On January 22, 2025, employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were informed that all travel, foreign and domestic, has been suspended immediately and indefinitely. In addition to the cancelled travel, employees are prevented from attending conferences, purchasing with government cards, submitting abstracts and manuscripts, hiring, and engaging in external communication.
The order by the Trump administration will impact clinical trials and ongoing projects in the U.S. and in countries that NIH staff routinely visit to conduct biomedical and public health research. According to an NIH staffer, “If staff aren’t able to travel, these trials will likely have to be put on hold.”
Update: On January 27, 2025, acting director Dr. Matthew Memoli informed NIH staff that clinical trials and travel to trial sites for research purposes could resume. The memo clarified that scientists are also allowed to meet to discuss ongoing research, as long as “it does not involve public release of information or presentation of data” to anyone not involved in the research or its funding.