STAT+: Acting head of NIH’s infectious disease institute reported to have stepped down
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Yet another leadership position at the National Institutes of Health appears to be vacant. Jeffery Taubenberger, who has been serving as acting head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has stepped down, Sen. Tammy Baldwin revealed Thursday during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. It was unclear when Taubenberger, who has been serving in the role since April 2025, stepped down, or why, though there has been chatter in infectious diseases research circles that  Taubenberger had stepped down about two weeks ago. STAT has asked the Department of Health and Human Services about his status several times; those queries have gone unanswered and unacknowledged.  Taubenberger was still listed as acting director on the institute’s website on Thursday. In the HHS’s employee directory he is listed as the chief of the viral pathogenesis and evolution section. He has not responded to repeated queries from STAT about his status.Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…