibition for grant recipients within hours of rescinding it The NIH rescinded a 7-week-old DEI directive on Monday, only to reinstate it hours later without explanation.

As @aniloza.bsky.social says so well, "File it under bureaucratic whiplash." NIH rescinds anti-DEI policy only to reinstate it hours later. Was it a mistake? Will it be rescinded again? HHS not answering questions, leaving researchers only more confused. www.statnews.com/2025/06/10/n...

Health secretary RFK Jr. abruptly fires CDC vaccine advisory panel Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken the extraordinary step of firing the expert panel that advises the CDC.

This is the big one: Kennedy is firing the entire #ACIP in a move he says is needed to restore confidence in vaccines.
"It scares me to think of what’s ahead,” Mike Osterholm of CIDRAP told me. www.statnews.com/2025/06/09/r...

Health secretary RFK Jr. abruptly fires CDC vaccine advisory panel Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken the extraordinary step of firing the expert panel that advises the CDC.

BREAKING: Sec. Kennedy fires CDC vaccine advisory panel www.statnews.com/2025/06/09/r...

Our June 16 webinar features Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director @apha.org, @usha.bsky.social, national science correspondent @statnews.com, and Dr. Monica Peek, Ellen H. Block Professor of Health Justice at the
University of Chicago Medicine. Register here: bit.ly/HealthEquity...

NIH walks back ban on new grants for universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts The NIH has rescinded a policy requiring recipients of new grants to certify they do not have unlawful DEI programs or boycotts of Israel.

NIH walks back ban on DEI -- but officials there are not answering questions from @aniloza.bsky.social so unclear what this means for new/existing/pending/terminated grants, or why policy was suddenly rescinded. www.statnews.com/2025/06/09/n...

Tracking older LGBTQ+ people’s health: ‘I hear their voices and their stories’ Undeterred by US funding cuts, behavioural-health researcher Jason Flatt studies how dementia affects people from sexual and gender minorities.

Proud of the opportunity to share and have my career story highlighted in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: US veterans agency orders scientists not to publish in journals without clearance Move that seeks political control of doctors’ and scientists’ published research fits a pattern of censorship by the Trump administration, veterans advocates say

Two VA pulmonologists rebuked by Trump administration for warning, in a @nejm.org article, that cancelled contracts, layoffs, and planned staff reductions jeopardize the health of a million veterans seeking help for conditions linked to toxic exposure.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Young scientists say they may abandon research as their career options shrink amid Trump cuts Across New England and the country, thousands of budding scientists have awoken to a stark new reality, following funding cuts by the Trump Administration.

www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/y...

This is such a smart way to do local journalism. More, please.

‘Corrupt’ medical journals have to change, RFK Jr. says, or the NIH will publish in-house The criticism of The Lancet, NEJM and JAMA is not new, but the health secretary may use his position to influence research that journals publish.

‘Corrupt’ medical journals, including NEJM and JAMA, have to change, RFK Jr. says, or the NIH will publish in-house, per new @aniloza.bsky.social story.

The remarks come a week after the FDA commissioner rolled out a new vaccine framework in ... NEJM.

www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/r...