https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00468-1
"Staff members at the United States’s premier infectious-disease research
institute have been instructed to remove the words “biodefense” and “pandemic
preparedness” from the institute’s web pages, according to e-mails
Nature has
obtained.
The directive comes amid a broader shake-up at the US National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of 27 institutes and centres at
the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIAID is expected to deprioritize
the two topics in an overhaul of its funded research projects, according to
four NIAID employees who spoke to Nature on the condition of anonymity, because
they are not authorized to speak to the press.
NIH director Jay Bhattacharya explained the restructure at an event with other
top agency officials on 30 January. “It’s a complete transformation of [the
NIAID] away from this old model” that has historically prioritized research on
HIV, biodefence and pandemic preparedness, he said. The institute will focus
more on basic immunology and other infectious diseases currently affecting
people in the United States, he added, rather than on predicting future
diseases.
About one-third of the NIAID’s US$6.6-billion budget currently funds projects
involving emerging infectious diseases and biodefence. The research studies
pathogens of concern and monitors their spread, and develops medical
countermeasures against threats from radiation exposure, chemicals and
infectious diseases.
Nahid Bhadelia, director of Boston University’s Center on Emerging Infectious
Diseases in Massachusetts, says the decision to deprioritize these areas will
leave people in the United States more vulnerable to pathogens that are
constantly evolving in wildlife around the world and spilling into human
populations, sometimes sparking outbreaks. “Just because we say we’re going to
stop caring about these issues doesn’t make the issues go away — it just makes
us less prepared,” she says."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
