NEW ORLEANS — Richard Woychik delivered the keynote address at the American Diabetes Association (ADA)'s 2026 scientific sessions in New Orleans. During his speech, Woychik expressed public support for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya canceled his scheduled appearance at the conference. The ADA attributed Bhattacharya's absence to a last-minute scheduling conflict requiring a meeting with President Trump. Woychik works closely with Bhattacharya, and he previously served as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

During his address, Woychik discussed environmental health research priorities, specifically mentioning fluoride in drinking water, autism, and vaccines. He endorsed further study into environmental influences on autism but did not link autism to vaccines. Woychik noted a new study is underway to review past literature on fluoride. He also attributed recent grant funding reductions to congressional action, describing them as part of an administrative transition.

Following Woychik's remarks, ADA Chief Scientific Officer Rita Kalyani moderated a question-and-answer session. Kalyani quoted Senator Tammy Baldwin during the session regarding changes to biomedical research programs. Kalyani also questioned Woychik about an administration proposal she said challenges scientific inquiry freedoms.

Woychik stated, "Diabetes is one of the clearest examples of why NIH needs an integrated approach to chronic diseases." He also addressed the MAHA Agenda's stance on vaccines, saying, "If you read the MAHA Agenda, there's a lot of discussion about vaccines. It's not arguing whether vaccines are good or bad or whether we should ban them. It's just developing a better sense of when you're treated with a vaccine, what are the biological responses, the molecular responses that happen as a consequence of the treatment with the vaccine."

Local police escorted five conference registrants from the convention center on Friday. This occurred while they distributed copies of an editorial from the journal Diabetes Care. Steven Kahn, who was among those escorted, is the lead author of an April 29 editorial criticizing Trump administration changes to U.S. biomedical research. The ADA stated the attendees were removed for violating the event code of conduct after they declined to cease their distribution activity.

No independent assessment of Richard Woychik’s claims was available.