Three months into the new year, and with a new Administration in place, Faculty Scholars and Alums continue to make headlines for their thoughts and perspectives on new directives and policy proposals; how they affect health care, science, research, and universities; and their impact on Americans across the country. You can read our first round-up here and more from our community below.
Brendan Saloner, PhD, in the Associated Press:
The Fate of Addiction Treatment Hangs in the Balance with Kennedy’s HHS Overhaul
March 28, 2025
“Millions of Americans who get mental health and substance use services depend on SAMHSA even if they have never heard the name of the agency[.]”
Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, in STAT:
‘We’re Living in the Twilight Zone’: Researchers Decry Trump Administration Assault on Science
March 21, 2025
“This is not ivory tower science that doesn’t affect you[.] These are cancer cures that are not going to be available. Your family is going to be affected.”
Craig Konnoth, JD, authored an op-ed in Bloomberg Law:
Some Hospitals Pausing Youth Transgender Care Are Skirting Law
February 20, 2025
“Ceasing care…undermines patients’ wishes, ignores patient welfare, and targets the most vulnerable among us. These ethical violations may be understandable if the law required them. But many of these institutions are violating the law.”
Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, in STAT:
How Trump’s ‘Fear Factor’ Is Already Reshaping American Science
February 14, 2025
“If I were bird flu or whatever the next pandemic pathogen will be, this would be my exact playbook — decimate the federal science and health infrastructure[.] The sledgehammer approach…will set back American scientific innovation for a generation at least.”
Monica Peek, MD, in Chicago Health:
“There’s Just a Lot of Uncertainty:” Ongoing NIH Cuts Prompt Confusion, Concern in Chicago Medical Centers
February 10, 2025
“We do science because we’re trying to improve the health and lives of Americans[.] All of this progress is slowed down and can be actually reversed when the NIH can no longer function.”
Craig Konnoth, JD, in USA Today:
These Hospitals Suspended Transgender Care Amid Trump’s Executive Order. But Can They Do That?
February 4, 2025
“Providers are scared, and they’re not just scared that their funding is going to be cut. They’re scared for their lives[.] An executive order like this is meant to rile up the base and ferment unrest and create threats against providers.”
Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, in NBC News:
Trump’s China Tariffs Are Likely to Drive Up Drug Prices and Spur Shortages
February 3, 2025
“When generic drugs are sold through distributors and through the supply chain, there’s usually a contract[.] It might take a few months before some of those contracts turn over and we get newer contracts with higher prices.”
Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, co-authored an op-ed in STAT:
How to Protect HHS, FDA, NIH, and Other Health Agencies from Political Interference
January 31, 2025
“The politicization of public health institutions not only undermines immediate efforts to protect public health but inflicts lasting damage on public trust. There is an urgent need to implement safeguards that protect the FDA, CDC, and other agencies from political interference.”