Hours after Donald Trump’s election victory, National Institutes of Health director Monica Bertagnolli rushed to reassure the agency’s 20,000-plus workforce.
“Change can leave us feeling uncertain. I do not want to dismiss those feelings, but I do want to remind everyone that throughout our 137-year history, the NIH mission has remained steadfast, and our staff has remained committed to the important work of biomedical research in the service of public health,” she wrote in an email to staff on Wednesday obtained by STAT.
The agency struck a similar tone in a statement to STAT, writing that “NIH stands ready to work with the new administration to continue to carry out our important work.” But despite the messages of calm and confidence, researchers are feeling uneasy about the possibility of budget cuts and politicization of science.
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