Since January, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has canceled as many as 2300 grants in response to President Trump’s executive orders banning federal funds for topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion; racial health disparities; and transgender health. Sixteen state attorneys general and several researchers and scientific groups challenged the terminations and on June 16, Judge William Young of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled the terminations were illegal based on their connection to diversity, equity, and inclusion. On June 24, in an internal memo, NIH reportedly told grants management staff not to terminate any additional grants. In addition, on June 26, NIH moved to reinstate about 900 grants that a judge last week ruled had been canceled illegally.
Funding for NIH in the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2026) is still in jeopardy as the administration has proposed a 40% cut and a massive reorganization. All members of Congress need to hear from constituents about protecting funding for biomedical research. We urge all of our US-based members to join our online advocacy campaign today!
This week, we received encouraging news that funding for the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may soon be restored. Funding for this important research program was cancelled in March. Since then, the Society has worked with diabetes champions in Congress to urge the Administration to restore it: the co-chairs of the House Diabetes Caucus, Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), sent a bipartisan letter in March to Secretary Kennedy and the NIH Director alerting them to their concerns; Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), co-chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the cancellation of DPPOS during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing last month and obtained SHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s commitment to looking into this further and work with NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya to restore the funding; we also engaged Endocrine Society members in a grassroots campaign to Congress. In addition, the Society sent a letter to Congress and a letter to the Administration calling for immediate restoration of the funding. We will continue to work with policy makers to ensure this issue is resolved as soon as possible.
The Endocrine Society is partnering with the European Society for Endocrinology (ESE) and the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) to share with European policy makers our communities’ priorities for a future regulatory framework that will address and minimize exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Because the EU is planning to revise EU chemicals legislation and there is ongoing debate regarding a PFAS restriction proposal, we want to highlight how endocrinologists and scientists are extremely concerned about increases in the incidence of endocrine disorders such as infertility, obesity, diabetes, immune system and neurodevelopmental disorders, and cancers, which have been observed in recent decades. Peer-reviewed scientific studies consistently show that EDCs are contributing factors to these diseases. We are partnering with national endocrine societies in the EU to deliver our messages to health and environment ministers in EU member states prior to the upcoming July 10 meeting of the European environment ministers. As a community, we will call on the EU and national policymakers to implement stricter measures as outlined in detail in the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The full implementation of this strategy is critical to achieve a toxin free environment to the benefit of current and future generations.
In recent weeks, the Endocrine Society has worked to support and protect access to vaccines for all Americans. On June 9, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. terminated the service of all 17 sitting members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the committee responsible for issuing recommendations on vaccine use. Secretary Kennedy’s recent changes to the federal immunization process have raised concerns across the medical and public health community about the ability to access vaccines. This week, the newly reorganized ACIP conducted it's annual meeting to review scientific data and vote on vaccine recommendations. Ahead of the meeting, the Endocrine Society joined with 79 other medical societies to send an open letter reaffirming our support for vaccination as the best way to protect against the flu, COVID-19, and RSV and their potentially serious complications. The letter also calls on partners, insurers, hospitals, and public health agencies to ensure these life-saving vaccines remain available to patients without cost sharing.
Earlier this month we joined with 96 other medical societies in a letter to Secretary Kennedy to urge him to immediately reinstate the previously appointed ACIP members so they can continue their important work through the end of their appointments. The letter urged the Secretary to follow the long-established public process for ACIP nominations and selection of members to ensure that experience and subject-matter expertise are prioritized for vaccination recommendations and reviews. These recent efforts were a result of a resolution that was introduced at the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates annual meeting, which directed the AMA to advocate for protecting access to vaccines.
We rely on your voice to advocate for our policy priorities. Join us to show our strength as a community that cares about endocrinology. Contact your US representatives or European Members of Parliament through our online platform. Take action and make a difference today.
