fallout

Diabetes leaders apologize for expulsions

Elizabeth Cooney/STAT

Less than a week after five members of the American Diabetes Association were ushered out of its annual meeting, the group’s CEO has offered them, and the broader diabetes community, an apology.

“I recognize the impact that experience had on each of you,” ADA executive Charles Henderson said in a video. “I am deeply sorry for the hurt, frustration, and the pain that resulted.” Read more from Elizabeth Cooney on the group’s next steps in the wake of what happened.

education

DOJ accuses another med school of discrimination

Yesterday, the Justice Department accused the University of California, Davis School of Medicine of discriminating against white and Asian applicants. The report follows similar accusations levied at the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University. The letters are part of a broader campaign against initiatives to diversify the physician and biomedical research workforce. But these reports alleging bias and their focus on test scores, experts previously told STAT, ignore that medical schools have largely shifted toward more holistic admissions practices. In a statement yesterday, UC Davis said it “strongly disagrees with any characterization of its admissions practices as discriminatory or inconsistent with applicable law.”

You can read more about the responses to the initial two letters here. You can also revisit a 2023 story from our former colleague, Usha Lee McFarling, on how UC Davis became “remarkably” diverse without considering race. — Anil Oza

politics

HHS responds to paper on alcohol risk

If you recall on Tuesday, a group of researchers published a study warning of potential risks of even light drinking — work the Trump administration had commissioned ahead of new dietary guidelines but did not release. HHS officials have since tried to distance themselves from the whole thing, telling STAT that the paper was “NOT commissioned by, NOR reviewed, approved, or cleared by” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. While it's true the final study published this week wasn't OK'd by HHS — it was peer-reviewed for the journal — the bulk of the research was done on taxpayers' dime and overseen by federal health officials. The paper contains many of the same findings as a draft report made public in 2025.

As all that was happening, the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday passed an HHS spending bill that says the SAMHSA panel that ran the alcohol study can't “study, analyze, consider or report” on adult alcohol consumption as part of its work to prevent underage drinking. — Isabella Cueto

policy

Scientists conflicted on a new NIH proposal

In the hypercompetitive system to get NIH grant dollars, researchers at elite academic institutions have long had the upper hand. One proposal that has repeatedly been floated to address that inequity — including during the first Trump administration — is to place a cap on the number of grants any individual researcher can receive from the agency.

Now, it’s circling back again. The NIH released a “Request for Information” this week, soliciting input on the idea from the scientific community. STAT’s Anil Oza spoke with scientists about the proposal. Many see promise in the idea but don’t trust the Trump administration to implement it fairly. Read more on the reactions.