Multiple sources, in different parts of the National Institutes of Health, used the word “bloodbath” to describe what was happening on Tuesday. Though it isn’t necessarily a surprise, given Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s promise last week to fire 10,000 people and totally reorganize the department, it is still a shock to watch the country’s health and biomedical research enterprise get hacked to pieces.
“SOS,” one source texted on Tuesday morning. “We cannot function.” Leadership of the National Institute on Aging was apparently “decimated,” with deputy director Amy Kelly and scientific director Luigi Ferrucci — “one of the brightest luminaries in the world in gerontology,” per a source — among those fired. “[These] are all terrible losses.” Along with its own internal research, NIA is among the most important funders of research into diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Other reports have called HHS-wide moves a “bloodletting” today, continuing the theme. People have shown up to work unaware they were fired, only to find their badge no longer functioned to let them in the building.
A source at another NIH institute said their entire communications, legislative, and acquisitions staff have been fired, while another said that the acquisitions cuts are across the board at all of the institutes and centers. This is perhaps in keeping with RFK Jr.’s move to “centralize core functions such as Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement, External Affairs, and Policy” under one umbrella, which will surely hamper the smooth function of each institute.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Jeanne Marrazzo, was apparently told she could be reassigned to the Indian Health Service — for unclear reasons — or be fired. Other directors out at this point include those leading the National Institutes of Nursing Research, Mental Health, Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Human Genome Research. More will follow, with a plan to cut the 27 pieces of NIH down to 15.
Meanwhile, newly confirmed NIH director Jay Bhattacharya sent all staff an email on Tuesday morning, with the subject line “From the NIH Director: Honored to Lead NIH.” In the message, viewed by Splinter, Bhattacharya said “I want to first express my appreciation for all of you — the NIH scientists and staff whose work has contributed to lifesaving breakthroughs in biology and medicine.” He addressed the “significant reduction in its workforce,” which he acknowledged “will have a profound impact on key NIH administrative functions.” Sounding far too much like a vet talking about putting a dog down, he then said he would try and lead NIH through these reforms “humanely.”
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