STAT+: Trump policies disrupt trials at NIH Clinical Center, researchers say
The NIH Clinical Center is struggling to carry out its mission of running clinical trials for the hardest-to-treat diseases
The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, billed as the nation’s largest hospital devoted solely to medical research, is struggling to carry out its mission of running clinical trials for the hardest-to-treat diseases amid growing disruptions from the Trump administration.
Fewer patients are being treated, and some trials are lagging months behind due to reduced staffing and uncertainty, according to STAT interviews with 11 staff members and researchers affiliated with the center.
In some cases, researchers are actively discouraging patients from coming in for check-ups due to concerns that staff cuts might start to undermine the care they would receive. In other cases, patients are making that decision on their own as they track the administration’s growing impact on NIH operations.
