(Let's pretend we're in the normal times for a second) I have had a few discussions with scientists over the last few weeks that have gotten me to solidify a problem I am going to call "failure to generate enthusiasm." Grant reviewing is an emotional exercise and sometimes scientists forget that.

The smaller arteries of women means a little plaque can be more dangerous than it is for men. www.statnews.com/2026/02/23/h...

If my followers have been inspired by the fierce resistance the Twin Cities has put up to ICE, you should make it a point to take a trip here (April through October 😬), enjoy the wonderful things MN has to offer and support our small businesses. It continues to be a really tough time for them.

📢 Attention researchers! We're calling for applications for the AJP-Heart and Circulatory Editor-in-Chief position! Lead the future of cardiovascular research! 🔗 Apply now: https://ow.ly/98JG50XE1ug #EditorInChief #CardiovascularResearch

I'm very excited to announce that UNC Biology has 6 faculty positions open this year! The first is for an Asst Professor who studies organismal resilience using an integrative approach 1/n unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

📣Tomorrow is International #DayoftheGirl & 30 years since the Beijing Declaration on advancing equity, development & peace for all women & girls 📈We must scale investment in girls — including through research, health, education & empowerment- -a commitment we make in our lab #GenerationEquality

Live your life so that when you die, 10s of millions feel the weight of the torch of hope you lit over your lifetime for the world to carry forward, together

We know that the Big Bad Bill is set to devastate rural hospitals, but it will also have a seismic impact on maternal health in the US as a whole. Almost 1/2 of all births in America (and even more in rural communities) are covered by Medicaid, which is being defunded by $880B over next decade.

www.acog.org/news/news-re... @acog.org

Words removed and added from NIH grant titles (meme courtesy of @ianlmorgan.bsky.social)

Today is a very good day to call Congress 5calls.org

The newly established Research Policy Affairs Committee (RPAC) is seeking committee members of all career levels! The RPAC will review public and governmental issues that impact reproductive science and health & play a key role in drafting public statements.

Submit your late breaking abstracts for CARNet 2025 today! The deadline is September 30. We look forward to seeing you all in Fort Worth, Texas in November!

Got someone at Tillis’s Raleigh office – thanked him for pushing back against RFK’s lies earlier, particularly re: Dr. Monarez; noted that RFK *does not have the authority to unilaterally fire CDC directors*, and seized presidential powers for himself to advance a personal agenda in doing so 1/

Friday night is the night! 4 women comedians partnered with 4 women scientists 🤯 Making women’s brain health a top priority. 🧠 Smart women. Sharp jokes. Zero apologies. Come join us at the Bug Theater in Denver and laugh your stress off! 🤣 @nancynorton.bsky.social @cuanschutz.bsky.social

I'm starting to look into how inflammation is being misused by MAHA types in a way that very much distracts from chronic illness-inflammation problems people actually have. If you're an academic, doctor, immunologist etc with thoughts on this, please be in touch at [email protected]

Yes, it was carefully hidden in the New England Journal of Medicine. Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1... ) 1/2

Join us around the nation as we jojn as Workers Against Billionaires We'll be in Hillsborough NC Find an event here: maydaystrong.org

My quote of the day Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks. Yo-Yo Ma

The American Academy of Pediatrics: Infants ages 6 months to 2 years should get a COVID vaccination. A baby's first encounter should be with the vaccine, not the virus. npr.org/2025/08/20/n...

“In the late 1960s, Dr. Rossiter was working on her Ph.D. at Yale, when a comment from one of her male professors puzzled her. Who, she had asked, were the women in science? There were none, he said. Another professor mumbled something about Marie Curie being the exception.”🙃

States hold a tremendous amount of public health power. They should use it. Great article on the need for Democratic governors to step up and protect public health, featuring the incredible @gregggonsalves.bsky.social.

Here's a #GiftLink for those who want to read the full NYT obit of historian of science & gender, Margaret Rossiter. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/s... #histSTM 🧪🗃️

As one can imagine, I have some thoughts. Here’s a thread no one asked for: 1. SCIENCE IN THE US IS POLITICAL. No matter how much you want to ignore that fact, it is supported by taxpayer dollars and is therefore, political by nature. 2. BUT it has had bipartisan support for decades, which…

Want to see the economic impact of #NIH grant cuts in your community? Check out @joshuasweitz.bsky.social and colleagues' project here. Tell your friends and neighbors what is happening. scienceimpacts.org

Postdocs applying for K99s, particularly if it's your last opportunity: DO NOT forget to include a foreign justification document if you have any sort of foreign collaboration. Your application will be withdrawn if you don't have that.

This week on the @science.org podcast--the role of the immune system in endometriosis w/ @meredithwadman.bsky.social 🎧Listen here: www.science.org/content/podc...

Old and common #NIHGrant seeker advice, I know. But now more than ever. Diversify your study sections. Even if one is the seeming perfect fit. Spread your precious six apps per year around.

This conflation has irked me for years. People seem to think DEI and health disparities are synonymous. While DEI efforts may help with issues such as wealth inequality & educational attainment, which may help shrink health disparities in the long run, these are essentially two separate issues!

For anyone interested in an academic job in 🇨🇦, we will soon be advertising an Assistant Prof position in Systems Neuroscience (rodents and other animal models) at ULethbridge. There are many pros and cons of working here, so feel free to DM me to find out more #neuroskyence #academicsky

5. Reviewing ongoing research for alignment with new priorities—& terminating research that doesn’t fall in line—will be the death of NIH. It is directly counter to the stated goal of rebuilding trust. If NIH can terminate studies because it changed its mind, an NIH award will be meaningless.

@faseborg.bsky.social works hard to ensure a sustained commitment to investment in research. The FY26 budget is up for a full Senate vote, then next to the House. I know we're all tired, but contacting your reps still matters. Nothing happens without funding.

My lab’s major NIH grant was among those blocked in the attack on UCLA. Because our lab website discusses inclusivity? Because this grant had a diversity-based supplement? Simply because I work at UCLA? Who knows. Feeling a strange mix of unsurprised, furious, and numb.

My quote of the day Not everyone has been a bully or the victim of bullies, but everyone has seen bullying, and seeing it, has responded to it by joining in or objecting, by laughing or keeping silent, by feeling disgusted or feeling interested. Octavia Butler

Today, the ERC formally adopted a decision to increase its support for researchers moving to Europe. On top of its normal grants, the ERC offers 'start-up' funding to help PIs establish laboratories / research teams in Europe. This extra funding is now x2 (up to €2 million!) europa.eu/!6Vdgmp

There are many ways of speaking out. Find a way! Start with calling Congress & talking to friends and neighbors--no one is monitoring those channels (yet). Work up to letters to the editor and editorials in local papers--again, these are low risk. Let privileged folks like me speak out publicly! 🧪

If you are a researcher working on sex differences & women's health, consider attending this outstanding conference that brings together international leaders from across the spectrum of biomedical research. Abstracts are open for submission until June 12👇🏻 www.physiology.org/professional...

The McClintock Letters is an op-ed writing project started by grad students from ~20 institutions, in collab with @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social 📝 We’re aiming to publish these on Dr. Barbara McClintock’s birthday: tinyurl.com/McClintockLetters @sciforgood.bsky.social

I’m overwhelmed by the expressions of sympathy and support. And still this pales in comparison to what they are doing to immigrants and to undermine the Bill of Rights. If you could do one thing for me, call your representatives and demand accountability for their white supremacist terrorism.

I and my colleagues, @carpenterlab.bsky.social and Carol Greider, wrote an op-ed for our local media site, @lookoutsantacruz.bsky.social, about the recent cancellations of NIH funded training programs meant to broaden participation in science at UCSC: lookout.co/trumps-escal...

ACTION ITEM-----ACTION ITEM Implementation of Schedule F This is what a lot of us have been worried about. This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs. BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD... 1/n

Ok so on a real note, if you're planning to submit grants...what are you doing about this? grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

AAU updates their excellent explainer about indirect costs to cover the current attacks... www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtqK... 1/2

We have a research technician position now available in my lab. #cardiosky The details can be found at uofl.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UofLCa...

This was me. Terminated from #NIMHBSC with no explanation. Complete gov interference in the #NIH intramural research program oversight and review - telling NIH researchers what science they can do and who can do it. Not a positive outlook for scientific discovery, innovation, or health. 👇👇

“Investments in science and public health are essential for the future of rural southern states like Mississippi.” Read about my perspectives as a Mississippian and scientist in my recent OpEd : digital.meridianstar.com/The-Meridian...

U.S. citizen interested in grad studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada)? Grad programs are re-opening applications of US programs for one week. With expedited decisions. U.S. Applicant Week: www.grad.ubc.ca/us-applicant... #AcademicChatter #Canada #GradSchool

If you were starting a newsletter/blog, what service do you like best these days? Beehiiv? Ghost? Something else? (I understand Substack is bad, so I'm looking for alternatives.)

Folks who know the law: If I am traveling internationally as an American citizen and they open my laptop, am I required to give them the password?