In recent downsizing moves by the federal government, multiple employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been laid off, with the fallout seriously hampering ongoing Lyme disease research. Joe Cardiello, a CDC research biologist based in Fort Collins, was one of those affected, losing his job amid a wave of budget cuts initiated by President Trump and Elon Musk, as recounted by 9NEWS. Cardiello, who has been with the CDC since September 2024, highlighted his cleaved connection to a mission he considered vital, saying, "Projects will be dropped. Treatments or detection methods will be lost. Decades of work can sometimes get lost in a freezer if you're not careful."
Despite a previous performance review labeling him as having "achieved more than expected results," Cardiello received a termination letter citing performance reasons. This action was part of a broader set of layoffs that also impacted the IRS in Denver and park rangers at the Rocky Mountain National Park. After uprooting his life to pursue what he called a "dream job", Cardiello found himself unexpectedly jobless, as per CBS Colorado, which also detailed his team's work on pioneering CRISPR technology for prompt Lyme disease detection.
The repercussions of these cuts extend beyond individual narratives, threatening to disrupt critical scientific endeavors. Dr. Richard Horowitz, through a social media update, revealed the scope of the problem, stating that various CDC epidemiologists have been dismissed and survivors are under tight restrictions, including a halt in attending Lyme conferences and limitations on project spending, as mentioned by LymeDisease.org. Meanwhile, Lyme disease advocate Olivia Goodreau of the LivLyme Foundation expressed concerns about the potential collateral damage the budget cuts may inflict on the scientific and patient communities.
