Trump Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders
A core group of so-called disease detectives, who track outbreaks, was apparently spared. But other young researchers are out of jobs.
The notices came all weekend, landing in the inboxes of federal scientists, doctors and public health professionals: Your work is no longer needed.
At the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s premier biomedical research agency, an estimated 1,200 employees — including promising young investigators slated for larger roles — have been dismissed.
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two prestigious training programs were gutted: one that embeds recent public health graduates in local health departments and another to cultivate the next generation of Ph.D. laboratory scientists. But the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service — the “disease detectives” who track outbreaks around the world — has apparently been spared, perhaps because of an uproar among alumni after a majority of its members were told on Friday that they would be let go.
