I have been involved in #diabetes and #obesity research coming up on 46
years. Over that time, I’ve been a
professional member of the #AmericanDiabetesAssociation (#ADA) for at least 35+
years. I owe much to the ADA. Attendance at the annual scientific sessions
has allowed me to not just share my #science, but also build collaborations,
share ideas, and commiserate with fellow scientists. I have published my work in the Association’s
primary journals, #DiabetesCare and #Diabetes.
Finally, the ADA funded my first independent research grant that kick-started my
career as an independent investigator.
Throughout it all, I have been a supporter of the Association and its goals to find a cure for diabetes and obesity. However, events at this year’s annual scientific sessions has made me ashamed to be an ADA member.
So why? As many of
you may have seen in the news and on social media, there was an “incident” at this
year’s scientific sessions that not just detracted from scientists, health
professionals, and diabetes/obesity patients from learning the latest and greatest in
diabetes/obesity research and treatment, but highlighted the weakness of the leadership
of the association. What follows is a
description of what I know about the “incident,” but also my broader thoughts
about what happened.
The Scene
So, on Friday, June 5, the Director of the
#NationalInstitutesOfHealth (#NIH), Dr. #JayBhattacharya was scheduled to be
the keynote speaker to open the 2026 annual ADA Scientific Sessions (#ADA2026) in New
Orleans. It should be noted that the ADA Scientific Sessions is THE scientific meeting related to diabetes and obesity and is attended by scientists and health professionals from around the globe. I made a conscious decision not
to attend that session, because I had heard Dr. Bhattacharya speak earlier in
the year and figured I wasn’t going to learn anything new and exciting. In fact, Dr. Bhattacharya canceled at the
last minute. This
was due to a sudden scheduling issue related to meeting with the
President according to the ADA. So, instead Dr. #RichardWoychik, a senior adviser to Dr. Bhattacharya and former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, attended in his place. While some have tried to tie this change to
the incident, it doesn’t surprise me that an individual in Dr. Bhattacharya's position would
be unexpectedly called away and I am willing to accept that he had to truly make a last-minute change and that this was independent of what was happening right outside the hall where the presentation was scheduled to happen.
Outside of the venue, five individuals were handing out
copies of a recent editorial that appeared in the Association’s premier
journal #DiabetesCare. The five
individuals were:
Dr. Steven (Steve) Kahn – Professor of Medicine at the #UniversityOfWashington and director of the UW Diabetes Research Center
Dr. Aaron Kelly – Professor of Pediatrics at the #UniversityOfMinnesota Medical School
Dr. Justin Ryder – Associate Professor of Pediatrics and
Surgery at #NorthwesternUniversity School of Medicine
Dr. Irl Hirsch – Professor of Medicine at the #UniversityOfWashington
Dr. Desmond Schatz – Professor of Pediatrics at the #UniversityOfFlorida, director of the University of Florida Diabetes Institute, and past President of Science and Medicine for the ADA
Each have research programs that have contributed to the
success of the annual scientific sessions, have been long-standing members of
the ADA, and have supported the ADA in various roles.
The editorial they were distributing addressed the current proposals by the
#TrumpAdministration via the #OfficeOfManagementAndBudge (#OMB) that in many of our opinions weaken and heavily politicizes science in the U.S.; something that is the antithesis of what science strives for. Apparently their goal was to make meeting attendees aware of the current situation and served as a #CallToAction to
scientists. The editorial was
co-authored by Dr. #StevenKahn, who is the current Editor-in-Chief of the
journal. If you’re interested in reading
the editorial, you can find a copy here. This link goes directly to a copy of the editorial and not to the Diabetes Care website. It is important to
note the editorial has at the top, in a highly visible location, a disclaimer
by the Association that I reproduce here:
“The opinions expressed in this editorial are the
personal views of the authors (S.E. Kahn, C.A.M. Anderson, J.B. Buse, and E.
Selvin) and do not represent those of the American Diabetes Association or the
authors’ employers. The American Diabetes Association had no role in the
development or writing of this manuscript. The authors declare that they
receive honoraria from the American Diabetes Association for serving as editors
of Diabetes Care and are recipients of grant awards from the National
Institutes of Health. There are no other relevant conflicts of interest.”
So while the Association claimed “neutral ground” with
respect to the publication of this opinion piece, they had no objection to it
appearing in their journal.
The Incident
I was not present at the actual incident, but it has been
described in detail in multiple media pieces and there is video of the actual
confrontation you can view here. But, there are some facts that need to be
clearly stated. The five researchers
were only handing out copies of the editorial to attendees passing by. They were not disruptive, they were not
actively protesting, and there was no signage.
Just five researches handing out this editorial and engaging individuals
if they asked questions. The ADA
responded by having all removed from the convention center. They were confronted again when they
attempted to re-enter the convention center and threatened with arrest if they
did not comply with requests to remain outside. Their meeting
credentials were confiscated and they were told they could no longer
participate in the meeting. I don’t know
about the others, but Dr. Kahn was scheduled to give a presentation later in
the meeting. The Association purged his
name and the session from the meeting agenda.
The Immediate Aftermath
News of the incident quickly spread among meeting
attendees. The video that first appeared
on MedPage Today and others that appeared since on social media were widely shared and people were asking about what happened in
terms of both the incident, but also the fate of the individuals. The Association quickly sent an e-mail to its
membership and meeting attendees that I am sharing in its entirety here. This initial statement, which essentially says that
distributed materials must get prior authorization and only distributed within
the exhibit hall, cites these individuals violating this “rule” and sets the
justification for expelling them from the meeting. Note one of the signatories of this e-mail is Dr. Mark Atkinson, who was the chair of the meeting program committee. This will be relevant below.
This initial “explanation” was followed by an
“official” statement from the Association on June 7 that I reproduce here. In this “official” statement, the ADA cites their 501(c)(3) status
as a non-profit organization and that Association activities need to
be non-partisan. This statement is in contradiction to the rationale presented in the e-mail sent on June 6.
June 7 also included a key session that included an address by the President of Medicine and Science, Dr. A. Enrique Caballero along with the #BantingMedal recipient, Dr. #TakashiKadowaki. The Banting Medal is the highest honor for scientific achievement awarded by the ADA, so congratulations to Dr. Kadowaki who over the course of his career has done elegant work to help identify key components of #Type2Diabetes...but I digress. Dr. Caballero attempted to address the "incident" by essentially not directly mentioning the "incident" and dancing around it with flowery language about how we can disagree about any topic, that we shouldn't be confrontational, and we need to focus on helping people living with diabetes and obesity. This seemed to be the theme the Association was trying to push; ignore the "incident" and tell everyone to focus on the people we are trying to help. However, by not specifically addressing the issue, he created more confusion among people who were unaware of what had happened. Additionally, some attendees were clearly upset by how he handled things and walked out of the session, obviously in protest. While I remained because I wished to hear Dr. Kadowaki's presentation, I was simultaneously baffled and disgusted at how Dr. Caballero handled things. It was beyond pathetic and did nothing to clarify or mitigate, let alone resolve, the situation. I do not know if Dr. Caballero did this statement on his own (highly unlikely) or whether he was given what to say (most likely).
The same day, there was supposed to be a session where Steve Kahn was scheduled to give a presentation. However, because he was persona non grata he was unable to make his presentation. Instead, Dr. John Buse (Professor of Medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#UNC) School of Medicine and past ADA President for Science and Medicine) gave a presentation in Dr. Kahn's place. However, before his formal presentation, Dr. Buse addressed those in attendance. His comments can be seen in a video posted by Dr. Alice Cheng here. The open letter and #petition Dr. Buse mentions can be found here if you are interested.
The Continuing Aftermath
So this "incident" has generated much discussion and activity, particularly online. Dr. Atkinson resigned as chair of the Scientific Planning Committee. In talking with folks with knowledge of his decision, he did not agree with how the ADA handled the situation and was unhappy that his name had to be attached to the initial e-mail that went out to membership and meeting attendees. The ADA President-elect for Science and Medicine, Dr. Jennifer Green of #DukeUniversity, resigned her position and the ADA has already stricken her from their website. It's not clear how ADA intends to fill these important positions.
I have been hearing rumblings of additional potential resignations, so things are still in flux. I have also heard from colleagues who have declared they will refrain from supporting ADA and halt participation in any ADA activities until the Association apologies to the individuals involved. Thus far, the ADA has responded by saying they wish to resolve this situation to everyone's satisfaction and will schedule a meeting with the individuals as quickly as possible. However, whether they will be successful or not is questionable. I have already heard that at least Steve Kahn has said he will not meet with them until they issue an apology. I wouldn't be surprised if the others take a similar stance. So we will see what transpires.
My Thoughts
So at the top I said I was ashamed of the Association's actions with respect to this incident. Let me explain why.
First, and foremost, the Association's handling of this situation has been, and continues to be, disastrous at best. The shifting explanations for their actions were stupid, but more importantly, nonsensical. Unauthorized distribution outside of the exhibit hall? I get tons of #propaganda from pharmaceutical, tech, and other companies that are included in my meeting packet, slipped under the door of my hotel room, and other forms of distribution directly related to the meeting. The Association clearly condones these distributions "outside the exhibit hall" and has provided these parties necessary information to target me and other attendees. Second, given the editorial being distributed was published in the Association's premier journal, is already in the public domain, and included a neutrality statement essentially means the Association had no problem with it. In fact, I would have assumed they would be happy to see something they published being distributed to additional readership.
Third, their efforts to misdirect members and meeting attendees by not directly addressing the incident and underlying issue and repeatedly telling folks to focus on the people living with diabetes and obesity just reveals their inability to truly stand up and advocate when they absolutely need to. The scientific sessions and all the wonderful discoveries and promising treatments for people living with diabetes and obesity would not exist if it were not for the dedication of all of those who do the science. That science is being threatened in a way that we have not seen at least in my lifetime. If there was ever a time for the ADA to be taking a strong advocacy position on behalf of the people living with these chronic diseases, it's now. Individual scientists and the Association must make a stand, lest there be no attendees and science to present at future scientific sessions.
Lastly, there is the issue of #FreeSpeech and #FreedomOfExpression. The majority of us attending the ADA Scientific Sessions are academics where #integrity and #AcademicFreedom are core principles. However, beyond academics, we, as the #democracy that we are supposed to be, hold free speech and expression as founding principles of our country. Suppression of these activities takes us down a dark path. Given what actually happened with this "incident," the ADA comes across as invoking #censorship simply out of fear and protecting themselves from reprisal from an administration that clearly does not have the health of America and the world at heart.
The epilogue of this story is yet to be played out. Much more is likely to happen in the days to come. One hopes the ADA will make appropriate adjustments and realize their errors, but I am not holding my breath. We live in a time where various groups are cow-towing to the Trump Administration and its various threats. Standing against the administration threatens the very existence of various organizations and rather than risk their livelihood, many have chosen to comply. This is exactly what the administration is hoping for and only helps them achieve their goals. We are at a critical juncture where organizations like the ADA need to grow a spine. If they truly want to focus on people living with diabetes and obesity, then they need to actively advocate on behalf of science and push back against the proposed changes. If they don't and these proposals become policy, then the goalposts for finding a cure for diabetes and obesity will be significantly pushed back further into the future.
#DrWattAtUSC #LetsMakeAmericaBuenoAgain
Update: No sooner had I published this blog, that I became aware that I might be mistaken about which editorial was being distributed at the meeting. My original information suggested the one from the link above, but just yesterday, a new editorial penned by members of the Diabetes Care editorial board was published in the journal. You can read it here, This may have been what was being distributed at the scientific sessions.
