Diabetes Researchers Boycott ADA Over Police Removal of Colleagues
Members of the American Diabetes Association have launched a boycott after five researchers were ejected by police from the organization's annual meeting in June. The researchers were distributing an editorial critical of NIH funding cuts, and the ADA's handling of the incident has drawn widespread backlash. The boycott has gathered over 400 signatures, including past presidents and journal editors.
The incident occurred at the ADA's June annual meeting in New Orleans, where Steven Kahn, editor-in-chief of the flagship journal Diabetes Care, and four fellow researchers were escorted out by police while distributing printed copies of an editorial critical of NIH funding cuts. That editorial had appeared in Diabetes Care the previous April.
The boycott letter, addressed to the ADA board, cites "shifting justifications" from leadership, an absence of genuine apology, and no independent review despite a CEO's promise. Signees have pledged to halt all ADA activities, including conference participation, grant reviews, manuscript handling, and journal management. Kahn has stated submissions to Diabetes Care will wait until the boycott concludes, though the ADA maintains the journal continues normal operations.
This boycott could disrupt the timely dissemination of diabetes research, potentially delaying critical findings that inform patient care and treatment protocols. Researchers, clinicians, and people living with diabetes may all feel downstream effects if journal operations slow or scientific sessions lose key participants. The dispute also highlights tensions between professional medical organizations and political pressures, which may influence how other societies handle politically charged content at their meetings.