Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. oversaw $779,689 in NIH funding to a research project partnered with a Russian laboratory connected to a recent plague investigation.
The money moved through the National Institutes of Health in two distinct waves: $389,943 in July 2025, followed by another $389,746 in September 2026. Under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nearly $800. 000 in federal tax dollars reached the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. earmarked for research conducted in direct partnership with Russia’s state-run Institute of Cytology and Genetics.
This scientific collaboration involves the study of fox genetics to understand social behavior. a project that requires researchers to euthanize animals and ship biological samples across borders for analysis. The funding. however. persists in the shadow of a 2022 directive from the Biden administration intended to sever such partnerships with Russian government institutions following the invasion of Ukraine.
The urgency surrounding these ties sharpened after a September 25 laboratory incident at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute. Daria Shipilova. a 28-year-old researcher. fell ill after a test tube broke in her lab; she later died of severe pneumonia. triggering a massive public health response that forced nearly 200 people into medical observation. While Russian officials have stopped short of confirming plague as the cause of death. the proximity of these events has U.S. authorities watching the Siberian region closely.
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, confirmed that he has a call scheduled for very soon with President Vladimir Putin to address the escalating situation.
The flow of taxpayer money into this partnership. documented in records obtained by the animal testing watchdog White Coat Waste. highlights a disconnect between federal policy and executive action. Despite the standing directive against such cooperation, the NIH continued to authorize these payments throughout 2025 and 2026.
White Coat Waste has pressed the department to account for this continued collaboration. pointing to the inherent risks of working with institutions tied to high-stakes contagion research. As the diplomatic clock ticks toward the planned conversation between Washington and Moscow. the administration faces mounting pressure to justify a project that remains active even as the safety of the partner institution in Russia comes under global scrutiny.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr NIH Russia plague HHS Donald Trump Vladimir Putin research funding