Controversy Over Millions Of Dollars Of NIH Research Roils Biomedical Community
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has banned the use of data collected over 25 years from more than 1,000 volunteers in the lab of neurologist Allen R. Braun, citing “serious and widespread” record-keeping errors, but critics of the decision say the punishment is overly severe and doesn't serve a purpose.
The Washington Post:
Millions Of Dollars’ Worth Of Research In Limbo At NIH
For four years, Jed Meltzer studied communication disorders at the National Institutes of Health, using brain-imaging technology to pinpoint the impact of strokes on speech. His postdoctoral training, he wrote on his blog, comprised “some of the most scientifically satisfying years of my life. “I got to collect amazing, irreplaceable data, and I got to learn from the best and work with unparalleled resources...." But now that data is useless for Meltzer and about a dozen other scientists caught in a dispute that is unusually fierce, even for the highly competitive world of elite biomedical research. (Bernstein, 6/4)
In other administration news —
Modern Healthcare:
Healthcare Leaders Decry Trump's Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord
As President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, several healthcare executives vowed to continue their environmental stewardship efforts—with or without White House support. Under the climate agreement, the U.S. agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 28% below 2005 levels by 2025. But Trump withdrew the country's participation in the nonbinding agreement Thursday, saying it left the U.S. at an economic disadvantage because it and other wealthier nations would fund climate actions in developing countries. Health conditions related to climate change are estimated to have cost the healthcare system $14 billion a year between 2002 and 2009, according to a study published in Health Affairs. (Johnson, 6/2)
