CIDRAP (University of Minnesota)

U.S. academic, science-aligned

Background

CIDRAP was founded in 2001 by Michael Osterholm, a prominent epidemiologist and former Minnesota state epidemiologist, as part of the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center (later reorganized under its Research and Innovation Office). Its original mission was to bridge infectious disease research and real-world public health practice, and it built a widely-read free news service covering emerging diseases, bioterrorism preparedness, food safety, and pandemic response. The site drew large audiences during SARS, H1N1, and COVID-19. Funding comes through a mix of philanthropic grants — from the Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Wellcome Trust, CEPI, and Walton family foundations, among others — plus individual donations and university support; CIDRAP carries no advertising and charges no subscription fees. Its stated editorial policy holds that news coverage operates independently from CIDRAP's research programs and that donor gifts have no influence on editorial content. Over its history, CIDRAP's coverage has consistently hewed to the scientific and public health mainstream, and Osterholm has at times publicly criticized pandemic management decisions under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Beginning in early 2025, CIDRAP's news coverage extensively documented CDC and NIH funding cuts, the overhaul of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices under RFK Jr., and U.S. withdrawal from the WHO. In April 2025, CIDRAP launched its Vaccine Integrity Project — funded by the Alumbra Foundation — to provide independent, evidence-based vaccine guidance in the absence of trusted federal guidance, a move that reflects a clear institutional opposition to the administration's public health direction.

Sources

1. Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy – Wikipedia
2. About CIDRAP | CIDRAP
3. Editorial Policy | CIDRAP
4. CIDRAP – Bias and Reliability | Biasly
5. CDC funding cuts to 4 states in limbo after judge's ruling | CIDRAP
6. Trump administration seeks more funding cuts for NIH | CIDRAP
7. Trump executive order directs CDC to 'realign' childhood vaccine recommendations | CIDRAP
8. Public health leaders, distrustful of RFK Jr., stand up project to defend vaccines | STAT News
9. Home | Vaccine Integrity Project
10. Support CIDRAP | CIDRAP

Profile compiled 2026-07-12; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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