Week In Review

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has introduced a proposed rule that would substantially change the government’s management and administration of federal grants across all agencies, including the research enterprise. Comments on the OMB proposed rule are due on July 13th. For members that would like to take action, the American Physical Society-led campaign helps individuals with submitting personalized comments on the rule directly to regulations.gov. The campaign allows selection of one or more topics with brief context and specific questions for each topic, and the answers are used to generate a reviewable, editable letter. We encourage you to make your voice heard and submit feedback on this rule that would revise the entirety of federal grantmaking. 

Key provisions of the proposed OMB rule are:

• Pre-Issuance Review: Senior political appointees would review discretionary awards to ensure alignment with administration priorities and compliance with law and the proposal clarifies that peer review is advisory.
• Expanded Termination and Suspension Authority: Agencies could terminate or suspend awards if they no longer advance program goals, federal priorities, or the national interest, including temporary stop-work orders up to 90 days.
• Applicant Risk Assessment: Agencies may consider an applicant’s history of questionable practices, affiliations with organizations violating federal law, or activities undermining public safety or national security.
• Prohibitions on Certain Uses of Funds: Federal awards could not support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, gender ideology, or activities related to sex transition for minors, while faith-based organizations would receive non-discrimination protections. Awards are also prohibited from supporting conference attendance, publications, and memberships, subscriptions, and professional activity costs without prior approval. 
• Procurement and Domestic Preferences: Recipients would be required to follow stricter procurement rules, including domestic content requirements and limitations on cost-reimbursement contracts.

AGS is seeking passionate and engaged leaders to help shape the future of AGS and the field of geriatrics through service on the AGS Board. We encourage members to nominate themselves or others whose expertise, experience, and commitment would strengthen the Society’s leadership.

The AGS Board provides fiduciary oversight for the Society and works collaboratively with the CEO and staff to advance AGS priorities. The Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the society, responding to emerging issues, interpreting the organization’s mission to the public, and establishing and maintaining programs relevant to the Society’s strategic vision.

Learn more about the AGS Board Position and the nominations process here.

Nominations are due by October 1, 2026.

Recently, AGS/ADGAP AIRE Medicine-Geriatrics Integrated Residency and Fellowship (Combined Med-Geri Pathway) Trainees met via zoom to share their experiences with the pathway. We encourage you to share the recording with anyone you know considering a career in geriatrics, as well as prospective internal medicine or family medicine residency program directors. It is a great way to learn how the AGS/ADGAP AIRE Medicine-Geriatrics Integrated Residency and Fellowship (Combined Med-Geri Pathway) successfully prepares future geriatricians through a streamlined training model.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has released a free, four-hour course on Benzodiazepine Tapering Considerations in General Medicine.  This CE-approved, online course will help participants implement the joint guideline which was developed by ASAM with the support of other societies including AGS. Learn more about the course by clicking here.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is pleased to announce the recruitment of a senior leadership position, Director of the NIA Division of Neuroscience. With a budget of approximately $2.4 billion and a staff of 70 full-time employees, the Division of Neuroscience encompasses five branches, including Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Clinical Interventions and Diagnostics, Neurobiology of Aging and Neurodegeneration, Population Studies and Genetics, and Translational Research. The Director is responsible for planning, managing, and evaluating research across these branches, including providing critical oversight for NIA’s Alzheimer’s disease research portfolio. We encourage broad sharing of this opportunity with interested candidates. To learn more about the position and how to apply, please see the full position advertisement. The application period will open on July 10, 2026, and close on August 21, 2026.

We are sad to report that former AGS President Patricia Barry MD, MPH, AGSF has died. In addition to serving as an AGS President, Dr. Barry had many leadership roles at the Society including serving as a co-principal investigator for the Practicing Physician Education Project (PPE Project), a collaboration between The John A. Hartford Foundation of New York and the American Geriatrics Society that addressed the need for additional geriatrics competence among generalist physicians. Throughout her career, Dr. Barry was dedicated to improving our health and well-being as we age. Her track record of leadership and faculty positions is extraordinary, having served on the faculty of the University of South Florida, Boston University, and the University of Miami. At Boston University, she established its first Home Medical Service in the 1980’s, providing primary medical care to homebound older adults. She also received the Distinguished Physician Alumni Award in Academics from the University of South Florida in 1994. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William & Mary and her MD from the University of South Florida’s School of Medicine. Flowers can be sent to the family using this link, or you can plant a tree in memory of Dr. Barry here.