A flurry of scientific gatherings and panels across federal science agencies were canceled on Wednesday, at a time of heightened sensitivity about how the Trump administration will shift the agencies\u2019 policies and day-to-day affairs. <\/p>\n
Several meetings of National Institutes of Health study sections, which review applications for fellowships and grants, were canceled without being rescheduled, according to agency notices reviewed by STAT. A Feb. 20-21 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, a panel that advises the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy, was also canceled. So was a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria that was scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29. <\/p>\n
The scope of the cancellations was unclear. It was also unclear whether they were related to the Trump administration\u2019s freeze on external communications until Feb. 1. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeer review via study sections is required by law in order for the NIH to disburse most of the $40 billion annual extramural budget,\u201d said Norman E. Sharpless, a former director of the National Cancer Institute, part of the NIH. \u201cIf study sections and advisory council meetings are postponed for more than even a brief period, this will likely lead to interruptions in grant funding, which is bad for U.S. biomedical research.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A flurry of scientific gatherings and panels across federal science agencies were canceled on Wednesday, at a time of heightened sensitivity about how the Trump administration will shift the agencies\u2019 policies and day-to-day affairs. <\/p>\n
Several meetings of National Institutes of Health study sections, which review applications for fellowships and grants, were canceled without being rescheduled, according to agency notices reviewed by STAT. A Feb. 20-21 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, a panel that advises the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy, was also canceled. So was a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria that was scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29. <\/p>\n