ADA: Removed Attendees Violated Conduct Code

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has announced the results of its review into the removal of five attendees from its annual scientific meeting in June. The association stated the individuals were removed for conduct that disrupted the event and violated its Attendee Code of Conduct, not for the content of the materials they were distributing.

According to an ADA press release, an independent audit and governance committee reviewed the June 5 incident. The committee interviewed 28 people with firsthand knowledge, including the five removed attendees, and examined videos, emails, and news articles. The review found no evidence that anyone from the ADA called the New Orleans Police Department, noting that contracted event security personnel took appropriate actions.

Researchers Dispute Review Findings

Steven Kahn, MBChB, the lead author of the editorial being distributed and one of the removed attendees, challenged the review's independence. He noted that two committee members serve on the ADA's board of directors. Kahn stated it is "unclear what aspects of the code of conduct we in fact violated" and said he and the four other researchers have not been allowed to see the full report despite requesting it.

"In the end, very few answers have been provided and lots of questions remain," Kahn said in an email to MedPage Today. The other removed attendees were Maureen Gannon, PhD, Aaron Kelly, PhD, Justin Ryder, PhD, and Desmond Schatz, MD.

Criticism from the Diabetes Community

David Nathan, MD, a diabetes expert at Massachusetts General Hospital who was interviewed for the review, said he told the committee the ADA "behaved shamefully." He believes his comments were ignored. "I was clearly not effective, as the press release suggests that the 'independent review' is only going to be a whitewash of the events that began on June 5," Nathan told MedPage Today. "I fear for the survival of this once admirable institution."

The editorial being distributed had been previously published in the ADA's own journal, Diabetes Care, and was critical of the Trump administration's policies on diabetes research funding. The ADA release stated the content was "unrelated to their removal."

Aftermath and Organizational Response

Following the incident, two ADA leaders resigned: President-Elect Jennifer Green, MD, and Scientific Sessions Planning Committee Chair Mark Atkinson, PhD. On June 10, ADA CEO Charles Henderson issued a video apology to the removed attendees and the broader research community.

In a subsequent op-ed, Henderson emphasized the ADA's advocacy work, writing, "The ADA has also made numerous public statements calling out the current and former administrations for cutting diabetes prevention programs, reducing research support, and decreasing healthcare coverage."

The ADA stated it will implement new initiatives to strengthen how it serves the scientific community. These include improving communications, enhancing guidance for event staff, and strengthening policies for large meetings.

In July, the ADA declined to publish a packet of editorials about the meeting events in Diabetes Care. The journal's deputy editors instead published the materials on the scientific repository Zenodo. Steven Kahn remains the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care.