Rallying for Science: NIH Staff and Alumni Unite Behind Bethesda Declaration
Researchers and staff at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — as well as former employees fired as part of the mass layoffs — rallied on July 21 to support those who signed the Bethesda Declaration, an open letter that opposes current policies that politicize science, waste taxpayer dollars and harm the health of Americans.
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined the rally at the Medical Center Bethesda Metro Station to support the researchers and staff. “We are here to thank all of you who signed the Bethesda declaration,” Van Hollen said. “The purpose of the Bethesda Declaration is to protect the mission of the NIH.”
Van Hollen highlighted the dangers to Americans’ health posed by the Administration’s actions. “This administration decided to terminate clinical trials,” he said. “They have replaced thousands of hardworking, patriotic, and dedicated people with political hacks. They are proposing to cut the NIH budget by 40%, which guarantees that new treatments and new cures will not be discovered.”
The rally followed a roundtable discussion with NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya and public signers of the Bethesda Declaration. “We are eager to work with Dr. Bhattacharya to rebuild the NIH and advance its mission of improving the health of all Americans,” said Sylvia Chou, a public signer of the declaration, in a press release.
Of more than 475 NIH staff who signed the Bethesda Declaration, only 45 current employees who publicly signed their full names were invited to participate in the roundtable discussion, according to a press release. Those who worked outside the Bethesda area were invited, but a request to include a virtual option to enable their participation was denied. Many other public signers were uninvited, including former NIH staff, union leaders and some current NIH staff, some of whom have previously spoken to the media, according to a press release.
Jenna Norton, a public signer, outlined key concerns in the Bethesda Declaration: devaluing scientific expertise in favor of political control, interrupting global research collaboration, undermining peer review, applying a 15% cap on indirect costs and firing essential staff.
“The next step in this process is to hold Jayanta Bhattacharya accountable to those concerns,” Norton said. “We all need to come together to keep him accountable because we are stronger together.”
A support letter for the Bethesda Declaration garnered signatures from 30,000 individuals, including 70 Nobel Laureates, National Academy members, and local and federal legislators. Organizations endorsing the Bethesda Declaration include the NIH Fellows Union – UAW 2750, which organized the rally along with 27UNIHTED, a network of NIH alumni.
Rally organizer Anna Culbertson recounted the events that led to her signing the declaration. “I am a person who’s been diagnosed with a rare life-threatening condition,” she said. “What is important to me is the health of the nation because I know the consequences of complex medical conditions very intimately, so it was important to speak up.”
On June 9, when the Bethesda Declaration was sent to the NIH Director, Culbertson was not employed at NIH, as she had been placed on administrative leave as a probationary employee in February and terminated in May. “I speak to fired NIH employees every day,” she said. “And I am one of so many heartbreaking, gut-wrenching stories of people with young families.”
She noted that some employees terminated in the mass layoff on July 14 never received a reduction-in-force notice. Their jobs were marked for termination, and their access was cut off at 9 p.m. that day. Their only notice was a termination letter, which arrived by mail two days later, Culbertson said.
“They feel abandoned and left out,” she said. “But the 27UNITED alumni organizing effort that I’m working on is to help these employees connect to former NIH alumni and to support the NIH mission.”
Susan Boswell is the Editor of Baltimore Post-Examiner LLC, overseeing both the Baltimore and Los Angeles Post-Examiner websites. A magazine editor and science writer, her career spans association communications, marketing, and government contracting, including service as a former federal employee. Susan enjoys dog sports and spending time with family.