Diabetes org apologizes for ejecting scientists over criticism of Trump

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) issued an apology on Wednesday for the forceful removal of five prominent diabetes scientists from its annual meeting on Friday. The scientists were ejected for distributing copies of an April editorial published in the ADA's journal, Diabetes Care. This editorial contained sharp criticism of the Trump administration's impact on biomedical research. Among the ejected scientists were Steven Kahn, editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care and a professor at the University of Washington, and Desmond Schatz, former ADA President and affiliated with the University of Florida. The distribution occurred outside the opening speech, which was initially slated to be delivered by Jay Bhattacharya, former head of the National Institutes of Health under Trump. Bhattacharya canceled his appearance, and Rick Woychik, a senior NIH official, delivered the speech instead. The ADA's apology followed significant public backlash regarding the incident.