AIBS joined 40 organizations in a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya expressing concerns about the implementation of the “Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research” Executive Order 14292.
The letter expresses alarm over the recent suspension of dozens of gain-of-function research grants. “These suspensions hamper our ability to develop treatments and diagnostics for infectious diseases, making the U.S. more vulnerable to infectious disease threats at a time when our public health challenges are more complex than ever before,” reads the letter. “Maintaining strong biosafety and biosecurity systems requires continued federal investment, not arbitrary research suspensions and indiscriminate funding cuts.”
The organizations urge the Administration to “commit to transparent, evidence-based policymaking that safeguards public health, strengthens biosecurity and supports continued scientific innovation.”
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