WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 In his confirmation hearings to lead the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya pledged his openness to views that might conflict with his own. \u201cDissent,\u201d he said, \u201dis the very essence of science.\u201d<\/p>\n
That commitment is being put to the test.<\/p>\n
On Monday, scores of scientists at the agency sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, challenging \u201cpolicies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n
It says: \u201cWe dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a capital where insiders often insist on anonymity to say such things publicly, 92 NIH researchers, program directors, branch chiefs and scientific review officers put their signatures on the letter \u2014 and their careers on the line. An additional 250 of their colleagues across the agency endorsed the declaration without using their names.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 In his confirmation hearings to lead the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya pledged his openness to views that might conflict with his own. \u201cDissent,\u201d he said, \u201dis the very essence of science.\u201d<\/p>\n
That commitment is being put to the test.<\/p>\n
On Monday, scores of scientists at the agency sent their Trump-appointed leader a letter titled the Bethesda Declaration, challenging \u201cpolicies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n