On February 19, 2025, Science reported that at least 15 of 21 fellows in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Laboratory Leadership Service were fired. The Service is a prestigious, highly competitive fellowship program to train public health scientists.
Termination notices were sent to the fellows from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the CDC’s parent agency, stating, “You are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs and your performance has not been adequate.” However, current and former fellows told the media that HHS would have no basis on which to evaluate the fellows because Laboratory Leadership Service performance reviews are not logged in the CDC’s system.
Former fellow, David Payne, notes, “It is just a tremendous disappointment … to see that this program that is training the next generation of laboratory leaders is being cut off.”