These data show that the NSF terminations targeted STEM Ed and Soc Behav and Econ Sciences almost exclusively with an 11.4% drop in active EDU grants and a 7.4% drop in SPE from FY2024 to FY2025 and most other Directorates essentially unchanged (with an overall drop in the number of active grants)

More on NSF funding data A deeper dive into the numbers of awards by Directorate. 1/9

Thank you for your courage and leadership @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social You have been an exemplary government employee, standing up against illegal and immoral actions, but doing so within the constraints of a federal official. You do honor to your oath and to our country. Courage is Contagious

My weekly update (Grants with Notice of Award dates up to 1/23/26) All projects 1/3

The NIH budget bill passed the House. Now, it's bundled w/ DHS funding in the Senate. We are likely to see a fight this week. New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more. At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪

“The ban on postings to the Fed Register also reflects a new and more ominous trend. For 80 years NIH has been largely independent of presidential control.” “Congress, not the President, should set scientific priorities” Key takeaway for 🧪. 1/

The conference (agreement between House and Senate) appropriations bill that includes HHS and NIH was released this morning. www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit... 1/5

NIH budget bill out today. It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪 Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷‍♂️ Also: watch ICE/DHS budget. 🧵1/

The Stockdale Paradox... not be confused with the Stockholm Syndrome. a leadership principle where you maintain unwavering faith in eventual success ("never lose faith") while simultaneously confronting the brutal, harsh realities of your current situation ("never deny reality").

The new NIH multi-year funding policy is a scheme to undercut the NIH budget and fund less science. And it’s working (see below). The Senate approps bill has language to limit MYF use, but the House version does not. Call your reps (House and Senate) and insist it’s included in the final bill! 🧪

Just out in @nature.com BME: Our Review unpacks intracortical microstimulation: axons, not somas, drive activation; direct + indirect pathways shape perception; parameters interact with neuron type, layer, and network; long-term use limited by neural depression & tissue response. 🧠⚡ rdcu.be/eZbTz

A reminder as Congress finalizes NIH appropriations: the bill must limit multiyear funding (MYF), Vought's way of cutting the NIH budget without cutting the budget. MYF will devastate the research workforce. @safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...

The appropriations bill that includes NIH is being finalized. The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants. The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language. 1/3

🚨BREAKING ALERT: White House Poised to VETO Any NIH Budget Bill That Doesn't Torpedo U.S. Innovation! 🚨 #NIH #VetoThreat #USInnovation #ScienceFunding

🇺🇸 America First patriots: We're $37T+ in debt & paying ~$970B/year in interest (13% of budget) at ~3.4% rates.NIH? Tiny <0.7% ($47-48B) fuels the innovation that makes foreigners buy our bonds, keeping rates low on US interest payments. #NIH #TaxpayerValue #AmericanInnovation

💫 Apparently for the past 15-20 yrs, I’ve been quietly leveraging a super power: the ability to function on less sleep than most, adding >10,000 hrs, essentially giving several “bonus years” of deep work in my field of specialty: Neural engineering. www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai...

DOGE in 2025: Verified savings=~$10-25B. Taxpayers paid: $135-200B+ in short-term chaos. Trillions long-term. Experts: "Chaos to no avail." Musk: "A little bit successful"... then walked away w/ 'Oops' Net for taxpayers? Massive loss. www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai... #Taxpayers #GovernmentWaste

Caleb Watney of IFP talking about why academia and science sucks. Broken record here, but we can’t have this discussion without talking about agendas and conflicts of interest. IFP is funded by tech and rightwing billionaires who want to privatize science. 1/

🧠 From NIH-funded discovery → game-changing brain implants → NEW science that was impossible before. This loop = cures, jobs & American tech leadership 🇺🇸 Join me MONDAY 12/8, 1pm ET: "Next-Gen Neural Interfaces → Next Scientific Revolution” 🚀 #NeuroTech #BCI #NIH #BrainTech #TaxpayerWin

Is it worth rebutting this complaining mischaracterization of how NIH review works? The peer review NIH does is incredibly valuable and constructive. Compare the NIH BRAIN initiative to the European Brain initiative — which added peer review after an open letter of serious complaints.

📰 New paper from the University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) program: our team mapped how micromotion-driven strain around Utah arrays predicts real world long-term performance in humans and NHPs. JNE 2025. #Pitt

🇺🇲 Taxpayers fund research discussed at SfN 2025 & Bloodfest VI, advancing neurovascular & glial science, neural engineering, and next-gen brain tech. This work trains scientists, improves health outcomes, and keeps the U.S. #1 in biomedical innovation. #UPNExT #SfN25 #NeuralEngineering #UCSD

Honored to be appointed the Ernest E. Roth Professor at Pitt. Grateful for the trainees, collaborators, and colleagues advancing neural engineering and glial biology. Thank you to the Dean for supporting our UP NExT vision, engineering fundamental neuroscience discovery to improve lives.

Check out University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) program at #SfN25

🚀 Discover cutting-edge neural engineering & glial biology at #SFN! Our lab (UP NExT) presents 8 posters linking neurons & non-neuronal cells to circuit stability & recovery using #electrophysiology, #TwoPhotonImaging, #microstimulation, #ultrasound #neuromodulation & single-cell transcriptomics.

NIH posted 14 executive leadership jobs with only 2-week windows. SES roles normally stay open 30–45 days for real competition. Two weeks is far below standard practice and often signals a preselected candidate or rushed appointment. Taxpayers deserve transparency. www.instagram.com/reel/DQ-xWIe...

New from University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT): PV interneurons don’t just control brain rhythms, they fine-tune blood flow too. 2P imaging + optogenetics, we found depth-specific vasoconstriction & dilation shaping both sensory-evoked & resting-state hemodynamics.

The University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) Program is helping Americans & taxpayers by using Utah arrays to study brain signals. Insights from this work guide better use today and smarter designs for next-gen devices to restore movement & touch. #NIH #TaxpayerImpact

Basic science is the rebar in brain tech. From 2019-2022, NIH’s RFA-NS-20-006 funded the why behind implants that last 10 yrs, not 10 wks. It ended in 2022, not because it failed, but because Academia/ DC grades on headlines, not foundations. Demos dazzle. Basic science delivers. #BuildToLast

👁️ UPMC Vision Institute is restoring sight! The PRIMA wireless retinal implant + camera glasses helped patients with advanced macular degeneration regain functional vision. Over 80% saw measurable improvement. #VisionRestoration #Neuroprosthetics #UPMC #Pitt www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Pitt’s UP NExT (NIH-funded) just turned pain-relief SCS into a sensory neuroprosthesis for amputees. Restored phantom foot feel Cut knee co-contraction Normalized pelvic motion, even OFF stim #Veterans walk safer, cheaper. NIH: UH3NS100541 #NeuralEngineering #Pitt

🧠🇺🇸 BREAKTHROUGH: 87.5% seizure reduction via personalized thalamic DBS, but only when matched to the patient’s brain network. UP NExT, NIH $$ → real results. No waste. American tech. Taxpayer ROI. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Epilepsy #MAGA #NIH #NeuralEngineering #Pitt #Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering (UP NExT) Program made history, restoring touch through brain-computer interfaces. Nathan (longest BCI user) & Angie (newest) can feel again via electrodes in the brain. NIH-funded science turning thought into movement, and contact into connection. 🧠🤝

🚨 Pharma CAN’T replace NIH, here’s why it screws MAGA: NIH = public cures (cancer, rural opioids, mRNA vax) Pharma = profit pills (bury breakthroughs, hide flops) Trump’s NIH freeze? Hands future to Big Pharma + China. 68K red-state jobs gone → 100K+ lost forever. 🇺🇸 America First = NIH strong.

Hardworking taxpayers fund the science that doubles life expectancy & cures disease, but trust is crumbling. Scientists must step out of the lab to rebuild it. Advocacy & outreach aren’t extras, they’re essential to protect your health, wallet & future. #ScienceTrust #Innovation

Taxpayer funding fuels breakthroughs! 💡 Univ of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation program's (NExT’s) SpIC3D creates a 3D spinal cord map for safer therapies, faster research, and fewer animals, maximizing every $. 🔗 www.cell.com/cell-reports... #UPNExT #NIH #SpinalCord #MedicalImaging

Strong showing from @PittBioE’s UP NExT program at #SfN2025 in San Diego! Trainees & faculty are advancing neural engineering across scales, from glial modulation & ICMS to neurovascular imaging & computational models. See how Pitt is redefining neural engineering. #Neurotech

Fears of political favoritism? We’ve seen months of actual political favoritism. www.science.org/content/arti...

Pittsburgh's on Nat Geo's Best of the World 2026! From steel to tech powerhouse: Carnegie Int'l (AI curation), Warhol Museum ($60M tech upgrade), Arts Landing AR park, & NFL Draft.Hiring AI/Biomed/Robotics talent! CMU #1 in AI, U Pitt biomed leader. Low COL, riverside vibes. Join us.

The NIH institute director firing last Friday is very bad. I made a video explainer about why. Stay for last post, w link to @science.org story from @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social 1/4 🧪

Exciting new opportunity at the University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) program @mcapo.bsky.social

The 2025 shutdown slams farmers, veterans, small biz, & taxpayers: $10B aid frozen, ACA premiums may double, kids lose WIC. Illegal RIF layoffs & trade stalls weaken us vs. China. Congress, pass a funding bill to keep healthcare affordable, reverse RIFs, & boost U.S. strength!

Seeing a lot of celebration of this as a win. But at NIH we have seen this exact play before. It looks like it is the Vought strategy -and to stop the lawless firings we have to see the bigger picture. A 🧵:

🚨 Shutdown day 11: Hardworking taxpayers are slammed, 4,200+ federal workers face RIFs & premiums could soar to $1,904/yr. Congress, override RIFs & extend subsidies to ease the burden on taxpayers who keep America running. Act by Nov 1! Tell your reps. #OverrideRIF #TaxpayerRelief

NIH cuts save $9-10B short-term, but they’re killing 202K jobs & $46B in red-state economies (TX, FL, OH). $8T healthcare disaster loom, no cancer/Alzheimer’s cures, pricier drugs. Scientists fleeing to China? Bad deal. Fight for NIH! www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh... #AmericaFirst

🚨 Patriots, the "Compact for Academic Excellence" claims to fix colleges but stomps on 1st Amendment rights. It threatens YOUR jobs by diverting tax $$ to elites. FIRE calls it "McCarthyism 2.0." Fight for free speech & heartland jobs! #AmericaFirst www.thefire.org/news/fire-st...

🚨 Patriots, the "Compact for Academic Excellence" betrays hard working families! It diverts YOUR tax dollars to elite universities, starving heartland schools and risking 200K+ jobs in R&D and local businesses. Demand fair funding for YOUR community! 🇺🇸 #AmericaFirst