#nasem

1.

The President issued a presidential action this evening “to restrict the entry of foreign nationals who seek to enter the United States solely or principally to participate in a course of study at Harvard University”. Harvard was granted an injunction last week, blocking the Administration’s move to block the university’s ability to sponsor visas for students and postdocs. This circumvents that order.

2.

The Department of Education informed the accreditor of Columbia University  today that  the university “is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore fails to meet the standards for accreditation”. The DE does not have the ability to remove a university’s accreditation, but the Administration has signaled that it wants to make substantial changes to the accreditation process.

3.

NIH issued a request for information yesterday, inviting feedback on an NIH artificial intelligence strategy.

4.

The New York Times has a piece today detailing the cuts to NIH grants. The piece uses data from NIH Reporter and the TAGGs list. So, if anything, the numbers cited may be underestimations.

5.

NASEM President Marcia McNutt gave a “State of the Science” speech yesterday, in which she outlined her opinion of what would be needed for the United States to maintain its leadership position in science. Ars Technica has a summary.

6.

Meanwhile, Science has another piece about downsizing within the National Academies as a result of funding cuts and the current political environment.

8.

A Washington Post piece published on Monday about the Department of Government Efficiency includes reporting on how grant reviews are working at NIH. Per the article:

Every proposal is now fed through an AI to screen for references to “unpalatable” concepts (e.g. DEI, China, vaccine hesitancy, LGBTQ+ health) 

Every proposal is checked to ensure that recipients are not affiliated with universities that are currently in a dispute with the government (e.g. Columbia, Harvard, etc).

9.

The Governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, fired the elected trustees of the University of Indiana this morning. 

The Governor’s ability to do this arises from a recently passed state budget bill that included a number of provisions related to higher education in the state – including requirements for post-tenure “productivity” review. 

The budget bill is only the latest in a series of issues between the Indiana state government and the university, including the state’s passage of “Intellectual Diversity” law and an ongoing controversy related to the university’s relationship with the Kinsey Institute.

10.

Johns Hopkins has implemented a hiring freeze and other measures in response to current and future financial constraints. Johns Hopkins is the largest employer in the state of Maryland.

11.

The Administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to lift a federal judge’s order which halted mass layoffs and reorganizations across the federal government. The Court’s term ends in July, so we can expect a lot of decisions to come out in the coming weeks. 

The U.S. has made some gains in reducing inequities in its health care system over the past two decades, but still has a long way to go to achieve equal care for all of its people, says a major new review. Released in June by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, the report revisits a 2003 landmark NASEM assessment that called out inconsistencies in the way people are served across the U.S. health care system. The new report, “Ending Unequal Treatment: Strategies to Achieve Equitable Health Care and Optimal Health for All,” concludes that racial and ethnic inequities remain a fundamental flaw of the health care system and are holding back the nation.

Failure to address the nation’s health care inequities comes at a high cost, in terms of both lives and dollars, the report said. For example, from 1999-2020, Black Americans experienced 1.63 million excess deaths, representing more than 80 million years of potential life lost, according to a 2023 study. Accounting for excess premature deaths, lost labor market productivity and additional medical care costs, the U.S. lost $451 billion from racial and ethnic health disparities in 2018 alone, other research has found.

More at the link.

"...from 1999-2020, Black Americans experienced 1.63 million excess deaths..."

Have you seen any reporting on this in major media? If not, why not? How is this not a national scandal?

US Coal Study Comes To An Abrupt Halt By Donald Trump

This is something serious that could impact on Donald Trump’s popularity in general and his reputation among Scientists, Engineers, and Medicine Experts in the world. Firstly, the logic of abruptly stopping US Coal Study is ambiguous. Secondly, the reason that the Trump administration is giving for abruptly stopping it is clearly non-genuine. The study is obviously in relation to environmental…

On Tuesday, May 16th, Dr. John Ward, Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), presented: “CDC Response to A National Strategy for the Elimination of Hepatitis B and C - a consensus report of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine” About Dr. Ward: Dr. John Ward is Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During his tenure, Dr. Ward has guided development of national viral hepatitis surveillance, prevention research, policies and programs including those to promote education, vaccination, and testing with linkage to care and treatment. Dr. Ward initiated two Institute of Medicine (IOM) reviews of viral hepatitis prevention in the United States, and authored the first Action Plan for Viral Hepatitis Prevention, Care, and Treatment for the United States. Globally, Dr. Ward serves as an expert consultant to the World Health Organization, other international organizations and national ministries of health. Dr. Ward’s experience includes 14 years in the field of HIV/AIDS conducting early studies of HIV transmission, natural history and directing national HIV/AIDS surveillance. Dr. Ward has authored over 150 scientific publications, served as Editor of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and served as Editor for Silent Victories, a history of public health in the 20th century published in 2007 by Oxford University Press.  Dr. Ward received his MD degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama Hospitals. He holds a clinical faculty appointment with the Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Duration: 58 minutes

Click here to Download/Playback the Webinar

NRPA National Academies Reducing Health Disparities and Promoting Health Equity