WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Nearly 100 National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have signed a bold public letter denouncing sweeping cuts to research funding under the Trump administration, marking an unprecedented moment of internal dissent within the nation’s top biomedical research agency.
Dubbed the Bethesda Declaration, the four-page letter was sent June 9 to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and key members of Congress. It accuses NIH leadership of allowing politically driven decisions to derail the agency’s scientific mission, endanger public health, and waste billions in taxpayer-funded research. The letter begins with a simple but powerful message: “We dissent.”
In total, 92 NIH researchers, program directors, and scientific review officers signed the declaration with their names, while an additional 250 employees endorsed it anonymously, citing a “culture of fear and suppression” within the agency (Associated Press, June 10, 2025). The signatories represent all 27 NIH institutes and centers.
The protest is a direct challenge to Bhattacharya’s leadership just months into his tenure. During his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year, Bhattacharya, a Stanford physician known for his controversial opposition to pandemic lockdowns, declared: “Dissent is the very essence of science.” Now, those words are being turned back on him by his own staff.
The Bethesda Declaration describes deep institutional upheaval following the abrupt termination of more than 2,100 NIH-funded research grants, totaling over $12 billion. The signers say the cuts have upended critical clinical trials, left participants without care, and squandered years of progress.
In one halted study, NIH researchers investigating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Haiti had to stop antibiotic treatment midway, risking the health of vulnerable patients. In other trials, completed data went unanalyzed, rendering costly studies effectively useless. “Ending a $5 million research study when it is 80% complete does not save $1 million,” the letter reads. “It wastes $4 million.”
Among the organizers is Jenna Norton, a researcher at the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. After initially concealing her identity at a public forum, Norton revealed herself as one of the declaration’s lead authors. “I want people to know how bad things are at NIH,” she told the Associated Press. “I am so scared about doing this, but I’m trying to be brave for my kids.”
Sarah Kobrin, a branch chief at the National Cancer Institute, signed the letter after seeing her work shift from advancing cancer care to mitigating the damage of grant terminations. “So much of it is gone — my work,” said Kobrin, a 21-year NIH veteran. “I don’t want to be a collaborator in the political manipulation of biomedical science.”
Postdoctoral fellow Ian Morgan echoed that sentiment: “We are doing the research that is going to create the cures of the future. But that won’t happen if these cuts continue.”
In a statement to the AP, Bhattacharya defended recent policy changes, saying the declaration “has some fundamental misconceptions” about the NIH’s direction. However, he reaffirmed his support for open dialogue: “Respectful dissent in science is productive. We all want the NIH to succeed.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai described the administration’s actions as an effort to restore a “Gold Standard” in scientific research. However, the letter’s authors argue the opposite is happening, with indiscriminate grant freezes, terminated collaborations, and a chilling effect on internal discourse.
The Bethesda Declaration mirrors the style and ethos of Bhattacharya’s own 2020 Great Barrington Declaration, which challenged mainstream pandemic responses. “He is proud of his statement, and we are proud of ours,” Kobrin said.
For now, the question is whether Bhattacharya will make good on his promise to protect scientific dissent—even when it targets him.
