Weekly Update: April 28- May 2, 2025

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• NIH Grant Terminations.  This page is updated nightly with information on terminated grants, based on both information published by HHS and self-reported terminations from scientists. Every effort is made to ensure accuracy, but there is uncertainty in data shared or published.  Grant Tracker: NIH Grant Terminations in 2025. Related to the termination issue is a new and upsetting NIH notice issued today for all NIH recipients in their Terms and Conditions “Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award”. The notice says: By accepting the grant award, recipients are certifying that: (i) They do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEI, DEIA, or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws; and (ii) They do not engage in and will not during the term of this award engage in, a discriminatory prohibited boycott.

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• Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump - KFF Health News: Although this report is not specific to substance use research, it does document the states most impacted by NIH grant terminations, and it provides some interesting insights into the rationale for terminations.  Given the research conducted on the impact of alcohol consumption and AUD on exposure to COVID, this information from an NIH grant termination might be of interest: “It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment,” the notice read.

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• Medicaid’s Ongoing Critical Role in the U.S. Response to the Opioid and Overdose Crisis.  This issue brief discusses Medicaid's crucial role in opioid use disorder prevention and treatment, from sustaining innovative programs for families (Manatt) and assessing post-COVID pandemic disenrollment impacts on buprenorphine access (RAND), to tracking Medicaid policies for incarcerated populations (Legal Action Center) and engaging states on funding priorities (NASHP).  

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• These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration, and from the keywords listed in grant applications!

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• Trump-Allied Prosecutor Sends Letters to Medical Journals Alleging Bias - The New York Times   “A federal prosecutor has sent letters to at least three medical journals accusing them of political bias and asking a series of probing questions suggesting that the journals mislead readers, suppress opposing viewpoints and are inappropriately swayed by their funders.  The letters were signed by Edward Martin Jr., a Republican activist serving as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. He has been criticized for using his office to target opponents of President Trump. Some scientists and doctors said they viewed the letters as a threat from the Trump administration that could have a chilling effect on what journals publish.”  Will addiction specialty journals be next?    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/health/trump-martin-us-attorney-medical-journals.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare 

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• Trump vs. Science. Although this NYTimes article does not mention addiction research, it does provide a useful explanation of the administration’s approach to science. “By some measures, every dollar spent on research returns at least $5 to the economy.” 

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• New NIH director defends grant cuts as part of shift to support MAHA vision | Science | AAAS  “ In his first public remarks, Bhattacharya emphasizes his overall support for agency but was neither encouraging nor discouraging in his remarks about DEI and institute consolidation at the NIH.  On the discontinuation of grants related to DEI, he said “DEI is a “political ideology,” he said, that doesn’t directly address chronic disease. The term does not apply to studying disease in minority populations, he said, which “are a central focus of the NIH and will continue to be under my watch.”  Regarding consolidation and reductions in research budgets, several people at the meeting reported in this article “asked about a draft White House proposal to cut more than 40% from NIH’s 2026 budget and pare its 27 institutes and centers down to just eight. Bhattacharya said he could not comment on the budget but noted that he has met with many members of Congress and that “bipartisan support for NIH [is] continuing.””

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• NIH guts its first and largest study centered on women | Science | AAAS  President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be killing much, if not all, of a historic initiative that was the first, and is still the largest, National Institutes of Health (NIH) effort centered on the health needs of women. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) has enrolled tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials of hormones and other medications and tracked the health of many thousands more over more than 3 decades.

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• RFK Jr. faces mixed reception, unruly crowd at major addiction conference.   In speech punctuated by protests, Kennedy stressed personal and supported use of addiction medications.  

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• ‘This Is Not How We Do Science, Ever’   This article describes how the Trump administration is manipulating government-sponsored research to get the answers it wants.

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• Trump proposes massive NIH budget cut and reorganization | Science | AAAS  April 17  “The abolished institutes focus on nursing research, alternative medicine, minority health, and global health research. Fifteen of the remaining 20 institutes would find homes in five new institutes, dealing with “body systems,” neuroscience, general medical science, disability, and behavioral health.” “This is going to completely kneecap biomedical research in this country,” says Jennifer Zeitzer, deputy executive director at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.”