Back in Boston for the first time in 6 years…how did so much time happen!

Just 2 weeks left to apply: Tenure-track faculty position at the University of Pittsburgh for someone studying the mechanisms of pain. Looking for interactive colleagues. Please spread the word! Info here: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...

Oh look its me!

If you were horrified watching elected leaders run & scramble because of gun violence, just imagine how my daughter Jaime felt in school running from an active shooter before she was killed. Now, become a part of the solution & only vote for people determined to address gun violence in America.

In the #NASEM chat with Bhattacharya, he says the accusations of political influence are a result of bad faith conversation. Here are examples of spreadsheets program officers receive requiring renegotiation of terms like "minority," "gender," "diversity." www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

In the #NASEM fireside chat with Jay Bhattacharya, he says there is no political review of grants. 👀 NIH staff being required to censor grants base on a computational text analysis tool beg to differ. www.science.org/pb-assets/PD...

NIH Update: Stay informed on grants policy & processes Follow NIH Guide notices, Grants Policy Statement, and official updates to stay compliant and competitive in funding applications. 🔗

Please join us for the USASP 2026 State of the Society Meeting! Learn about recent progress, highlights from the Annual Scientific Meeting, and upcoming opportunities for member engagement. USASP 2026 State of the Society: A Conversation with Leadership Date: April 28, 2026 at 3:00PM EST

Those of us doing research related to women’s health have been hit particularly hard by the govt’s sabotage of the NIH. I spoke to WaPo for this piece, as painful as it was to discuss the reality my lab is facing. www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...

How your email finds me

www.thetransmitter.org/policy/what-... with quotes from me, @jasonshep.bsky.social, Nathan Smith, Eve Marder and Walter Koroshetz

#neuroskyence Help! Anyone know of a freezing stage microtome that is still in production? Leica and Epredia have both inexplicably discontinued their models 😢

We’re hiring! The University of Pittsburgh is recruiting a tenure-track faculty member in pain research to join the Department of Neurobiology and the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research—an outstanding and highly collaborative community. Please share. More here: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...

Don't forget! Join us April 22 for our NIH HEAL webinar with Smriti Iyengar, PhD, Sarah Woller, PhD, and Christopher Conrad, PhD. Learn to use the Preclinical Screening Platform for pain, a one stop resource to profile novel therapeutics. Register: bit.ly/4me6x93 #PainResearch #NIHHEAL #PURPOSE

Advance your career in pain research. Join Michael L. Oshinsky, PhD, Director, NINDS Office of Preclinical Pain Research to learn about updates to NIH HEAL funding, and key areas to watch in the coming year. April 15 | 11 AM–12 PM PT Register: bit.ly/3NXvMzO

When you send your PO aims, please include your name, the activity code, and date in the file name. I have about 6000 SpecificAims_v34 files on my computer 😂

Just updated my HHMI Gilliam Fellowship application guide for the 2026 cycle. Big changes this year: international PhD students and MD-PhDs can now apply, and there's a new postdoc pathway extending HHMI support up to 7 years total. www.yaelcourtney.com/resources-an...

Precision Pain Medicine Explore HEAL Priorities E & F with Yenisel Cruz-Almeida and Vivianne Tawfik. A deep dive into multidimensional pain "signatures" and surrogate endpoints. Read & join the forum: bit.ly/4suRcCx #PainResearch

Here’s a cookie for everyone still showing up for review. We need you.

Join Dr. Laura Wandner for Episode 6 of the Exploring Pain series. Featuring expert insights from: Mark Pitcher, PhD Linda Porter, PhD April 21, 2026 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT Register: bit.ly/4msURPR

🚨 ⚡️ Check out this upcoming webinar⚡️ 🚨 Hosted by the Pain Research Forum (PRF) by IASP on April 23rd at 12PM EST. Join us for a discussion of descending modulation from some fantastic leaders in the field.

What in the actual fuck?

Had some pretty great applicant calls today. Things are shitty but their resilience is inspiring!

The National Institutes of Health is seeking applications for the director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Details can be found here: hr.nih.gov/careers/open... #neurosociety #nih #ninds

Come be my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss! hr.nih.gov/careers/open...

Sad to have to say goodbye to this set 🥲

Things I will not be checking at this time: my retirement account and details of the presidents budget.

Quotes from NIH workers on the April 1 RIFs, collected by @27unihted.bsky.social “...the worst part was the utter senselessness—when they RIFed my colleagues, they sent the message... that they can bully all of us and hold everyone at the agency hostage...” — Anonymous www.27unihted.org/the-nih-rif

Today is the anniversary of the April 1 RIFs at NIH and HHS. Thinking of my colleagues who lost their jobs last year. These cuts did no improve efficiency. They undermined the functioning of our government.

The Orange Cat Brain Atlas is here. 🧠🐈 Today, we published the first comprehensive cellular map of the orange cat brain. The new atlas reveals a single, specialized neuron responsible for behaviors like staring at walls, knocking objects off tables, and the 3am "zoomies."

Just a reminder that 1yr ago today many dedicated NIH employees received RIF notices and started the process where many others were told they must leave their positions/ICs after years of service. The pain felt across the scientific community in the last year is also felt by those serving it.

HHS and OMB have stopped them. They have mandated the new NOFOs also be written in “simple” text. While NOFOs are being reduced, IC staff are working to get topics in place for parents. NOFOs are being written but they’re being rejected or just sitting in HHS & now OMB offices….

And once again, NIH staff were given very little notice about a major policy change that takes place in less than 2 months.

Hear ye, hear ye!!! All applicants and/or reviewers for NIH: update to late submission policy, end of continuous submission!!! Because recruiting reviewers wasn’t hard enough. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Curious what is going on with HEAL these days? Me too! Lets get some answers. Join our webinar April 15th painresearchers.com/networks/eve...

Join us in shaping the future of science! @hhmi-science.bsky.social is hiring a new Scientific Program Officer to support the #HannaGrayFellows #FHScholar programs hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...

Missed my poster on HEAL training opportunities? Message me for a copy!

#neuroscience #trainees One month left to nominate an outstanding mentor for the NINDS Landis Award! Nomination form here: forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...

The PURPOSE meeting is underway!

💯@newyorker.com @paulnoth.bsky.social

Hey folks, CSR has undergone a massive reorganization. The macro framework is in place and can be viewed online, and the micro details will come in the next couple of rounds. The new framework will structure your application review starting next (summer) round. Worth a peak for applicants!

NRSA levels for FY26. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

My posters might not have pretty pictures on them anymore but I make up for it where I can. #womeninstem

The US NIH is stepping back from 'top-down' science. My latest analysis for @nature.com shows that funding calls have plummeted by 90%, funneling billions into broad, 'investigator-initiated' ideas, rather than targeted, agency-driven ones. A massive shift for the American biomedical enterprise.

The NIH typically an average of 780 notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) a year. In the 14 months since Trump came into office, the NIH has posted a grand total of 84. That drop is "striking" says Michael Lauer, former deputy director for extramural research for 15 years at the NIH.

Thrilled to be officially attending the PUPOSE meeting and USASP next week in Philly. Hope to see you there!

This Russell Vought, trying to usurp the power of the purse. Congress and the people have made it abundantly clear that they want to fund science. But Vought keeps trying to steal those funds. www.science.org/content/arti...

I got excited when I saw that NIH might have received its first apportionment from OMB today. Alas, it's for ARPA-H. OMB still has not given NIH a dime for non-salary, non-emergency expenses from the spending bill that was signed into law on Feb 3.

#neuroscience #trainees Call for Nominations for the NINDS Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship! This year, NINDS is seeking nominations for established faculty mentors who are more than 20 years from the start of their first TT position. Nominations are due 4/24! www.nih.gov/challenges/n...