A rising protest against the American Diabetes Association’s response to a disruptive episode at its annual scientific meeting threatens its upcoming flagship event, as physicians and researchers rally support for a boycott over perceived mishandling and communication failures.
The American Diabetes Association is facing a widening backlash over its handling of a confrontation at its annual scientific meeting, with a boycott now gathering support among physicians and researchers who say the group mishandled the episode.
According to Dr John Buse, a former ADA president and deputy editor of Diabetes Care, about 1,200 people have signed a petition backing the boycott in just one week. Dr Steven Kahn, the journal’s editor-in-chief, put the number at roughly the same level and said support is still growing. The campaign urges members to withdraw from ADA meetings, peer review, journal submissions, fundraising and other activities, and it is aimed in particular at the 2027 Scientific Sessions in Washington, D.C.
The dispute began at the 2026 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans in June, when security removed five physicians and scientists who were distributing copies of an editorial published in Diabetes Care criticising federal cuts to biomedical research. Kahn said he had printed the material himself and recruited colleagues, including former ADA leaders, to hand it out outside a plenary session. He said the organisation had been told in advance what they planned to do, yet no one warned him it would not be allowed.
The ADA’s Audit and Governance Committee later said in an independent review released on Sept. 1 that the five were removed for disruptive conduct in breach of the attendee code of conduct, not because of the leaflet itself. The committee said on-site security acted appropriately and found no evidence that ADA staff called the New Orleans Police Department, while also acknowledging communication failures between staff, security and attendees. ADA chief executive Chuck Henderson said the findings let the association move on, and board chair James Tai said the process had been carried out with “significant time, care and diligence”.
Boycott organisers rejected that conclusion and decided to proceed after the review was published. The ADA has said on its Scientific Sessions pages that no programmes, events or initiatives, including the 2027 meeting scheduled for June 18 to 21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Centre, have been “stalled, suspended, or stopped”. Even so, Buse warned that the boycott could carry real weight because Scientific Sessions is the association’s flagship gathering, typically drawing thousands of attendees as well as major pharmaceutical and device exhibitors.
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