American Diabetes Association head Charles Henderson livestreamed an apology after the organization expelled five leading diabetes scientists from its annual meeting in New Orleans. The scientists, including Steven Kahn and former ADA president Desmond Schatz, were ejected for distributing an editorial that criticized the Trump administration’s impact on biomedical research and spurred debate within the research community.

The editorial appeared in the ADA’s own journal Diabetes Care in April, and the five were handed copies outside the conference’s opening speech. Originally slated for NIH head Jay Bhattacharya, the talk was cancelled at the last minute, prompting senior NIH official Rick Woychik to step in and leaving the scientists exposed during the early.

Louisiana State Police entered the venue at the ADA’s request, escorted the scientists out, and confiscated their badges while threatening arrest. The organization then barred them from the remainder of the event, sparking outrage across the diabetes research community and raising questions about free speech at scientific conferences in 2024 and highlighting the tension between and.

In his video, Henderson admitted the action did not reflect ADA values and vowed to rebuild unity among researchers. The incident underscores the fragility of academic freedom when political criticism clashes with organizational interests, reminding stakeholders that scientific integrity depends on protecting dissenting voices in the field of diabetes research and in the broader medical community.