Christian Kohler, the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) vice president for professional publications, submitted his resignation on 6 November 2026, according to Retraction Watch. His letter cites the association’s handling of the events of 5 June at its Scientific Sessions in New Orleans and its decision to appoint an interim editorial team for Diabetes Care. The resignation is the latest step in a dispute over editorial independence at the ADA’s flagship journal.
Recap of the dispute
In June 2026, five attendees, including Diabetes Care editor-in-chief Steven Kahn, were removed from the ADA Scientific Sessions for handing out copies of a journal editorial on NIH funding cuts. CASRAI’s earlier report covers that episode in full: ADA and Diabetes Care editorial independence.
What happened
The resignation
Kohler had worked at the ADA for more than 20 years and had held his current role since 2022, Retraction Watch reports. In his resignation letter, dated 6 November 2026, he wrote that he was resigning “after considerable reflection and with profound disappointment in ADA’s handling of the events of June 5 in New Orleans.”
The immediate trigger, according to the letter, was ADA leadership’s decision to appoint an interim editorial team for Diabetes Care “despite my repeated and strongly expressed objections.” Kohler also objected that the arrangement leaves no editor-in-chief with ultimate accountability and that there is no formal process for vetting the interim editors. He wrote that he could not “in good conscience, endorse or assume responsibility for an approach” he believes will worsen the problems, and said he hoped sharing the letter publicly would help move the conversation forward and lead to reforms at the ADA.
The boycott and the suspension of review
After the June incident, members announced a boycott of ADA activities, including presentations, grant reviews, manuscript reviews, journal management and manuscript submissions. Kahn said in September that the journal’s editorial leadership would stop its duties and that Diabetes Care would stop accepting new submissions until the impasse was resolved or the editors were replaced. Retraction Watch reported on 14 September that a notice on the submission page said editorial review was suspended from 10 September 2026; the notice was later removed without the editors’ knowledge. Kahn told Retraction Watch that about 400 manuscripts submitted since the boycott began have not been handled.
The ADA’s review and response
On 1 September the ADA released a summary of an independent review that concluded the five attendees were removed for violating the conference code of conduct, not because of the material they distributed. The full report followed on 23 October.
Responding to Retraction Watch on the resignation, an ADA spokesperson thanked Kohler for his service and said: “It is unfortunate that the boycott targets a resource that provides critical value and support to healthcare professionals.” The spokesperson also said Kohler’s letter “does not accurately reflect the caliber or qualifications” of the interim Diabetes Care editorial board members. The ADA said it has outlined next steps but did not immediately say what they are. Kahn said the resignation showed Kohler’s ethical approach.
What it means for journal editors and society publishers
The sources describe a dispute in which a society publisher and its journal’s editors disagree over who controls editorial decisions, and in which a senior publishing executive has publicly objected to the publisher’s chosen course. Two points are worth noting for editors and society publishers, drawn directly from what Kohler’s letter says. First, he objected to editorial functions being performed without an editor-in-chief who holds ultimate accountability. Second, he objected to the absence of a formal process for vetting interim editors. For background on the principle at stake, see the dictionary entry on editorial independence, the entry on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the guide to COPE guidelines.
For researchers, the practical effect reported so far is that new submissions to Diabetes Care are not being handled. Authors with manuscripts at the journal, and research offices advising them, may want to follow the ADA’s announcement of next steps.
