This week, the world lost a beacon of joy, compassion, and generosity. We will miss you, Virginia. 💔 www.vcstar.com/obituaries/p...

Article on research cuts beginning to affect the University of Utah (gift link): “At this point, [University President] Randall noted, the U hasn’t felt the full effects of the Trump administration’s research cuts. ‘What will happen next year,’ he said, ‘we will see.’” www.sltrib.com/news/educati...

A deep dive into the destruction of US cancer research by @jonathanmahler.bsky.social “It’s an absolutely unmitigated disaster,” a former top official at NIH told him. “It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” Gift link: nyti.ms/48iH3Cr

Le Pas Espagnol Op. 56, No. 6 by Fauré Super-fun performing with my son (17) despite the near-disaster of our music being blown off of the piano in the drafty recital hall - we were saved by my daughter (13)!

Snapshots from end-of-summer travels: Pennsylvania (1/2)

We need a new microscope objective. A $1.6k tariff for something that you can hold in your hand and that is only manufactured in Germany

STAT Story www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/t... 1/n

www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/t... “[OMB’s rule on NIH spending] constitutes the entirety of new and, possibly, ongoing research grant dollars that go from the NIH out to universities, academic medical centers, and other research institutions.” e.g., noncompeting awards are in jeopardy

Op-Ed from Dana Carroll and my father Jerry Kaplan highlighting some amazing history of publicly funded science at the U. of Utah and how this is in grave jeopardy. First NIH grant ever was to U of U!

The University of Utah could be in danger of losing $100+ million annually School leaders worry Trump administration’s court-contested grant policies could severely impact local research, jobs www.deseret.com/utah/2025/07...

Summer storm

New story about CBO analysis of the effects of NIH cuts and FDA changes on drug development. 1/n [Gift link] www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/h...

Scenes from Madison #IZFC2025

Huge congratulations to Sarah LaPotin from the lab for winning a poster prize at #IZFC2025!!

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT Please watch the workshop video and COMMENT by 5:00 Monday 7/14 This is the source of the "no more model organism only grants in NIH-funded research" decree.

The winners of the 2025 George Streisinger Award are the Course Directors of the Zebrafish Development and Genetics course at MBL, for their tremendous contributions to our amazing community for >25 years! #izfc2025

So very, very happy to be back in Madison for #IZFC2025!

🚨🚨🚨 Tol2kit announcement! We have rebuilt the wiki that was corrupted a few months ago! We’re in the process of also linking it to the original address. Please visit us here: tol2kitkwan.genetics.utah.edu Thank you for your patience!! #zebrafish #transgenesis #plasmids #sharing

Some personal news: amid everything going on, I’ve been promoted to Professor. I am so deeply grateful to all of the past and present members of the lab, who allowed me to be a part of their journey. I am so honored to call all of you my colleagues.

Spam text messages are getting aggressive

Researchers Train Mice To Choose Between Life-Saving Medications And Other Essentials theonion.com/researc...

Much appreciated support from biotech execs and investors 🙏 www.statnews.com/2025/06/27/b...

As I was finishing my postdoc, I received proofs on November 29, 2011 with a 48 hour deadline. I went into labor that night and my daughter was born at 10:15 am on November 30.

New CNN story about clinical trials damaged by the funding freeze at Northwestern. www.cnn.com/2025/06/23/h... 1/n

Powerful story from Carolyn Johnson at the Washington Post... wapo.st/44ntbo4 [Should be a gift link; let me know if there are problems]

Made it to the end of a long week

The start of the summer downtown farmers market is almost like a holiday

The openness and sharing in other model organism communities has been an inspiration for how I do work in the zebrafish community. FlyBase is in danger and this impacts labs in the US and worldwide - there is a link to donate in the article @flybase.bsky.social

New powerful article up in the New York Times on cancelled and delayed grants www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Universities are not passive beneficiaries of government largesse. It is the federal government that depends on universities to conduct the research that keeps our nation healthy, safe and economically competitive.I discuss in the Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The goal is plainly and literally to cut the number of people involved in basic science in the US by 70%

“Punishing campuses by cutting health research funding would destroy the equivalent of one-quarter of annual gross domestic product in the US.” jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

"We believe that mapping the damage done and its human costs—and the pushback and resilience work already underway—is necessary groundwork for building and retaining political agency"

The White House proposed budget for 2026 does not include the National Eye Institute… The institute that has funded almost the entirety of my career. The proposal is to merge it in with neuroscience, despite a whole half of the eye (the front part) which has little to do with neuroscience per se.

the discovery engine the American people built together over decades — taxpayers, politicians, administrators, universities, scientists — is one of the biggest success stories in world history saving lives on the scale of millions world wide, year after year

New York Times article on NSF www.nytimes.com/interactive/... 1/2

Some drinks and good company to kick off the long weekend

I'm asking a favor of everyone here. Please click this AEVR/NAEVR (vision research advocacy group) link to oppose Schedule F Reclassification of Federal Science Roles by the Trump administration: www.votervoice.net/NAEVR/Campai... It will help you auto populate fields to your elected reps.

"We need the whole country to appreciate that by investing in university research and educating the next generation of explorers and innovators, the country has reaped, and will continue to reap, tremendous rewards in new cures, treatments, and inventions, and in new industries, companies, and jobs"

whomst amongst us tbh shimaburan

It was so awesome to have @jeffreyafarrell.bsky.social here to give a departmental seminar today!!

So proud of 13, who just won 3rd place in her division at the Salt Lake Piano Competition!

I don’t have the words for this.

I cannot stress how extremely detrimental this would be to the progress of biomedical science.

“The results revealed that researchers who received renewals without a funding gap were less likely to switch research topics and investigate a wide array of subjects than were those in the control group, and they produced papers featuring newer or more unconventional combinations of ideas”