Congressman Dan Goldman Urges Acting NIH Director to Stand Up to Trump and Resume Work on Clinical Trials and Cancer Research

Trump Initiatives Threaten to Shut Down Bipartisan, Public-Facing Work at NIH 

Read the Letter Here 

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08) and 88 of his colleagues in sending a letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Matthew J. Memoli urging him to stand up to Trump administration and take immediate action to resume its public-facing work on clinical trials and cancer research. 

The letter comes after the Trump administration announced a slew of sweeping executive orders that significantly impact the NIH’s crucial public-facing work. These orders include freezing grant hearings, stalling clinical trials, and eliminating guidelines that promote diversity in clinical research to better reflect the population. The funding freeze has caused a dangerous interruption in cancer research specifically. 

“Every American has a family member or loved one who has been affected by cancer. No one should have their clinical trial, or research critical to a cure delayed or suspended because of politics. We are deeply concerned by the effort to shut down public-facing work at the NIH, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support,” the Members wrote.  

Repercussions from these executive orders is also evident in disruptions to the supply chain, which have effectively halted clinical trials. One specific trial has been paused due to lack of access to essential tools for sample collection. Additionally, it has been reported that some Alzheimer’s clinical trials set to begin in February, have now been cancelled. These delays and interruptions waste precious time in the race to find a cure, ultimately impacting patients and their families who cannot afford to wait. 

“For example, review panels for major Alzheimer’s clinical trials scheduled for late January have reportedly been cancelled. Any delays that impact clinical trials will cause delays in developing new treatments, a major concern of the Alzheimer’s community,” the Members continued.  

The potential impacts of these actions are far-reaching, jeopardizing the American healthcare system. By offering opportunities and accessible NIH funding, the U.S. health care system remains at the forefront of innovation while providing researchers with the stability and resources needed to pursue innovations. Disruptions to the NIH’s work threaten to direct talented researchers abroad and deplete the intellectual capital of the United State’s scientific community. 

“We are further concerned that your additional guidance not only failed to resolve these concerns, but continues them. The NIH is mission critical. Every day that no new studies are being launched, no preprinting, no procurement or contracting for new studies, equipment or research means one less cure or clinical trial that could save someone’s life,” the Members concluded. 

Read the letter here or below: 

Dear Acting Director Memoli: 

Every American has a family member or loved one who has been affected by cancer. No one should have their clinical trial, or research critical to a cure delayed or suspended because of politics. We are deeply concerned by the effort to shut down public-facing work at the NIH, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support. 

We demand that you take immediate action to resume this public-facing work, which has broad ramifications that affect everyday Americans. We are particularly concerned about impacts to clinical trials. We understand that purchasing orders to outside suppliers have been widely disrupted. For example, researchers who have clinical trial participants staying at the NIH’s on- campus hospital, the Clinical Trial Center, weren’t able to order test tubes to draw blood as well as other key study components. We are also concerned about any freeze of funding for NIH, which could hamper key clinical trials, research designed to secure cures, infrastructure needed to support research and clinical trials, and researchers and necessary support staff. 

It is unacceptable to delay reviews that are critical to the advancement of important work. These meetings and study sections help determine which research projects to fund and disruptions could delay critical research and interrupt grant funding. For example, review panels for major Alzheimer’s clinical trials scheduled for late January have reportedly been cancelled. Any delays that impact clinical trials will cause delays in developing new treatments, a major concern of the Alzheimer’s community. 

Uncertainty in funding can also have career-altering consequences, particularly for young scientists, who could leave the field or go abroad. This is a time when we want to attract the best talent and not lose it to China, Germany, or Canada. It is imperative that you restore funding, meetings and study sections to ensure delays don’t negatively impact research. We also strongly urge you to provide an exemption from the federal hiring freeze to ensure clinical trials and critical research is not delayed or unable to be done through lack of staff. 

We also raise concerns about the removal of guidance documents related to participants for clinical trials. It’s very important to have representative samples in clinical trials in order to improve our understanding of how different drugs and treatments impact different patient profiles. We ask that you please restore guidance for trials to better include diverse populations, because this is mission critical for the future of science and its impacts on the American public. 

We are further concerned that your additional guidance not only failed to resolve these concerns, but continues them. The NIH is mission critical. Every day that no new studies are being launched, no preprinting, no procurement or contracting for new studies, equipment or research means one less cure or clinical trial that could save someone’s life. 

###