Latest news with #Tabak
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NIH reportedly loses two top leaders in two days
(The Hill) — Two key staff members at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are reportedly leaving the agency amid ongoing efforts by the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk to drastically cut the size of the federal workforce. NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak told staffers in an email Tuesday that he was retiring effective immediately, according to CBS News. Along with being principal deputy director, Tabak also served as the agency's deputy ethics counselor, having held both roles since 2010. Tabak temporarily served as acting head of NIH between December 2021 and November 2023, after the institute's former director Francis Collins stepped down. As CBS reported, Tabak had not been expected to retire until the fall but told a colleague that he felt it was necessary to retire at this time. Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health secretary; McConnell lone GOP dissenter Just a day after Tabak's abrupt retirement, it was reported that Michael Lauer, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health's extramural research, will be leaving the agency at the end of the week. According to STAT, acting NIH director Matthew Memoli informed staff in an email of Lauer's departure, thanking him for his 'exemplary service to NIH and the American people.' The Hill has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House for comment. These departures are occurring as the NIH is currently undergoing significant upheaval. Last week the agency issued an order slashing federal funding for research projects, alarming lawmakers, universities and institutions across the country. The order has been stayed, though biomedical researchers remain wary for the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NIH reportedly loses 2 top leaders in 2 days
Two key staff members at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are reportedly leaving the agency amid ongoing efforts by the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk to drastically cut down the size of the federal workforce. NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak told staffers in an email Tuesday he was retiring effective immediately, according to CBS News. Along with being principal deputy director, Tabak also served as the agency's deputy ethics counselor, having been appointed to both roles in 2010. Tabak served as acting head of the NIH from December 2021 to November 2023, after the institute's former director Francis Collins stepped down. As CBS reported, Tabak had not been expected to retire until the fall but told a colleague he felt it was necessary to retire at this time. Just a day after Tabak's abrupt retirement, it was reported that Michael Lauer, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health's extramural research, will leave the agency at the end of the week. According to STAT, acting NIH Director Matthew Memoli informed staff in an email of Lauer's departure, thanking him for his 'exemplary service to NIH and the American people.' The Hill has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House for comment. These departures are occurring as the NIH is undergoing significant upheaval. Last week, the agency issued an order slashing federal funding for research projects, alarming lawmakers, universities and institutions across the country. The order has been stayed, though biomedical researchers remain wary for the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
13-02-2025
- Health
- The Hill
NIH reportedly loses two top leaders in two days
Two key staff members at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are reportedly leaving the agency amid ongoing efforts by the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk to drastically cut down the size of the federal workforce. NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak told staffers in an email Tuesday that he was retiring effective immediately, according to CBS News. Along with being principal deputy director, Tabak also served as the agency's deputy ethics counselor, having been appointed to both roles in 2010. Tabak temporarily served as acting head of NIH between December 2021 and November 2023, after the institute's former director Francis Collins stepped down. As CBS reported, Tabak had not been expected to retire until the fall but told a colleague that he felt it was necessary to retire at this time. Just a day after Tabak's abrupt retirement, it was reported that Michael Lauer, deputy director of the National Institutes of Health's extramural research, will be leaving the agency at the end of the week. According to STAT, acting NIH director Matthew Memoli informed staff in an email of Lauer's departure, thanking him for his "exemplary service to NIH and the American people." The Hill has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House for comment. These departures are occurring as the NIH is currently undergoing significant upheaval. Last week the agency issued an order slashing federal funding for research projects, alarming lawmakers, universities and institutions across the country. The order has been stayed, though biomedical researchers remain weary for the future.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly
The No. 2 in command at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, who served as acting director of the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, has abruptly resigned. Tabak, 73, has been at the NIH for 25 years, first serving as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research before eventually becoming the NIH's principal deputy director in 2010, which is the second-in-command at the agency. Tabak also served during transitional periods as acting director, including during the COVID era when he was regularly grilled by Republicans, alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci, over the NIH's response. "I write to inform you that I have retired from government service, effective today, 2/11/2025," Tabak wrote in an email, reportedly circulated to staff at the NIH, earlier this week. The note did not explain the reason for his departure. Senate Democrats Rail Against Rfk Jr. In Late-night Session Ahead Of Vote Tabak's resignation comes amid a shakeup within the Health and Human Services Department, the NIH's parent agency, that occurred once President Donald Trump took office in January. Under Trump, the agency has faced cuts to programs and reports have indicated the administration has plans to fire a trove of HHS employees. Typically, Tabak would have been promoted to acting director while Trump's nominee awaited confirmation. However, the position was instead assigned to Dr. Matthew Memoli, a former top researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a known critic of COVID vaccine mandates. Tabak was part of a group of agency leaders, including Fauci and former NIH Director Francis Collins, who congressional investigators accused of trying to manipulate the narrative around the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Through GOP investigations, it was determined Tabak was part of a controversial phone call with Fauci, Collins and several prominent scientists that critics have argued was a catalyst for the publication of a scientific paper that was released positing that it was not plausible the virus originated in a lab. Read On The Fox News App Scientists Expect Major 'Medical Breakthroughs' Despite Trump's Cap On Nih Research Funding He was also front-and-center when it came to GOP probes into whether risky gain-of-function research was occurring at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, and faced criticism for slow-rolling the release of information requested by Republican investigators for these concerns. Tabak "[dealt] with all of the messy or intractable problem[s]" and was "often… the fall guy when things [went] sideways," Jeremy Berg, former director of NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, said on social media following news of Tabak's resignation. "Larry has shoveled so much s--- over the years that he would have been well qualified to work behind the elephants in an old circus." Fox News Digital reached out to the NIH for comment but did not receive a response by publication article source: NIH principal deputy director, who led agency during COVID, resigns abruptly
CBS News
13-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Top-ranking NIH official forced to retire under Trump administration
A top-ranking scientist at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Lawrence Tabak, was forced to retire this week, multiple people familiar with the move say, marking the highest-profile departure of a health official under the Trump administration so far this year. Tabak's retirement, which he told colleagues was effective Tuesday, ends a decades-long tenure serving at the federal medical research agency, including multiple years as the acting director of the NIH during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also served as the agency's top ethics official. An email circulated among NIH staff from Tabak did not explain why he was abruptly stepping down, which multiple people familiar with the decision said came earlier than he was planning. One person said he did not plan to retire until at least the fall. Tabak told one federal researcher that he said he "found it necessary to retire today from federal service." A former colleague said Tabak, who should have been the second-in-command at the agency, had been excluded from key meetings. Tabak and spokespeople for the National Institutes of Health did not immediately return requests for comment. "He has helped shape important policy decisions at NIH over four administrations. He has guided NIH through complex issues and will be sorely missed," acting NIH Director Dr. Matthew Memoli said in an email Wednesday afternoon to NIH staff announcing the retirement. The departure follows years of intense scrutiny of Tabak from Republican lawmakers at multiple congressional hearings, when he faced questioning over issues like the agency's oversight of "gain-of-function" research on viruses, which can make them more dangerous and is supposed to be tightly controlled, as well as grants to the EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Under the Biden administration, the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services found in a review of grants dating back to 2014 that the NIH missed opportunities to avoid paying for $89,171 in costs to the groups that should not have been allowed, like vague employee bonuses. It also faulted the NIH for not doing more to ensure its funds did not go towards gain-of-function research. Tabak's retirement also comes amid ongoing court battles over a decision last week to make steep cuts to the amount of money for facilities and administration costs that the federal government has agreed to pay for in medical research. A federal judge has for now temporarily blocked those cuts nationwide, pending further arguments in lawsuits brought by medical colleges, universities and state attorneys general. Several scientists have come out to praise Tabak, who was often tasked as the agency's principal deputy director to handle difficult problems at the NIH. "Larry was brilliant at deflecting credit away from himself in order to raise up colleagues, mentees, and those who might otherwise have lacked a voice," posted Carrie Wolinetz, a former senior adviser to the NIH director. In addition to his administrative duties, Tabak also continued to lead a team within the NIH publishing biochemistry research. Jordan Lara, a research fellow in Tabak's lab at the NIH, praised him for having "always made time" for mentorship and scientific research. "He would work 80 hours a week regularly with no days off. He truly gave himself up for the American public. it's absolutely insane to have him cast out like this and to paint him as anything other than a dedicated public servant," said Lara in a message.
