Expert expelled from ADA conference embroiled in new controversy

In a new twist in the turmoil at the American Diabetes Association, leaders have blocked the publication of an opinion piece by the editors of the association’s flagship magazine and a first-person report detailing a high-profile controversy at the association’s annual meeting last month.

Nearly five weeks after five diabetes experts were taken from a New Orleans conference center for distributing reprints of an editorial expressing concerns about cuts to federal research, the ADA’s flagship journal, Diabetes Care, is preparing to publish an editorial and several reports detailing the episode, which garnered national attention and prompted the ADA to apologize for the eviction and promise a formal review. But the group says it has postponed publication until the results of that review are known, even though there are disagreements over how the review should be conducted.

In spiked editorials and personal accounts now available on an open-access website, diabetes specialists who were fired in early June detail their treatments. Prominent ADA members, including former leaders and those who resigned following the confrontation, have also expressed regret over the initial and subsequent handling of the incident. While all expressed disappointment with the decision to suppress voices that opposed the Trump administration’s policies, they also disagreed with how ADA leadership handled the incident and its aftermath.

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