NCLA to Second Circuit: Revive Suit on NIH PubMed Name-Change Policy Harming Women in Science
Marsha Reyngold, M.D., Ph.D. v. National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, D.C., July 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When users of the National Institutes of Health’s PubMed search engine search for publications by scientists who have changed their name, it only shows articles authored using the exact, searched version of that name, excluding the author’s works written under different names. This violates the constitutional rights of accomplished female researchers, like NCLA client Dr. Marsha Reyngold, who more commonly change their last names as a result of marriage or divorce.
A physician and accomplished female researcher at the globally renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Marsha Reyngold has conducted extensive medical research and speaks at scientific conferences around the world. She has co-authored dozens of publications in academic journals. A search for her name on PubMed, however, does not reflect the full extent of her scientific contributions because she decided to publish work under a prior last name, which she adopted as a result of marriage and no longer uses. This makes it more difficult for her to obtain grants and speaking engagements and causes her to appear less published than she actually is.
Despite the predictable effects of the policy, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed NCLA’s lawsuit representing Dr. Reyngold, Reyngold v. NIH, which aims to force PubMed to cross-reference all articles by the same author who has published under multiple names. According to the district court, Dr. Reyngold did not adequately allege that she has ever been passed over for a professional opportunity as a result of the policy. But Dr. Reyngold is indeed harmed by PubMed’s unlawful cross-reference policy because it denies her the equal opportunity her male peers have for their full scientific contributions to be displayed on PubMed when a user searches their names. This unequal treatment is a constitutional injury in itself, an injury a court can, and should, correct. Pursuing that goal, NCLA has filed its opening brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse the district court’s dismissal and let the lawsuit move forward.
NCLA released the following statement:
“A researcher’s publications are her professional identity. Dr. Reyngold should not be penalized in her professional life just because she made the decision to get married and change her last name. The Second Circuit should reverse the district court’s decision and allow Dr. Reyngold’s challenge to PubMed’s unlawful and inappropriate cross-reference policy to proceed.”
— Andreia Trifoi, Staff Attorney, NCLA
For more information visit the case page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 703-403-1111 joe.martyak@ncla.legal
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