Key facts
- Five scientists were ejected from the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in New Orleans.
Five scientists were ejected from the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting in New Orleans for distributing an editorial criticizing the Trump administration's policies on scientific research. The scientists, including the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care and a former ADA president, were escorted out and had their conference access revoked.
Five prominent scientists were expelled from the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting in New Orleans on Friday for distributing reprints of an editorial published in Diabetes Care on April 29. The editorial sharply criticized the Trump administration's actions regarding scientific research. The ejected individuals included Steven Kahn, professor of medicine at the University of Washington and editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care; former ADA president Desmond Schatz of the University of Florida; Aaron Kelly, pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota; Justin Ryder of Northwestern University; and Irl Hirsch of the University of Washington. They were handing out the reprints outside a session where NIH director Jay Bhattacharya was scheduled to speak, though he ultimately cancelled. One of the ejected scientists, Aaron Kelly, described the event as censorship and a physical removal from the conference center, stating, 'They're taking our lanyards. It really has come to this in America.'
The incident highlights tensions between scientific advocacy and political administrations, raising concerns about censorship and the free exchange of ideas within professional conferences.