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And another week begins — I kind of cannot believe that we’re already nearing “mid” June. If you’re feeling particularly appreciative of STAT’s reporting this summer, you can use code JUNE50 to save 50% off a STAT+ annual subscription.
Four termination notices and new federal documents
It was a busy weekend for a few STAT reporters. Yesterday, Helen Branswell reported this exclusive: Four out of 19 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have been informed that their status as special government employees has been terminated — a development that throws into question their ability to continue to work on the body. It’s unclear if the move results from bureaucratic dysfunction or is an effort to replace ACIP members. Read more on the situation.
And new federal documents released Friday afternoon provide a clearer look into how the Trump administration wants to slash the budget for NIH and consolidate longstanding HHS programs into the Administration for a Healthy America, a new agency focused on preventing chronic disease. Here are the details:
President Trump’s 2026 budget proposes cutting the NIH’s central function — supporting research by awarding grants to universities, academic medical centers, and other institutions — by 43% compared to 2025 levels. Documents show an $11.6 billion cut in this funding, to $15.1 billion, which would both reduce the number of new grants awarded as well as existing grants for ongoing research. Read more from STAT’s Jonathan Wosen and Daniel Payne.
Separate documents indicate that numerous initiatives axed from the CDC through a reduction in force (RIF) in April will be resurrected with reduced funding within the AHA — or not at all. Funding lines at the CDC for tobacco control, nutrition and obesity, school health, heart disease and stroke, diabetes, and cancer prevention and control are among those that are zeroed out and slated for elimination, STAT’s Liz Cooney reports.
More pain, more recovery? In the brain, maybe yes
Triggering a patient’s OCD symptoms or their nicotine cravings right before they receive brain simulation therapy could potentially help make that therapy more effective, according to a study published last week in Jama Psychiatry.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation treatment that, in basic terms, uses coils placed against one’s scalp to send magnetic pulses through one’s nerves cells. It was first approved by the FDA way back in 2008 to address treatment-resistant major depressive disorder. But in more recent years, the procedure has also been approved to treat OCD and smoking cessation. Like other therapies for mental health conditions, experts still don’t fully understand the minutiae of how or why it works. But small studies have suggested that “provoking” the worst symptoms a person experiences could lead to more effective treatment. (Say your obsessive thoughts circle around hygiene? Your doctor could ask you to put your hand in a trash can right before treatment.)
The new paper analyzed data from 71 previous studies and found that active TMS both with and without provocation showed significant effects compared to sham treatment, but for smoking cessation, only treatment with provocation showed significant effects. But remember: This is the first large meta-analysis to directly compare these two approaches, and the authors emphasized that more large randomized controlled trials are needed.
Philanthropies want to save this global surveillance network
The Trump administration’s gutting of global aid is threatening to collapse a critical network of laboratories responsible for measles and rubella surveillance around the world. Now, philanthropic leaders are rushing to try to save it, Helen Branswell reports.
The Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN for short, pronounced “Gremlin”) is a relatively inexpensive initiative in the grand scheme of global health efforts, at about $9 million a year. But the network does critical work testing for measles, generating genetic sequences of circulating strains, and effectively telling the world what’s happening with this resurgent virus. It’s made up of more than 7600 laboratories around the world that also conduct surveillance for rubella. Without GMRLN, the viruses are more likely to spread undetected and unchecked. Read more from Helen about the network and the new fundraising efforts around it.
Meet MAHA’s food industry power players
The Make America Healthy Again movement has a lot of the food industry on edge. As ultra-processed foods become a major government priority, titans like PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, and Nestle are on the defensive. But there’s a smaller contingent of companies with food products that align with this vision of a healthy diet — and they stand to benefit.
This rising class of power players is intertwined, sharing health-conscious reputations and also personal and professional ties with some of the MAHA movement’s most prominent leaders. Read the latest in STAT’s “Who to Know” series from Sarah Todd on the companies riding the MAHA wave, and how experts in food politics view them. (Quiz: Can you guess which corporate salad company on the list just added air-fried French fries to the menu? Seed-oil free, of course.)
(Don’t) Get Ready With Me
If you’re online at all, and especially if you’re on Tiktok, you’ve likely seen a Get Ready With Me video. Usually teens and adults, but sometimes young kids, will post these vertical videos walking the viewer through their purported daily skin care routine. Now, a study published in Pediatrics has analyzed the content of videos like this that are by and for kids, reaching a firm conclusion: “They offer little to no benefit for the pediatric populations they are targeting.”
After reviewing 100 different videos from kids ages 7 to 18 on the social media platform, researchers found that morning regimens typically featured about 6 products, costing an average of $168 for an estimated month’s supply. The combination of so many products with many active ingredients could irritate young people’s skin, exposing them to both allergies and sun damage. (A self-identified “Sephora kid” said in one video that I watched: “Apparently this stuff has retinol in it. Have to use a lot!”) Only a quarter of the creators included sunscreen in their routine — largely agreed to be the most important skin care product anyone could use.
This is admittedly a small study, but it takes a peek into a much wider phenomenon. For the New Yorker last summer, Jia Tolentino performed a version of this experiment herself, then went to a Brooklyn Sephora to see the tween chaos live in action. As usual, it’s an engrossing read.
What does ‘gold standard’ really mean?
Last month, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Gold Standard Science,” which claims that the document’s aim is to safeguard scientific rigor, prevent misconduct, and restore public trust in government-funded science. Two authors of a new First Opinion are calling B.S.
“Beneath this golden gloss lies a return to strategies that threaten to weaken federal science, dismiss scientific findings, and open the door to political manipulation of evidence-based policy,” write scientists Jacob M. Carter and Gretchen T. Goldman. The tactic isn’t a new one, they argue, but rather goes back to maneuvers pioneered by tobacco companies in the 1990s. Read more on the risks they see in the order.
What we’re reading
Doctors were preparing to remove their organs. Then they woke up, New York Times
California professor sues university over suspension for online comments on Gaza, NBC News
First Opinion: A broken system forces parents to DIY hospital-level care for their medically complex children, STAT
Salmonella outbreak linked to California egg distributor sickens 79 people, NPR
As Omada goes public, executives reflect on why profits are elusive in digital health, STAT
