Donald Trump is seeking to tighten his grip on biomedical research, with the White House advocating for the creation of a commission capable of rejecting projects it deems inconsistent with the Republican's ideas, several American media outlets reported over the weekend.
Since returning to power, the billionaire has led drastic cuts in federal funding for research, particularly biomedical research.
According to anonymous sources cited by several media outlets, including Politico, the New York Times and the Washington Post, White House officials have raised the idea of creating an external commission capable of vetoing grants awarded by the US agency in charge of medical research, the NIH.
The White House budget director, Russ Vought, a right-wing ideologue, reportedly justified the measure by accusing the agency of funding projects opposed to Donald Trump's values, according to the Washington Post.
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Funding at the heart of the tensions
“ Adding more bureaucracy would significantly slow down medical progress, even paralyzing it."r," warned Russ Paulsen, president of the American alliance Research America, on Sunday, in response to these press reports.
Such a measure would allow the White House to further tighten its grip on scientific research, even as many voices have been raised to denounce its attacks on academic and research freedoms.
American researchers announced in mid-September that they are suing the NIH, which they accuse of blocking the awarding of grants in order to censor research related to diversity, gender identity, and climate change.
“ Our study on Alzheimer's disease aimed to better understand how to identify and reduce the risk of dementia in communities particularly exposed to this disease and historically understudied.«" , reported Ann Cohen, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, whose funding was cut on this occasion.
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