Today, we are one step closer to the next pandemic, just as the people in charge proudly proclaim that they don’t believe in either vaccines or infectious diseases. Without public health communication, we are flying blind. If I haven’t been posting, it’s because I am literally at a loss for words.

So much is happening so fast that it’s easy to be on outrage overload. But as you pick your battles (and there are so many!), also remember to take care of yourself. For me, I made my own marshmallow so I could eat my feelings in fluffy, cloud-like, sugar-pillow form. #medfoodsky #doctorswhocook

If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that diseases don’t respect borders. We are all in this together. Withdrawing from a global public health organization - while under new pandemic threats - will not only limit our own access to data/resources but also weaken the global response. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is branded as a “liquid biopsy” - a simple blood test that can detect cancer, bypassing invasive biopsy procedures. Problem is it lacks sensitivity in the early stage. Here, a new ultra-sensitive ctDNA assay that improves early detection and enables outcome prediction.

6 months after leaving NYC, I have arrived at the stage of making my own bagels at home. If that catches your attention, please consider donating to the real chefs at World Central Kitchen, who are helping with the California fires, here: wck.org/relief/calif... #doctorswhocook #ChefsForCalifornia

Many people who undergo genetic testing for cancer risks will find themselves with a “variant of uncertain significance.” Even when the risk is unclear (as the term implies), seeing a gene like BRCA2 on your report is understandably unnerving. Functional studies like this are so needed for clarity.

If you, like me, are getting that deja vu feeling reading this news, try not to panic (yet). Instead, tune into the influenza experts. @colincarlson.bsky.social has kindly made a starter pack of people who have had long term research interests in influenza, including H5N1, here: go.bsky.app/L1vwJPS

I feel like I have been on Bluesky long enough to confess to my obsession with cats, specifically this cat, who is constantly claiming all my chairs. Say hello to Thea, the queen cat. Happy New Year, Bluesky. May we all be such fierce defenders of our territories. We are gonna need it this year.

Back from holidays, and I am still thinking about this discovery of ALAS1 as a global repressor of miRNA and its potential to improve siRNA therapy. RNA-targeting drugs (including for cancer) has always held huge promise but sluggish progress. These mechanistic studies are crucial for improvement.

I feel pretty good about my obsession with Costco today, so I will share an oncologist’s secret: I buy my sunscreens from them so I always have enough of it to slather all over myself and my family in thick, protective layers. Cancer prevention aside, it really helps with the forever-young look.

I made a Yule Log cake but let my kids help decorate… and now it has not just flowers and mushrooms, but also black ants and insects because “they are important parts of fallen logs!” 🤦🏻‍♀️ Merry Christmas, Bluesky. May we all be such staunch defenders of the ecosystem. #medfoodsky, #doctorswhocook

Asked my 9yo why his room was a disastrous mess. Him, straight faced: “Welcome to the new America, Mama. Everything is a mess - it’s not my room. Are you sure this is your priority thing to tackle right now?” Is sarcasm how teenage years begin?

To all the grad students and postdocs spending their weekends studying YFP (Your Favorite Protein) and mulling over scientific problems about which nobody else gives a damn, you are doing important work. Progress is not often a straight line, but knowledge is always a permanent gain.

Inspired by @thanhneville.bsky.social, I will post the apple frangipane tart (with almond paste) that I made for a recent holiday party. Arguably the wrong season for apple tarts, but we had extra apples! #DoctorsWhoCook or should I say #DoctorsWhoBake

We don’t often see numbers like 100% in oncology. That sort of response is exciting not just because it is practice-changing, but also because it offers a rare & powerful clue about the nature of the disease itself. Excited for the basic scientific studies to come - bedside to bench and back again.

More and more, oncologists will need to find innovative ways to incorporate AI into both research and patient care. Here, Pedram Razavi from @mskcancercenter.bsky.social showed us a powerful example of how such technology can be utilized to predict therapy responders in breast cancer. #SABCS24

Congratulations to @caiy0219.bsky.social who demonstrated that NR2F2 is an important target in endocrine-resistant breast cancer! #SABCS24

This is a dream team for the amazing work on DREAM complex! #SABCS24

What’s the point of social media if you can’t brag about your friends? So proud of @avantikagupta.bsky.social and @saratchandarlapaty.bsky.social for their groundbreaking work showing how APOBEC-driven mutagenesis ➡️ key genomic alterations ➡️ therapy resistance in breast cancer. #SABCS24

I still remember when @saratchandarlapaty.bsky.social & team discover ESR1 mutations in breast cancer by painstakingly analyzing patient samples and building lab models. Over a decade later, SERDs like imlunestrant show clear survival benefits in this population. Follow the science. #sabcs24

Great story of oncology progress over the decades. Look at the curves. Success came via a couple of breakthroughs, yes, but also via smaller improvements that together make a steady progress. You often hear studies dismissed as “incremental,” but keep chipping away, every incremental step counts.

Overall response rate (ORR) of 100%! Now with long term data showing 5-yr-Progression Free Survival (PFS) of 91%. Neither Pembro nor GVD alone is as efficacious, begging the mechanistic question of “synergy” - that is, how do immunotherapy and chemotherapy combine to become more than either alone?

OMG - the pediatricians are not messing around! Have you heard about their very deep pockets? No! All they’ve got is unlimited super power, boundless enthusiasm, and eternal kid love! So how come we are in 2nd place?? Come on, onc team #DiagnoseAndTreats, diagnose and treat this! #HCWvsHunger

Hey onc peeps! Our team this year for #HCWvsHunger is #DiagnoseAndTreats - let’s go! Yes, poverty/food insecurity is a policy issue - even a policy *choice* in our society - and should be addressed as a system. But.. look around…policies won’t get fixed anytime soon and people need our help now!

Vaccines are being attacked left and right BECAUSE they work so well that people have conveniently forgotten about polio and poxes. Here is a contemporary example in oncology. Vaccines prevent cancer and reduce cancer deaths - do you know how hard THAT is?? Spread the words - vaccine save lives!

A bench-to-bedside targeted therapy story! Fatal disease ➡️ patient samples ➡️ deep proteomics ➡️ find target (jak/stat) ➡️ realize drugs exist ➡️ try drugs in lab ➡️ it works! ➡️ give drugs to patients ➡️ holy cow it actually works!!!! ➡️ save lives. This is the dream. Nice work @tnordmann.bsky.social

Great read. Women scientists have long been told to work on their “imposter syndrome.” But looking at these scissor shaped curves, that feeling of “not belonging” isn’t internal - they just accurately read the room and realize it was never set up for them. Changing that requires systemic work.

NOT NOW, Bird Flu, not a good time. It’s a bit of a dumpster fire over here. I mean, have you seen the new cabinet and healthcare leadership picks?? We don’t have the bandwidth to deal with you and another pandemic. Not a good look to punch down!

Data like this is why I believe in rational therapeutics. It’s easy to dismiss targeted therapy as doomed to resistance, but really, we are just scratching the surface of mechanisms. And understanding mechanisms will allow us to develop not just A DRUG, but ultimately A STRATEGY to defeat cancer.

It’s been thrilling to watch this community assemble! In an uncertain world filled with misinformation, now more than ever, science and medicine need a platform and a voice. www.science.org/content/arti...

@drewmoghanaki.bsky.social Glad you joined, i added you volume 2 of this starter pack go.bsky.app/UP8aWPd please spread the word!

Oncology starter pack, courtesy of @valdesan.bsky.social go.bsky.app/GKXp9Fy

Looking for medical professionals to follow? Just added the 4th installment #medsky 🩺 Round 1 go.bsky.app/Qg2TA9p Round 2 go.bsky.app/9ziyYqt Round 3 go.bsky.app/9WQtZh6 Round 4 go.bsky.app/HRaNhEt I’ll keep adding to the 4th (until it maxes out at 150)