Befitting the U.S.’s semiquincentennial, today’s title and cover image are from Captain America #250 by Roger Stern, John Byrne, Josef Rubinstein, and others. It explores the very serious question “Should Captain America be president?” He eventually turns down offers from every major political party. Its pretty fun and the villains of the piece are the MLA - probably not the Medical Library Association or Modern Language Association.
Anyway, this week’s update includes some reporting on NIH grant making and financial aid news out of the department of education.
Federal Research Policy
Nature has a piece reporting on the grant review process at NIH. There are new details on the steps after peer review, including that grants management staff are now screening proposals for, allegedly, 235 “disfavored” terms [PDF].
The Verge has an extensive piece on the OMB proposal to revise federal financial assistance, including federal research grants. The deadline for comments on the proposal is July 13th. Science and AIP also have some new reporting.
Science has a piece detailing the pace of NIH grant making this year, including indications that the agency will be able to catch up and release all of its funds by the end of the fiscal year.
The Washington Post published an editorial on Thursday calling for the NIH to be abolished. The successes of industry investment cited in the piece - checkpoint inhibitors and GLP-1s - were, of course, based on early work that was federally funded. 🤷
Public Health
HHS announced this week that it has terminated the COVID-19 Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) declarations for drugs, biological products, and medical devices
Higher Education
A federal judge has allowed a whistleblower lawsuit against Harvard Catalyst (Harvard’s CTSA hub) to proceed. The suit alleges that the center abandoned or repurposed promised research work in violation of the False Claims Act.
The Department of Education has announced the Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability rule. Under this rule, undergraduate programs will be required to demonstrate that graduates earn more than the typical high school diploma holder, and graduate programs will be required to demonstrate that their graduates earn more than the typical bachelor’s degree holder. Failure to do so will affect a program’s ability to participate in financial aid programs.
North Carolina has become the 17th state to enact legislation restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in state colleges and universities.