Association of Health Care Journalists

How a new White House proposal could fundamentally change American science
2026-07-01 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
The second Trump administration has created upheaval in the biomedical research community. Widespread grant terminations, fast-changing policy changes, and proposals to downsize federal spending have created unease among a group that has largely been able to lean on the government as a partner.

In late May, another move caught the attention of many in the world of science: a 412-page proposal to change the regulation governing all contracts with the federal government. Issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the plan would alter the lay of the land for all research grants. Among the changes is a de-prioritization of peer review and greater latitude for political appointees to terminate grants.

It has garnered widespread attention from the scientific community because of the potentially wide-ranging impacts of the proposal. Join a STAT reporter who has covered the issue, a former NIH official, a government relations professional and a leading research for an exploration of this specific policy and what your audience may want to know before the public comment period closes on July 13.

Moderator

Anil Oza

General assignment reporter, STATAnil Oza is a general assignment reporter at STAT, where he covers health equity & the NIH. He previously covered all things science, from grassroots efforts to study the effect of urban heat to the elusiveness of urban rats, for NPR’s Short Wave, Science News, and Nature. He got his start as the assistant managing editor and science editor of his college newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, where he covered the Covid-19 pandemic. His coverage of the Trump administration’s upheaval of federally-funded research was part of a package of stories that won a 2026 George Polk Award, and 3rd place in AHCJ’s awards for excellence in health policy.

Sean Gallagher

Deputy director of federal relations, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Mr. Gallagher serves as AAAS’ liaison to Congress and the executive branch. After spending 7 years on Capitol Hill, he now spearheads grassroots efforts and focuses on engaging and encouraging scientists to demonstrate their value to their peers, the media, and policymakers. Sean has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and received his Bachelor’s in Political Science from Villanova University.

Elizabeth Ginexi, Ph.D.

Independent health science consultantFormer senior program official, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Dr. Elizabeth Ginexi served the National Institutes of Health for 22 years as a Program Official, shaping biomedical and behavioral health research strategy. During her tenure, she managed a portfolio of 305 grants totaling $132 million across several institutes and centers, and co-authored 18 funding initiatives that generated 1,087 projects totaling $778 million spanning mental health, substance use prevention, pain management, data science, and health services research. She left NIH in April 2025 because she witnessed the new leadership replacing NIH’s scientifically-driven system with one that is politically directed and violates the Public Health Service Act of 1944. She has been writing about the dismantling of the NIH on substack since December 2025.

Eric Rubin, M.D., Ph.D.

Editor-in-chief, The New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM GroupEric J. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., joined the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and NEJM Group as Editor-in-Chief in September 2019, taking on the responsibility for oversight of all editorial content and policies.

Dr. Rubin is an Associate Physician specializing in infectious disease at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is a Professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He serves on several scientific advisory boards to groups interested in infectious disease therapeutics. Dr. Rubin has also previously served as the Associate Editor for Infectious Disease at the New England Journal of Medicine as well as an editor for several basic science journals including PLoS Pathogens, Tuberculosis, and mBio.
