Internal directives at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) instructed staff to remove references to 'biodefense' and 'pandemic preparedness' from public webpages, signaling a reprioritization of the institute’s research focus under new NIH leadership. Nature reported the change and cited sources describing an organizational overhaul intended to shift emphasis toward basic immunology and infectious diseases currently affecting Americans. The move affects roughly one‑third of NIAID’s budget areas that previously covered emerging infectious diseases and biodefense, researchers told Nature, and has prompted concern among infectious‑disease experts about long‑term surveillance and countermeasure development. NIH spokespeople characterized the changes as a sharpened research vision rather than an abandonment of preparedness. This policy-level shift will reverberate across funded programs, grant priorities and national biodefense planning; investigators and funders will monitor subsequent funding announcements and programmatic guidance for tangible changes.