I wrote for @thefulcrum-us.bsky.social about the need for public health. The dismantling of public health that is unravelling in real time may feel like political theater, but the stakes are measured in lives. thefulcrum.us/governance-l...

A kind reminder that a "politics of you deserved this" (cancer, vaccine-preventable disease, natural disaster, etc) has no place in public health. We can hold bad actors to account without punching down on the groups most harmed by their actions and/or resorting to shame, blame, and stigma.

9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American." It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

Across New York State local health departments are using wastewater to track infectious disease trends. Wastewater data complements case and hospitalization data. Our group's write-up on how local health departments use wastewater data here. link.springer.com/article/10.1... #EpiSky 🧪

ATTN: Robert Wood Johnson has money to support “canceled” research on racial-indigenous health equity www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

i don’t write opinion pieces, but i felt compelled to write this one with @colincarlson.bsky.social after my friends and former colleagues at CDC had 500 bullets fired at them.

Hello, Bluesky! This account automatically posts updates when the Census Bureau APIs add or remove datasets. See the full tracker at www.hrecht.com/census-api-d...

Jerome Adams was President Trump's Surgeon General. He is calling out the current administration for its dehumanizing language and tying it to the shootings at CDC last week. This isn't a partisan issue. Violence against public health workers is wrong full-stop. www.statnews.com/2025/08/09/c...

Homelessness is a policy failure, not a personal one.

“People in public health care too much about our country to stop. Because we care about our kids’ futures. Because we believe in a better life. Better community. Better health. We will serve our neighbors even if they don’t understand what we’re doing or why it matters.“ - @kkjetelina.bsky.social

The MS thesis of PhD student Sylvia Okon is now a peer-reviewed journal article! We found that compassion fatigue was associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among healthcare workers, underscoring the need for systems-level support and targeted interventions to protect worker well‑being.

We at the University of Iowa College of Public Health are hiring for a tenure-track, open rank faculty position with a focus on cancer prevention and control. jobs.uiowa.edu/faculty/view...

From 2010 to 2023, nitrous oxide (“whippets”) poisoning deaths in the US rose from 23 to 156 annually, with significant increases until 2018 and a plateau from 2019 to 2023. ja.ma/40KDYql

New research co-authored by a Health and Kinesiology professor reveals an alarming rise in U.S. fatalities from misuse of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. Read about this emerging public health issue: go.illinois.edu/nitrousoxidestudy @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social @yockeyandrew.bsky.social

Our latest paper, led by @yockeyandrew.bsky.social, examines CDC mortality data and shows that nitrous oxide poisoning deaths, though relatively few, have risen dramatically in the US in recent years. We are at the bottom of a hill with a steep ascent, and now is the time to act.

Our latest paper presents the findings from a pilot study to understand why PWID access contactless harm reduction services. People who used a vending machine did not differ in their ability to engage in harm-reducing behaviors compared to those who used in-person services. doi.org/10.1186/s129...

Hello @societyforepi.bsky.social SER members! Is epidemiology inherently political? We are looking for epidemiologists in the US to take a brief survey about how we use the concept of solidarity in our work. Please take a few minutes to help us with this research. Thanks! bit.ly/4nkxFmU

I confessed to my friend, who works as a psychiatrist, that at the moment I’m feeling rather depressed and anxious, and in response my friend, who works as a psychiatrist, replied: that depression and anxiety are perfectly healthy ways to react to this moment.

"It should go without saying that scientific inquiry cannot flourish in a society dominated by fear, censorship and hate." @danielmalinsky.bsky.social says all the things that should go without saying this week in the Guardian

Update for OG epitwitter: Remember when you helped crowdfund to help Sylvia get to the US? She just finished her MS and will be continuing on with her PhD. Many thanks again for supporting this promising young scholar! Her future is so bright 💙

Nitrous oxide, often sold as "whippets," can cause serious health issues. Over 13 million Americans have misused it at least once, including 4% of eighth graders. More from a #publichealth professor: buff.ly/9HqB5Nf By @yockeyandrew.bsky.social @olemiss.bsky.social

🚨 I have been working with several addiction scientists and clinicians through the Addiction Science Defense Network (www.npscoalition.org/projects/add...) to craft a statement of concern about recent executive orders and actions that can be shared with members of congress.

💣The Carpet Bombing of HHS 💥 It's hard to describe how America's health agencies have been bombed and shelled in the past few months, but John Oliver is a good start. 🧵

A huge congratulations to all our undergraduates who presented at last week's Undergrad Research Symposium! 🔬 Fascinating studies all throughout Applied Health Sciences.

It is breaking our hearts to hear of people taking their lives over the the pain this administration has caused. Please keep your eyes on and your hearts open to your loved ones. Below are resources for anyone struggling.

HHS Eliminated Programs - Updated Here is an updated list of all programs eliminated in the 2026 HHS Budget. Reach out if you have information or clarity on the cuts. These cuts will impact Every Single American. Email [email protected] for PDF and xlsx.

The number of confirmed #measles cases in the US this year — an unknown fraction of the true total — has hit 800, per #CDC, making this the 2nd worst year for measles since the virus was eliminated in 2000. And the year is young. The count in Texas is just under 600. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...

One question that often comes up with my public health colleagues is: "But how much is the public aware of these attacks on public health and science?" Our team sought to answer that question in a rapid public opinion survey, and our results are published here: ⬇️

“The stuff the American public has lost already—and they didn’t even know they had it—is impossible for most people to understand. The safety nets are being blown up right and left,” the source said. “They’ve disappeared.” insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-leak...

In a paper led by MPH student Josh Silvestre, we found that many healthcare workers experience anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and workplace safety climate may contribute to these symptoms. Moreover, lower-wage workers may be more likely to work in and be susceptible to unsafe working conditions.

Want to know more about the gory detail of NIH cuts and how they are impacting your home towns, your states? @noamross.net and @scott-delaney.bsky.social have put it all together for you. 6/ airtable.com/appjhyo9NTvJ...

Absolutely this but health equity edition. Not pivoting, not rebranding.

“The global addiction science community needs to act collectively to preserve the promise of scientific inquiry wherever it is threatened.”

National public health group calls for RFK Jr. to resign, citing ‘complete disregard for science’ www.statnews.com/2025/04/09/r... via @statnews.com "Secretary Robert Kennedy is a danger to the public’s health and should resign or be fired.” Yep.

The US has cut billions of dollars in COVID and pandemic readiness research funding, saying "Americans moved on years ago.” The public health and broader science community MUST stop aiding this shift in research priorities by referring to COVID in the past tense. www.bmj.com/content/388/...

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is a danger to the public’s health and should resign or be fired, says APHA. In just a few short weeks, his actions on vacccines, fluoride and other public health science have shown how wrong he is for the job. Read & share our statement: apha.org/news-and-med...

When public health works, “nothing” happens. People stay healthy. People go on living.

This is such an important project that has informed SO MUCH substance use research. Its termination is thoughtless and will only prevent us from keeping up with current trends.

My most positive moments continue to be the successes of mentees and collaborators, as well as hearing from patients that they feel better

Full of existential dread, but the first PhD student I accepted just became a PhD candidate yesterday and that makes me proud.

So which philanthropic foundations are going to realize that there are a ton of readymade recently terminated projects that have already been vetted that only need a fraction of the funding to be completed with high impact results?

On the first day of the new NIH Director, the Chiefs of NIAID, NICHD, NIMHD and NINR were informed that they were being placed on administrative leave. Together, these leaders were in charge of US$9 billion in funding at the NIH. #PublicHealth #EpiSky #SocialEpi www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I cannot overstate the damage this will do to the community of people who use drugs and those of us whose work is focused on mitigating drug related harms. I am at a loss for words

New — Here is a running list of Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) offices that have either been fully eliminated or gutted into non-functionality as a result of today's mass firings (provided to me directly by a CDC staffer):

Wow. Ok I expected this sort of nonsense but right wingers use “drugs” to drum up moral panics. I guess it’s not really about drug use, is it.

The entire National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) team at SAMHSA was terminated today. Do not listen to the platitudes of this administration when they say they care about drug overdose, addiction, mental health, or suicide.

The HHS reorganizing--nice overview, including an org chart that suggests issues. E.g., "NIH is 1st & foremost a research agency...CDC is a public hlth agency...putting 'sci into action'... (M)oving key Centers out of (CDC)...thus removes the 'action' component, potentially resulting in gaps..." 🛟🧪😷