Over 300 current and former employees of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have joined the effort to put the Bethesda Declaration into practice. Perhaps more concerning, this document lays clear their extreme displeasure with Jay Bhattacharya, the agency’s new director of the agency. The assertion certainly reflects the sentiments of the people who directly interact with the NIH. It is supported by 250 anonymous supporters, walking the walk on deep concern already felt in the agency. The declaration was smartly timed. It couldn’t have been better timed, really, with the Senate Appropriations Committee’s hearing on the Trump administration’s proposed cuts for the 2026 fiscal year just around the corner.
The Bethesda Declaration doesn’t mince words when it lays out the complaints against Bhattacharya. He was met with fierce resistance at the May town hall, where critics walked out and booed him in his own district. The declaration serves as a litmus test. Just as important, it reflects Bhattacharya’s deep commitment to preserving the quality of research and the independence of higher education within NIH.
Concerns Regarding Leadership Changes
The Bethesda Declaration explicitly calls out a few of the controversial alterations made during Bhattacharya’s tenure. One of the chief complaints comes from the placing of a strict 15 percent ceiling on indirect costs. The declaration describes this cap as arbitrary, and it focuses on how harmful this cap has been on research and academic institutions. Science advocates contend that this cap significantly limits funding for vital administrative functions that bolster scientific efforts.
Interestingly, the declaration shies away from taking ownership for questionable personnel moves. It signals the recent abrupt termination of diverse and essential staff, including scientific program specialist Anna Culbertson. In firing these employees, NIH has set off alarm bells about the future ability of NIH to carry out cutting-edge research in support of its mission.
“Today, we come directly to you,” – Bethesda Declaration
We hope that this declaration serves to pressure Bhattacharya to reverse course on these destructive policies and work with NIH employees in a more collaborative manner. Further, it stresses the importance of effective leadership that creates an organizational culture that encourages bold scientific exploration and innovation.
Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Cuts
This makes the timing of the Bethesda Declaration even more remarkable. That makes it a particularly appropriate backdrop to the important conversations about the proposed budget cuts that threaten NIH’s financial stability. The Senate Appropriations Committee will be considering the Trump administration’s budget proposal very soon. This proposal foregrounds large cuts to biomedical research funding at NIH. Such cuts would be expected to reverse years of painstaking research progress and squander millions of taxpayer dollars spent on scientific breakthroughs.
The declaration states that these cuts undo decades of progress and hard work. They do an injustice to their commitments to research participants, put their health and safety at risk, and undermine the public trust in medical research. The document specifically criticizes the proposed $500 million universal flu vaccine research project led by Matthew Memoli, asserting that slashing funds could impede vital developments in public health.
“This spending slowdown reflects a failure of your legal duty to use congressionally-appropriated funds for critical NIH research,” – Bethesda Declaration
These threats have pushed hundreds of these workers to strike in recent months. They now share with the public an unprecedented urgency to advocate for their work and the future of research at NIH.
Call for Courageous Leadership
The Bethesda Declaration isn’t simply a litany of grievances. It makes an audacious and exhilarating demand for truly visionary and brave leadership at the NIH. Supporters of the declaration include Nobel Laureates, prominent scientists, politicians, and patient advocates who share a common goal: to influence positive change at NIH.
“Courage is contagious, so we aim to model courage for our colleagues and the country,” – Bethesda Declaration
Jenna Norton, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor and one of the signatories. Now, she just wants to see Bhattacharya listen to their concerns and follow through. She stated, “One of my philosophies is to try to give everyone the most generous interpretation of their actions… I hope he will listen and work with us to fix NIH.”
Despite her optimistic sentiments, Norton acknowledged the difficulty in extending goodwill toward Bhattacharya given the “harmful and cruel policies he is allowing at NIH under his watch.”
“If I don’t speak up, I am complicit in the extremely harmful policies being enacted at NIH—policies that risk the health and safety of research participants who generously donate their time and bodies to help us find cures for others,” – Jenna Norton, PhD, MPH
Others, such as Ian Morgan, PhD, were more apocalyptic about the current state of affairs.
“I feel like we have to do something now,” – Ian Morgan, PhD
