Five diabetes researchers ejected from ADA conference

Five prominent diabetes researchers, including the editor-in-chief of the field’s leading journal, were removed by police from a major medical conference in New Orleans on Friday, June 5, 2026, for distributing an editorial critical of federal research policies. The incident occurred at the American Diabetes Association’s annual scientific sessions shortly before a scheduled keynote address by National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who canceled his appearance at the last minute.

The researchers were escorted from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center by onsite security and Louisiana State Police after handing out printed copies of an editorial titled “Misguided brushes of a pen continue to dismantle and destroy biomedical research in the United States.” The piece, co-authored by several of the ejected scientists and published on April 29 in the ADA’s own flagship journal, Diabetes Care, criticizes the Trump administration for cuts and disruptions to biomedical research funding. Among those removed were Dr. Steven Kahn, editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care and a professor at the University of Washington; Dr. Aaron Kelly, a pediatrics professor at the...