Dozens of scientists traveled to San Francisco this week for a low-key conference with federal research officials. On Wednesday, the day before it was scheduled to begin, they received a surprising message: Due to a temporary ban on official travel for Department of Health and Human Services staff, government soft workers would no longer attend in person. The daily, in-person event would instead take place virtually and last approximately 90 minutes.
The next day, two minutes after the virtual meeting was scheduled to begin, they received a second email: the conference was canceled. No explanation was given.
That event, aimed at developing AI tools to help diagnose rare diseases, was one of perhaps hundreds of health and science meetings derailed by the Trump administration, whose freeze on communications, travel and diversity efforts has sown chaos across federal agencies about federal agencies.
This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers
Unlock this article – plus daily intelligence on Capitol Hill and the Life Sciences industry – by subscribing to Stat+.
Do you already have an account? Login
View all plans
To read the rest of this story, subscribe to STAT+.
Subscribe