Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards

[highplainsdem]

Source: Washington Post

Thirty-eight of 43 people cut last month from the boards that review the science that happens in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health are female, Black or Hispanic, according to an analysis by the chairs of a dozen of the boards.

The scientists, with expertise in fields that include mental health, cancer and infectious disease typically serve five-year terms and were not given a reason for their dismissal. About a fifth of the roughly 200 board members — who provide an independent, expert layer of review for the vast research enterprise within the NIH — were fired. These experts rate the quality of the science on the nation’s largest biomedical research campus, where 1,200 taxpayer-funded investigators lead laboratories focused on Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, cancer immunotherapy and other diseases and treatments.

Six percent of White males who serve on boards were fired, compared with half of Black and Hispanic females and a quarter of all females, according to the analysis. Of 36 Black and Hispanic board members, close to 40 percent were fired, compared to 16 percent of White board members. The chairs’ analysis calculated the likelihood that this would have happened by chance as 1 in 300.

“We rate them [NIH scientists] on what they’ve done — is it good science, are you publishing, are you doing something relevant to the NIH mission?” said JoAnne L. Flynn, an infectious-diseases expert whose work focuses on tuberculosis. She was dismissed from the board that reviews research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Every scientist in government and academia is reviewed, and people should take comfort in that. People who are unbiased are reviewing the science.”

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/04/16/women-and-minorities-fired-nih-board-science/

[Ray Bruns]

1. I smell a class action lawsuit in the works

[Lonestarblue]

2. Can't have women working anymore. They need to be under a husband's rule and having babies!

[IronLionZion]

6. That's one of Project 2025's main goals

to limit career opportunities for women forcing them back into stay at home roles. And for minorities to get back in our place doing jobs deported undocumented immigrants were doing. You don't want to know their plans for LGBTQ folks. God help anyone who is all 3.

[Leghorn21]

3. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk

Here’s just a tiny, tiny sample of outstanding women scientists through history:







https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_scientists_in_the_20th_century

[IronLionZion]

7. They're scrubbing those off of government websites and libraries

but Bezos sent some wealthy women celebrities to space for 10 minutes so that's something I guess.

[groundloop]

4. I'll bet anything that every single one of them was hired becuase of exceptional credentials

As a white male I'd be embarrassed as hell to be working there right now while my coworkers were fired because of tRump's bigotry. And what else pisses me off is the fact that it'll be yours and my tax dollars being wasted when there's a large class action payout.

[yardwork]

10. The money spent on lawsuits will be u believable.

Assuming we get out of this and there are lawsuits... the cost will be astronomical.

[twodogsbarking]

5. They used the data that was illegally obtained against people; illegally. How many "illegals" do ya need.

[valleyrogue]

8. You can bet they are WAY more qualified than the white males Trump loves so much.

This is just despicable and completely illegal.

[yardwork]

11. They're way more qualified than RFK, Jr., that's for sure!

[sakabatou]

9. No one should be surprised by this.

[wiggs]

12. Remembert when GOP wanted to impeach Obama for extending the ACA sign up period because of

website glitches?