Tensions escalate at NIH as Bhattacharya allows health disparities research to wither

Despite his avowed support for vulnerable people, his tenure has seen such science swept up in the Trump administration's attack on DEI.

August 1, 2025 Check out STAT+

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Marian F. Moratinos for STAT STAT+ | Jay Bhattacharya once studied health disparities. As NIH director, he's allowed such research to wither STAT examines NIH director's journey from studying health disparities to heading agency where 1,000 grants have been axed over DEI concerns By Anil Oza, Usha Lee McFarling, and Eric Boodman STAT+ | MAGA influencers take a sudden interest in Medicare Advantage reforms, echoing a dark money group Pro-Trump influencers trained their fire on Sen. Bill Cassidy after he proposed reforms to Medicare Advantage By Casey Ross and John Wilkerson FDA to stress opioids' risk of overdose, death in new medication safety labels The decision comes nearly 30 years after initial approval of OxyContin, the now-infamous painkiller sold by Purdue Pharma. By Lev Facher Jenny Kane/AP STAT+ | In health insurers' race to offload unprofitable members, winners begin to emerge The returns health insurers saw in the first half of 2025 were largely determined by what they did in the previous two years. By Tara Bannow STAT+ | AIDS activists sue HHS to obtain Gilead settlement over patents for HIV prevention pills Advocacy groups argued Gilead exploited the federal government by using the benefits of intellectual property to charge ever-higher prices By Ed Silverman STAT+ | Representatives of expert groups to be barred from work supporting CDC's vaccine advisers A notice said the move was to prevent "bias" on ACIP work groups. It comes as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reshaped vaccine policy. By Helen Branswell ADOBE Opinion: The FDA's plan on fluoride supplements is bad science The FDA says it expects to remove prescription fluoride supplements from the market after completing a review. But a predetermined outcome is bad science. By Peter J. Pitts Opinion: The U.S. needs a revolution to harness the potential of GLP-1s for weight loss Where is the national plan to facilitate the widespread, safe delivery to eligible Americans of GLP-1s like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound? By Gavin Hart

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