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 (D-Wis.) 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.
Staff at NIAID have not been informed, though rumors were starting to make the rounds earlier this week, one employee told STAT, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
