Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    The 61 Best Outdoor Deals From the REI Anniversary Sale

    May 25, 2025

    Anker’s Excellent Portable Projector Doubles as a Cinematic Karaoke Machine

    May 25, 2025

    Summer blockbuster season is here

    May 25, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » RFK Jr.’s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research
    Science

    RFK Jr.’s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research

    News RoomBy News RoomMay 3, 20253 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    A research facility within the US National Institutes of Health that is tasked with studying Ebola and other deadly infectious diseases has been instructed by the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to stop research activities.

    According to an email viewed by WIRED, the Integrated Research Facility in Frederick, Maryland, was told to stop all experimental work by April 29 at 5 pm. The facility is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is located at the US Army base Fort Detrick. It conducts research on the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases that are deemed “high consequence”—those that pose significant risks to public health. It has 168 employees, including federal workers and contractors.

    The email, sent by Michael Holbrook, associate director for high containment at the Integrated Research Facility, says the lab is terminating studies on Lassa fever, SARS-Cov-2, and Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, a rare but lethal mosquito-borne disease that has been reported in several northern US states. “We are collecting as many samples as is reasonable to ensure these studies are of value,” he says in the email. “We have not been asked to euthanize any animals so these animals will continue to be managed.” Holbrook did not respond to an inquiry from WIRED.

    The email says representatives from the Department of Homeland Security were padlocking freezers in biosafety-level-4 labs, those with the highest level of biosafety containment used for studying highly dangerous microbes. Only about a dozen BSL-4 labs exist in North America. These labs work with the viruses that cause Ebola, Lassa fever, and Marburg, types of hemorrhagic fevers. The Integrated Research Facility is one of only a few places in the world that is able to perform medical imaging on animals infected with BSL-4 agents.

    “The sacrifice to research is immense,” says Gigi Kwik Gronvall, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, on the closure. “If things are unused for a period of time, it will cost more money to get them ready to be used again.”

    The facility’s director, Connie Schmaljohn, has also been placed on administrative leave, according to the email. Previously, Schmaljohn served as a senior research scientist at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. She has more than 200 research publications, and her work has led to several clinical trials of first-of-their-kind vaccines. Schmaljohn also did not respond to an inquiry from WIRED.

    In an emailed statement provided to WIRED, Bradley Moss, communication director for the office of research services at NIH, confirmed the halt in research activity. “NIH has implemented a research pause—referred to as a safety stand-down—at the Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick. This decision follows identification and documentation of personnel issues involving contract staff that compromised the facility’s safety culture, prompting this research pause. During the stand-down, no research will be conducted, and access will be limited to essential personnel only, to safeguard the facility and its resources.”

    Moss did not elaborate on the nature of the personnel issues and said he did not know how long the research pause would last. Staff have not received an anticipated reopening date.

    The research pause is the latest disruption to federal science agencies after HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced at the end of March that 10,000 people across the vast federal health agency would lose their jobs, including those at the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mass layoffs are part of a restructuring plan being carried out by President Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleYour Favorite New Coworker Is an AI-Enhanced Operative From North Korea
    Next Article As Trump’s Family Crypto Business Gains Steam, Ethical Concerns Mount

    Related Posts

    A Baby Received a Custom Crispr Treatment in Record Time

    May 24, 2025

    FEMA Has Canceled Its 4-Year Strategic Plan Ahead of Hurricane Season

    May 22, 2025

    SpaceX Tests Starship Fixes After Back-to-Back Failures

    May 22, 2025

    The EPA Is Giving Some Forever Chemicals a Pass

    May 21, 2025

    Dismantling NOAA Threatens the World’s Ability to Monitor Carbon Dioxide Levels

    May 21, 2025

    Diabetes Is Rising in Africa. Could It Lead to New Breakthroughs?

    May 21, 2025
    Our Picks

    Anker’s Excellent Portable Projector Doubles as a Cinematic Karaoke Machine

    May 25, 2025

    Summer blockbuster season is here

    May 25, 2025

    Meta’s antitrust defense wraps with one big claim: WhatsApp and Instagram couldn’t be better

    May 25, 2025

    DJI’s New Flagship Drone Is Astonishingly Powerful and Easy to Use

    May 25, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    The oldest Fire TV devices are losing Netflix support soon

    By News RoomMay 24, 2025

    It’s finally time to upgrade for many owners of the earliest Amazon Fire TV devices,…

    The Breville Oracle Jet Is Like the iPad of Home Espresso Machines

    May 24, 2025

    The Best Coffee Pod Machines for Hot and Cold Brew

    May 24, 2025

    Whoop is reportedly replacing defective MG trackers

    May 24, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.