Today, Coefficient Giving is launching the Strep A Vaccine Fund, a multi-donor initiative to accelerate vaccine development against one of the world's most neglected infectious diseases relative to its scale. Strep A kills ~639,000 people a year. There is no vaccine. I think that can change 🧵

Enjoying some wonderful phage talks and a snowy run at ##ksbeyondantibiotics26

Made it to #ksbeyondantibiotics26. Saw wildlife right away!

Kind of makes sense. I mean, we haven't had the outbreak of a new and deadly worldwide pandemic in almost five years.

The American Academy of Microbiology proudly announces the election of 63 fellows to the Class of 2026. Over the past 50 years, the Academy has elected +2,700 distinguished scientists. This year, the new fellows hail from 14 countries. Read press release: asm.social/2OC

NSF Update Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit. Now by Directorate... 1/11

No more paylines at the NIH grants.nih.gov/news-events/...

Guess what NIH funded friends. No more paylines! This will be replaced by an entirely opaque system that appears to bool down to “whatever we want.” They have destroyed the meritorious peer review system. Score will just be “considered”. grants.nih.gov/news-events/...

Unraveling Streptococcus pyogenes Carriage: Genomic and Transcriptomic Insights from Acute and Post-Treatment Phases https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.22.683982v1

Opening Remarks happening NOW!! Come join us at #IDSOG2025

NEW: Researchers have sued the NIH and HHS, alleging that they have engaged in a "reckless and illegal purge to stamp out NIH-funded research that addresses topics and populations that they disfavor" by terminating hundreds of grants, violating the APA, Fifth Amendment and the Separation of Powers.

In an unprecedented move, the US National Institutes of Health has begun mass terminations of research grants that fund active scientific projects because they no longer meet “agency priorities”. https://go.nature.com/4bpG2It

A federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from slashing NIH payments for research overhead

Well said!

🧪 PubMed’s brief outage sent researchers into panic, underscoring global reliance on the free biomedical database. While restored, the incident raises concerns about access, resilience, and the need for backups. 🩺💻

The National Science Foundation said in a memo it's reinstating some of its fired probationary employees. A federal workers union says it's 84-86 workers. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Ok, now do Advisory Councils…

🧪 First posting of NIH grant review panels to #FederalRegister since Jan 21. Very limited. Just NIH Directors Awards (New Innovator, DP2) and one NIDDK study section, meeting dates range from March 24-April 4 www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...

At least some meetings essential to approving new grants by the National Institutes of Health will be back on track later this month. scim.ag/41FbfEg

I hope we find our way... www.science.org/content/arti...

Just received notice that our grant was terminated. 5R24AG066599-03 TheRiseRegistry.org

How about grants that are being terminated? Shouldn’t they count as negative? bsky.app/profile/jace...

Here are the data for non-competitive renewals, downloaded today. The last awards in NIH Reporter are on 2/22. Given the lag in posting in Reporter, I think this pause is real and this is supported by inside sources who indicate that folks are being told not to issue NoAs.

The NIH is being gutted. 🧵 www.science.org/content/arti...

I don't know how else to say this except for bluntly: It is not normal to have outbreaks of preventable diseases in wealthy countries. It is not normal to have children dying from preventable diseases in wealthy countries. This is the first US measles death in 10 years. There should be none.

As of today, at least 73 study sections have not met. If they review 50 applications, plus 30 triaged, 10% funding rate = 8 grants per SS. That's 584 fundable grants on hold. Probably 5000 researchers affected in those teams composed of our best and brightest. SABOTAGE.

BREAKING: The NIH summer internship program (SIP) has been officially cancelled, across all institutes. It’s a sad loss for the brightest science students in America, for American science, and for future cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. 🧪 1/

Confirmed (by many sources) news about 50 NIH Study Sections being allowed to announce meetings in the Federal Register. As usual, MANY more questions than answers... 1/2

DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System www.wired.com/story/doge-i... #nih #privacy #security #sicence #research

Leadership is doubling down, but GOP members are getting nervous about the budget’s extreme unpopularity. You can call your Representative now at 202-224-3121.

Some good-ish news from NIH “Federal Register notices for study sections run by CSR (but not those by ICs) will start being permitted again” As far as I know, the timing for this is not clear, but I will be checking the Federal Register.

Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Anyone hear about this from any other sources? www.statnews.com/2025/02/24/s... #nih #studysection

Glad to see this post getting some traction, because the Federal Register is the WHOLE ballgame, folks. To drive this point home, a recent EO declares that all posts to FR now must be approved by the White House. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Today's update: increasing numbers of last-minute study section cancellations owing to absence in the FedReg. This includes BV (close to home) and BMCD (NCI). This is yet another example of procedural impoundment and is described well here: www.thetransmitter.org/funding/fede... CALL YOUR REPS.

I had two grant proposals up for review in the NIH Bacterial Virulence (BV) study section. It was canceled without notice this morning. Without those grants, my lab must close within a year. And so the purge of scientific research in the US continues 🤬 #MicroSky 🦠🧫🧪🧬🔬

Happy Valentine’s Day from 5 kick ass microbiologists - who all made it to this week’s zoom meeting for the first time in ages! #women #STEM #faculty #science @katypatras.bsky.social @laurainthelab1.bsky.social @lindseyatutk.bsky.social @alisoncoady.bsky.social

UW-Madison on proposed NIH indirect cost cap: “This proposed change to NIH funding–UW–Madison’s largest source of federal support–will significantly disrupt vital research activity and delay lifesaving discoveries and cures related to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and much more.” 1/x

On changes to #NIH indirect rates, there is a law in place that prohibits NIH from making such changes without the approval of Congress. See Division D, Title II Section 224 of The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law No: 118-47) grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

I'm really starting to dread Friday afternoon NIH news.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide... Crazy

Funded PhD available in my lab. Pls repost! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Laura Cook (Binghamton) shows Group A Strep do not cluster by carrier / acute status #RBM2024

Now Lauren Palmer @laurenpalmer.bsky.social from UIC speaking on A baumannii metabolic competition. Ornithine is a hit at #RBM2024

1/ New paper! “Gender and retention patterns among U.S. faculty” w/ N Laberge KH Wapman @samzhang AC Morgan M Galesic BK Fosdick @danlarremore @aaronclauset: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... A systematic study of gendered rates & reasons for faculty attrition in US academia 🧵