Acting head of US NIH infectious disease institute has left, senators say

WASHINGTON — The acting director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) infectious disease institute has stepped down, two Democratic senators confirmed Thursday during a Senate hearing, as the country faces Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks.

Jeffery Taubenberger assumed the role of acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in April 2025, following the removal of the previous head under the Trump administration.

Senator Tammy Baldwin opened the hearing on the NIH’s 2027 budget by announcing that Taubenberger had resigned and would not testify as planned. Senator Patty Murray also acknowledged his departure.

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, a Trump appointee, confirmed the leadership change in his testimony, stating that NIAID requires new leadership as it shifts focus away from civilian biodefense.

“The institute will no longer focus primarily on preparing for biological attacks or pandemics before they occur,” Bhattacharya said. “Our priorities are now on responding to emerging infectious diseases like Ebola and hantavirus, and on allergy and immunology.”

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, has not responded to inquiries regarding Taubenberger’s exit or NIAID’s role in the ongoing Ebola response.

“In the midst of an emerging Ebola outbreak, we have a leadership vacuum at the world’s premier infectious disease institute and across our health agencies. This is of great concern,” Baldwin said.

Under former director Anthony Fauci, NIAID played a critical role in the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Bhattacharya said that departing NIAID staff have been reassigned to other NIH roles. However, concerns remain among public health experts. Jeanne Marrazzo, who was previously removed as head of NIAID by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warned that “the world’s premier biomedical research institute” must work closely with researchers and industry to develop treatments for the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The exits add to a broader leadership gap at NIH, where more than half of its 27 institutes are currently led by acting directors. NIAID is the second-largest NIH institute, with a budget exceeding $6.5 billion.

Meanwhile, there are no confirmed cases in the U.S. of the Andes hantavirus, which has killed three people during an outbreak aboard a luxury cruise ship in the Atlantic. However, 41 people, including 18 in quarantine in Nebraska, are being monitored for potential infection.

-Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; editing by Caroline Humer and Will Dunham/Reuters