"I’m beginning to regret having lived so long," Stanley Plotkin, aka "the godfather of vaccines," told @helenbranswell.bsky.social in this sobering piece. www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...

If you're not reading @lizzylawrence.bsky.social's stories on the FDA, you are missing out. Today's scoop is that agency staff were poised to evaluate Moderna's flu vaccine application but were overruled by Vinay Prasad, who refused to review the submission. www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...

In the Trump administration's vaccine rhetoric, you'll hear a refrain: "shared decision-making." But shared decision-making researchers worry that the feds may be hijacking the term to sow doubt when the evidence of benefit is in fact very strong. www.statnews.com/2026/01/20/s...

A hard but important read from @mmolteni.bsky.social about Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse who was shot by federal agents in Minneapolis www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/a...

After an order from Trump, federal officials unilaterally slash recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social @helenbranswell.bsky.social report. Public health experts worry the move will sow confusion for parents. www.statnews.com/2026/01/05/c...

A great profile from @isabellacueto.bsky.social about LA-vegan-restaurateurs-turned-tallow-embracing-MAHA-evangelists in small-town Texas. www.statnews.com/2025/10/16/m...

Smart story from @jonathanwosen.bsky.social and @angusrohan.bsky.social on the dangerous new territory Trump waded into Monday as he issued direct medical advice regarding the use of Tylenol. Almost makes one nostalgic for the days of some light bleach-pushing. www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/t...

"Health care's dirty little secret": To avoid being fined for hospital-acquired infections, some administrators discourage clinicians from testing for them, even when that worsens patient care. Important reporting from @tarabannow.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/h...

If you run a life science lab where research has either significantly slowed or shut down completely due to Trump administration policies, I’d like to hear your story. I'm a biotech and life sciences reporter for @statnews.com, and you can reach me at [email protected] #journorequest

#NIH director Jay Bhattacharya says the #BARDA mRNA contracts were terminated because the platform isn't viable because people don't trust it. Experts question some of the claims Bhattacharya made. www.statnews.com/2025/08/11/m...

NEW: Massive and confusing inconsistencies at NIH. New director says health disparities research is critical yet grants are being cut left and right. With @aniloza.bsky.social and @ericboodman.bsky.social. (Also my last story for STAT. 😢) www.statnews.com/2025/08/01/n...

Incredibly well reported deep dive on NIH and health disparities research in STAT. 🧵 www.statnews.com/2025/08/01/n... 1/31

. @lizzylawrence.bsky.social takes a look at the lead up to Vinay Prasad's abrupt departure from #FDA. The now former #CBER head "wasn’t able to outrun his firebrand persona," she writes. www.statnews.com/2025/07/30/v...

He didn't have ALS. At least, not yet. But clearly some of his nerve cells had died. Would an experimental drug prevent him from getting it? Great piece from @jasonmast.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/07/28/a...

Senate passes Trump’s tax-cut bill that would slash Medicaid spending www.statnews.com/2025/07/01/s...

You can't make this stuff up. Fortunately, my brilliant colleague @jasonmast.bsky.social, was around to explain to you all what happened at the first meeting of the new #ACIP. www.statnews.com/2025/06/26/c...

Important story: Native American longevity rates even lower than previously thoughts because their race is often recorded wrong on death certificates. Story by new STAT intern Marissa Russo. www.statnews.com/2025/06/18/l...

The newly reconstituted CDC vaccine advisory committee will discuss the combination measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine, among other things, at its meeting next week. It has been on the CDC’s childhood vaccination schedule for decades. www.statnews.com/2025/06/18/r...

NEW: Vinay Prasad will now hold three separate jobs at the Food and Drug Administration, solidifying his position as a top adviser to Commissioner Marty Makary. www.statnews.com/2025/06/18/v...

BREAKING: The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors. Story here, will be updating: www.statnews.com/2025/06/18/s...

Two critical labs at the #CDC were inexplicable targeted for closure in April. The #STD & viral #hepatitis laboratories are among the parts at the agency where terminations have been rescinded. www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/c...

Veteran photographer Michael Nigro was shot in the head with a non-lethal bullet while covering anti-ICE protests in LA. "It felt very very intentional," Nigro tells NPR, "a chilling effect to convince us to go away." Other reporters say they have been targeted too. My story below:

BREAKING: federal judge overrules hundreds of NIH grant terminations www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/n...

As Harvard scientists grapple with massive funding cuts, one lab at the school of public health turns to funding from private equity, Allison DeAngelis reports for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/h...

RFK Jr. said he dismissed an entire vaccine advisory board because of conflicts of interest. But new members appear to have their own conflicts. Many question how the secretary defines COI in the first place. Via @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/06/13/r...

Wrote about why fallopian tube removals are replacing "tube-tying" — and how pathologists came to believe that the most common kind of so-called ovarian cancer often begins in the tube. www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/o...

Last week, Marco Rubio said no one has died from USAID cuts and "No children are dying on my watch." This mother begs to differ, and researchers suspect there are tens to hundreds of thousands more stories like hers. By ‪@gabrielleemanuel.bsky.social‬ and me www.npr.org/sections/goa...

Ethical discussions about genome-editing are inextricable from questions about government funding and regulation of science. But some experts' assumptions about the workings of government are now up in the air, @mmolteni.bsky.social writes. www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/g...

New: CDC data released today shows a 27% decrease in drug overdose deaths in 2024 compared to the year prior, as fentanyl deaths plummet but deaths involving stimulants like meth and cocaine increase www.statnews.com/2025/05/14/d...

The Trump administration’s vast overhaul of the U.S. scientific enterprise is hitting Chinese-American researchers particularly hard, with big implications for the future of global scientific competition and collaboration, Brian Yang writes for @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2025/05/12/n...

A laid-off CDC expert is offering free help to Milwaukee during its lead crisis. “As far as I know, it’s still a free country, and if you want to volunteer your time to help people in need, I don’t think that’s proscribed," he said. HHS, though, isn't so sure. www.statnews.com/2025/05/12/l...

Last night, NIH announced it would no longer be issuing or renewing “foreign subawards”, which currently fund thousands of research projects overseas, including clinical trials. That policy may go even further, according to an internal email obtained by STAT: www.statnews.com/2025/05/02/n...

Under Trump admin's budget proposal, NIH would lose nearly $18 billion compared with FY 2025, and the CDC would lose $3.6 billion. Centers focused on chronic disease and environmental health would be cut. By @danielpayne.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/05/02/s...

"In seeking to help him, did I just paint a giant target on his back?" Parents of autistic kids are asking clinicians to erase diagnoses out of fear of the Trump administration's talk of an "autism registry," @rosebroderick.bsky.social reports www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/a...

I always learn a lot from reading @helenbranswell.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/r...

Important story from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social: Health secretary RFK Jr.’s vaccine criticism is taking hold at the FDA. www.statnews.com/2025/04/29/f...

"It's like someone ran over your child." A remarkable collection of portraits representing the current devastation to science. By @mmolteni.bsky.social, @angusrohan.bsky.social, @usha.bsky.social, @jonathanwosen.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/25/t...

Administration walks backs idea of "autism registry." New from @rosebroderick.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/24/n...

I made a timeline of all the actions in Trump's (almost) first 100 days that have upended science and health. It was staggering to me to see it all in one place, even though I reported on many on these events. www.statnews.com/2025/04/24/t...

The health official who helped convince President Trump during his first term that it’s possible to end the HIV epidemic in the United States is now imploring the president to stay the course.

Speaking to agency advisers, NIH director Jay Bhattacharya called Trump’s anti-DEI orders ‘misunderstood’ and downplayed the administration's leaked reorganization plans. My latest for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/n...

“He has simply disappeared,” said a friend. “I have not heard of a disappearance like this in my 40-plus years of practicing and teaching immigration law.,” said one law prof. “This case represents a black hole where due process no longer exists." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/u...

All new research grants have been frozen at the National Science Foundation, Nature reports, as DOGE considers canceling 200 existing grants flagged for terms associated with diversity, equity and inclusion. Story by @dangaristo.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

“I just really believed that if anybody would be safe, the veterans would be safe.” www.statnews.com/2025/04/17/f...

For an Air Force vet, an FDA layoff brings back symptoms of PTSD. Via @ericboodman.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/17/f...

RFK Jr. says new federal studies will tell us by Sept. what's causing autism. But nearly two dozen prominent researchers, groups + advocates we reached out to have heard nothing about the project. www.statnews.com/2025/04/16/r...

“If another Flint happened, and a state was like, ‘We need help,’ we wouldn’t have any lead poisoning experts at CDC to help them." www.statnews.com/2025/04/04/c...

In the midst of everything else, the National Institutes of Health has been ordered to eliminate 35% of its contract spending, as part of a wider directive to HHS. If you're at NIH and want to talk about what's being lost, I'm mmolteni.13 on Signal. www.statnews.com/2025/04/03/n...

"When investigators in the field confronted a potentially life-threatening contamination that compromised drug sterility, Pohlhaus was the person they would call. He’s the one who helped them gather evidence that could halt dangerous manufacturing or shut down a pipeline of compromised products."

Trump promised to “get the cure for cancer" among other things. But in the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, there's “No money for kidney cancer. No money for pancreatic cancer. No money for lung cancer." Must-read from @angusrohan.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/03/24/t...