National Institutes of Health staff have released a formal declaration of dissent against the current administration's policies, citing concerns over terminated research grants totaling $9.5 billion and the politicization of scientific funding decisions.

The Bethesda Declaration, signed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees across all institutes and centers, directly addressed Jayanta Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, Director of the NIH, with specific allegations that administration policies "undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe."

Grant Terminations and Financial Impact

Since January 20, 2025, the NIH has terminated 2,100 research grants totaling approximately $9.5 billion and $2.6 billion in contracts, according to the declaration. The staff document stated these terminations "throw away years of hard work and millions of dollars" and warned that "ending a $5 million research study when it is 80% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million."

The declaration identified specific research areas affected by funding cuts, including health disparities research, COVID-19 infection and long COVID studies, climate change health impacts, gender identity and sexual health research, and programs supporting diverse participation in biomedical research.

Academic Freedom and Peer Review Concerns

NIH staff cited concerns regarding selective application of academic freedom principles and disruption of peer review processes. The declaration stated: "Academic freedom should not be applied selectively based on political ideology. To achieve political aims, NIH has targeted multiple universities with indiscriminate grant terminations, payment freezes for ongoing research, and blanket holds on awards regardless of the quality, progress, or impact of the science."

The document alleged that the "NIH is ignoring peer review to cater to political whims, pulling applications prior to review and removing high-scoring grants from funding consideration." Staff specifically cited the redirection of funding to "unvetted projects like the Taubenberger-Memoli vaccine project" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Research Participant Safety and Ethical Concerns

The declaration raised concerns about participant welfare in terminated studies, stating that "NIH trials are being halted without regard to participant safety, abruptly stopping medications or leaving participants with unmonitored device implants." Staff expressed concerns regarding broken commitments to research participants who "braved personal risk to give the incredible gift of biological samples, understanding that their generosity would fuel scientific discovery and improve health."

International Collaboration and Indirect Cost Changes

The document addressed two additional policy concerns: the dissolution of foreign collaborations and implementation of a 15% cap on indirect costs. Cutting international partnerships "harms research participants and slows scientific discovery, cutting [U.S.] scientists off from the global scientific community, preventing access to technologies only available abroad."

Regarding indirect costs, previously negotiated using established criteria, the declaration stated the "arbitrary 15% cap would hinder research, risk viability of universities and hospitals in states across the country, force universities to rescind graduate student positions, limit undergraduate research training, and damage the incredibly successful NIH-university partnerships."

Staffing Reductions and Operational Impact

The declaration cited "cuts to talented, hardworking professionals and critical departments without thought to their purpose or need [that have] slowed the pace of science, held up extramural grant and contract funding, made NIH less transparent and efficient, and put [NIH] Clinical Center patients at risk."

Supporting Declaration from External Scientists

A separate supporting letter, signed by 2,331 individuals, accompanied the staff declaration. This document emphasized that "decisions and monitoring of applications and grants should be conducted by scientifically trained NIH staff through well-established processes including rigorous peer review" and warned that "such decisions must not be made by anonymous individuals outside of [the] NIH."

The supporting letter provided historical context for U.S. biomedical research achievements, noting that "since 1960, the death rate due to heart disease has been cut in half, [dropping] from 560 deaths per 100,000 [individuals] to approximately 230 deaths per 100,000 today" and that "the 5-year survival rate for childhood leukemia has increased nearly 10-fold, to over 90% for some [types]."

Leadership Response and Future Implications

The declaration referenced Dr. Bhattacharya's previous commitments to academic freedom, stating "dissent is the very essence of science" and "dissenting voices need to be heard and allowed." Staff indicated that they modeled their declaration after Dr. Bhattacharya's Great Barrington Declaration.

The document concluded with staff expressing willingness to collaborate, stating they "want to work together to maintain [the] NIH's tradition of excellence," while noting that some employees chose not to sign "due to a culture of fear and suppression created by this administration."

The declaration represented an unprecedented formal dissent from federal research staff regarding administrative policies affecting biomedical research funding and scientific independence.

Source: Stand Up for Science