Notes on NIH matters as the government opens up again drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/11/14/n...

When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)

Her role as one of the first structural virologists is underappreciated.

Born #OnThisDay in 1867 was Marie Skłodowska–Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to win twice and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two disciplines: Physics for her work on radioactivity, and Chemistry for her discovery of radium and polonium. #WomenInSTEM

Some charts for those who don't know the extent of the US public (and private) investment in research (particularly in biomedical research) compared to other countries and institutions. The destruction of the US' scientific institutions has global implications.

No social plans tonight but I might head out onto the balcony in a bit and start screaming "DID YOU KNOW HALLOWEEN IS IRISH ORIGINALLY?" as loud as I can

Before October ends, it’s worth reminding folks of the importance of breast cancer screening. Mammograms are recommended for 👻🐝 >40 and folks of all ages with higher risk of breast cancer. Everyone (even you, men!) should do self-examinations ~1x per month.

🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine. 1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro 2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute 3) Center for Vaccine Research 🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...

Finally got some good grant news last week as Cosette's F31 was awarded (only 5 months after submitting JIT & 10 months after receiving a fundable score 😱). Better late than never I guess! Congrats Cosette, we are super proud of you & thankful to fantastic co-mentors/collaborators🎉

For our #flowcytometry peeps, would you like to have a single fix/perm protocol that is optimised for everything? One that preserves fluorophores while allowing simultaneous TF and cytokine staining? How about 100-fold cheaper? You got it: currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Death from sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) in a child in Los Angeles SSPE is a rare sequel of #measles infection that appears years after the initial infection, and is uniformly fatal. So sorry for this family. As things are going on the US, we'll be seeing more of these cases.

Rolling the dice on a vaccine preventable illness is never the better option. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare and fatal complication of measles that can occur several years after the original infection. This is sad, this is avoidable. Vaccinate kids! www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Hearing rumor of a 2/3rds reduction in admissions to a graduate program. “The rest are made up by direct admits.” This is an inevitable response to financial pressures caused by unionized salary gains, NIH chaos and overall funding uncertainty.

So... I did some analysis of grants that did receive noncompetitive renewals. In particular, I looked a those award where the title of the grant changed. Warning: The results are just what I expected, but oooph... 1/4

“This isn’t just about 211 missing R01 grants. This is about the 211 PIs (or multi-PI groups) that are not getting a new grant. This is about at least 422-844 non-PI level investigators who are not having their salaries covered.”

Operation Warp Speed was arguably one of the most successful policy initiatives in recent history, accelerating vaccine delivery that saved millions of lives. It’s remarkable to see some now urging the leaders who backed it to disown the achievement.

This is despite continued use of multiyear funding. My estimate is the multiple funding has blocked the awarding of ~1500 grants, had grants been funded on the usual annual basis. This includes 4-year R01s, excess 2-year R21s, and other awards. 2/2

Updating my analysis now that August data should be relatively complete. Not great news... The rate of investment of the appropriation is not increasing and it seems unlikely that the entire appropriation will be committed this year. 1/2

Public health is under assault. The purge of CDC leadership, people with decades of experience guiding the nation’s response to health threats, dismantles the very programs and direction that keep Americans safe from infectious diseases, chronic illness, injuries, and violence.

#BreakingNews: CDC Director Susan Monarez is ousted after one month in the job. Removal follows departure of another high-ranking agency official www.statnews.com/2025/08/27/c...

WARNING WARNING WARNING #ResearchAdmini I am hearing reports of NIH Awards being issued with ~15% indirect cost rate without comment. I believe the hope is that they will be accepted with noticing this.

Inspired by @deniswirtz.bsky.social and team, I'm collating a database of #PhD and #postdoc fellowships in the #EU. I'm standardising the information an entry needs, making it easier to (1) search and (2) contribute - and I would appreciate input, especially from other #ECR! Please share! 1/3

“We feel like the lost generation.” A story on the collapse of US science, which is hitting young scientists hardest www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

ASM, ASBMB, ASCB & FASEB are deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling allowing cancellation of $800M in NIH grants, threatening labs, jobs, and early-career scientists. Stable funding is vital for U.S. science. Read more: www.ascb.org/society-news...

The US Supreme Court has derailed researchers’ efforts to reinstate almost $2 billion in grants issued by the NIH. The court’s decision represents a remarkable reversal, allowing the Trump team to proceed with its science cuts. go.nature.com/3JsraiA

The damage Republicans have done to the US scientific enterprise is incalculable. And Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski bear blame for this. They voted to confirm RFK Jr and Bhattacharya and the Trump anti-science nominees. It’s not just Trump: the quisling R’s in Congress helped.

Followup: the interesting answer to this conundrum is that Harvard's funding was cut off at the level of the NIH-university reimbursement system, not at the level of the program officers and individual grants. POs believe that the grants are still live, and NIH systems show them as live.

NIH: After review, we note that you have a large unspent balance on your grant. Please explain immediately. me: well, uh, yeah, one reason we're not spending on that grant is because NIH terminated it in May along with all the rest of federal funding to Harvard, maybe you don't remember

We are hiring! The Dept of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics is looking for faculty at the Assistant or Associate professor level (tenure track). Please consider joining our vibrant microbiology and immunology community at the University of Pittsburgh School of medicine

"Staff must review studies for those that do not align with agency priorities” but "NIH continues to support projects across the full spectrum of topics." "There is no list of banned words" but "staff have to check grants for terms that might violate Trump policies." Well, that clears that up.

Director Bhattacharya had every opportunity to ask NIH Fellows how to shape NIH priorities to best serve early career researchers when we met with him last week. Instead, he is forging ahead with policies that are shutting down opportunities for us. Early career researchers deserve better.

Trump funding delays testing Congress' power may be intensified. How will Republicans respond? reut.rs/4mAXj6l

I have a first serious attempt to estimate the consequences of multi-year funding for July. For new R01s, the amount of additional expenditure was $135 M The number of additional R01s that could have been funded is 182 1/9

Targeted grant terminations by the #NIH have affected 694 grants totaling $1.81 billion, disproportionately impacting larger grants and the #NIMHD across various institutions. ja.ma/415YUZ5

Excited to have this paper out! Demonstrates that the recipients of lung 🫁 tx for COVID-Associated Lung Injury (CALI) loose humoral protection and have unique cellular immune responses. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.

Would your #cellbio research benefit from you attending a #Microscopy or #BioimageAnalysis training course? For grants of up to £1,000, check out our Microscopy Training Grants with @focalplane.bsky.social Next deadline: 5 September 2025 www.biologists.com/grants/jcs-f...

The updated version of the database of PhD fellowships produced and maintained by my team can be downloaded by anyone here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-... For each of the 187 fellowships, you will find a short description, deadline, $ amount, link, etc. Good luck!

Atlantic: How Many Times Can Science Funding Be Canceled?/ Whether or not Congress cuts NIH’s budget, the Trump administration has devastated its ability to operate. by Katherine J. Wu bit.ly/4fucNWT

Senator Bill Cassidy’s vote secured the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy jr. He’s now issued a brief statement faintly calling Kennedy’s destruction of vaccine research “unfortunate”

Yes. And more than just "safe and effective": mRNA vaccines are a spectacular breakthrough; they are already providing cures for cancer. As @astrokatie.com noted, mRNA vaccines won the 2023 Nobel Prize. Other nations are salivating at their chance to take over the lead in this game-changing tech.

RFKJr’s gradual elimination of vaccines in USA is continuing and gathering pace as 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines being terminated including late stage research for bird flu vaccine #ImmunoSky 🧪🧵

A short sighted decision which will lead to deaths and impact preparedness for future infectious disease outbreaks.

There is so much damage being done to our country right now but surely turning HHS over to a gang of malignant and scientifically illiterate goons is among the worst of it

JUST IN: HHS shuts down BARDA mRNA vaccine program Scrapping the fastest platform we have is a reckless move rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of vaccinology. No respiratory vaccine blocks all infections. mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives. www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/g... via @statnews.com

1/4 We poke fun at RFK Jr.’s nonsense — intimate lamprey encounters, aluminum conspiracies, raw milk evangelism — but it’s not just absurd. His ideas cause real harm — especially to people with the least protection from bad policy. 🧵