Just got this tonight. I am on a panel that is supposed to meet Nov 03.

Can’t believe I have to say this, but in Minnesota you will continue to have the freedom to get your COVID and flu shots.

Interested air sampling for pathogens? I'm a big wastewater surveillance proponent, but it is not the answer in every situation. Our team has a short blog about the currently available air samplers if this is something you are interested in. lungfish-science.github.io/2025/09/04/o...

RFK Jr.'s #2 is stepping in as acting CDC director. You need to call your Congress people now and demand hearings until RFK is forced out. They're politically weak for another 48-72 hours, then they'll do unbelievable damage in the next month. Show me that you called and I will give you a reward 👇

Good start. Continue to (1) demand his resignation and (2) threaten endless hearings until it happens.

Cecropia moth.

Bagged my first 14er. #Quandary Peak.

I've got an opening for a postdoctoral fellow, and likely a second available in 6-12 mos. If you're interested in infection biology during pregnancy or reproductive immunology, please reach out. To formally apply, Search for posting ID: 369238 myu.umn.edu/employment

The final version is out in the Journal of Virology: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

New paper out led by Rachel Lange (Alex Ciota's lab) and Julia Pritchard (my lab) showing that the unique genetic signatures associated with Powassan virus infections in MN and NY are associated with variability in viral fitness and virulence. doi.org/10.4269/ajtm...

Go Bucky!

Last year, I was overjoyed to receive an NIH NRSA fellowship to study toddler brains and caregiving effects on memory at Columbia. Last night, my grant was terminated.

No pain no Jane! IYKYK. #Trestle.

Reviewing grants for a study section on March 18/19 that will almost certainly be canceled. I am doing this in solidarity with and in support of my SRO. I get the sense that NIH folks don't know what might get them fired. They are doing the best they can given the circumstances.

Sad to share news of the loss of a virology legend after a long battle with cancer. We will miss you dearly, Ann Palmenberg. www.cressfuneralservice.com/obituaries/a...

Particularly vicious protest sign today at Sugarbush, VT

Also worth paying attention to this on research involving animals. acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...

Thanks to the @startribune.com for running this the same day I submitted it 👍🏻. Vaccinate your kids (and yourself) www.startribune.com/readers-writ...

Crap, this a legit problem for mosquito rearing supplies. Always fun to justify a bolt of wedding tulle to the purchasing admins.

I think people both within science and outside science don’t fully appreciate the miracle that were the Covid-19 vaccines. How much courage it took to get the sequence out, how much work had already gone into figuring out the best viral antigen and how best to present it. 1/

My friend and colleague Dave O’Connor is keeping an eye on this here: github.com/dhoconno/rep...

Dear Virology Community, please see ASV’s statement to our members and the scientific community. asv.org/asv-statemen...

Take a break from doomscrolling and check out this new preprint from Ellie Bohm: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... We leveraged the natural variability between ZIKV strains to understand mechanisms that lead to fetal harm.

Folks: I am NOT affiliated with the group that is using my name to support an economic boycott. Please spread this post, if you would.

This whole thread 100 times over. @carlbergstrom.com puts into words what I have been struggling to articulate these past few days as I have grappled with similar grief and frustration.

Hi all, I'm a WIRED journalist on the science desk. If you're a government scientist or federally funded researcher with info to share about the Trump transition, please feel free to contact me securely on Signal: emullin.06

The men carrying out Musk's coup are Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran. Make them famous. And, eventually, when possible, arrest them and charge them with multiple felonies. www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

The logic of the coup that is going on now. And how to resist it. snyder.substack.com/p/the-logic-...

One positive thing that happend this otherwise challenging week is that this paper is FINALLY out. Why are Culex tarsalis so good at spreading West Nile virus? We learned a lot by doing this study. A testament to the tenacity and creativity of Dr. Emily Fitzmeyer. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Just your friendly reminder that museum specimens of ticks and mice contained evidence of infection with the bacterial agent of Lyme disease before the first known American human cases in the mid-1970s.

I live in a state that provides free breakfast & lunch to all kids in public schools. My kids prefer home lunch. I still think it is a good idea to provide free breakfast & lunch to all kids in public schools.

@agellison.bsky.social MN should be part of this effort: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/u.... We get $958,560,877 in funding from NIH.

Same. And mention your opposition to RFK Jr.'s nomination while you are at it.

Call your senators! Do it today! It's better than wallowing

Whenever I tell people that I am a prof, I typically get asked "what classes do you teach?" Teaching is important but I spend most of my time running an NIH-funded lab. I wish more people appreciated that research is an economic driver for the state. MN receives $957,099,187 in NIH funding

Rueing the day I decided to purchase from Conviron. Wall-in chamber needs new light fixtures after 6 years. Has had multiple different issues since the day we turned it on.

Daughter was recently diagnosed with asthma. Insurance just denied her daily control inhaler. Merry Christmas.

Pleased to have contributed to this. Our Zika virus experimental evolution work is highlighted.

Tired pup.

My new mantra: “The longer you ski, the longer you live” snowbrains.com/industry-leg...

You know, in past Republican administrations there was a lot of interest in pandemic preparedness. It should be a bipartisan concern

I am looking for 2 postdoctoral researchers to join my lab to work on the role of HIV-1 accessory proteins in the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS and viral latency. Please contact me informally or ‘re-sky’ to anyone you think may be interested. Closing Dec 10th www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DKV639/p...

My one constructive criticism on BlueSky, as a community: we need to “like” less and “retweet” more. In the absence of an algorithm, that’s the way we find each other and reward good content.

Fetch!

#ViroSky Come be my colleague. hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...

New PI achievement unlocked. Attending ASTMH but will be spending the next few days holed up in my hotel room finishing grant reviews.

Trying to explain the electoral college to a 10 yo. Her response: well that’s a stupid way to do it. Can’t say she is wrong.

The Aliota Lab is hiring a research technician. Flaviviruses, mosquitoes, ticks, genomic surveillance. Apply! Job ID 362585 hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/362...