Twenty-seven minutes into a town hall with staff last week, US National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya acknowledged that he was going to get into uncomfortable territory.
“This one’s a tough one for me,” Bhattacharya told the audience of researchers and other NIH employees gathered in an auditorium at the biomedical research agency’s headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, last Monday, before introducing one of the most divisive topics in science.
At that point, Bhattacharya paused to watch as dozens of NIH staffers stood and filed out of the auditorium.
“It’s nice to have free speech,” he said with a smile. “Welcome, you guys.”
Bhattacharya then persisted.
“If it’s true that we sponsored research that caused a pandemic – and if you look at polls of the American people, that’s what most people believe, and I looked at the scientific evidence; I believe it – what we have to do is make sure that we do not engage in research that’s any risk of posing any risk to human populations,” he said.
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<p>Dozens of NIH staffers walked out of a town hall with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya earlier this month.</p>
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<div class=”timestamp__published”>PUBLISHED May 26, 2025, 8:00 AM ET</div>
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