Andrew Wells
@adwellspenn.bsky.social
š¤ 411
š„ 244
š 16
Immunologist, molecular biologist, GenX Dad
reposted by
Andrew Wells
PennMedCSO
5 days ago
Congratulations to the 3
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
honorees elected to the National Academy of Medicine! Election to
@nam.edu
is considered one of the highest honors in the field of health & medicine. Check back this week as we profile each new member
tinyurl.com/ysjzdrbk
0
12
3
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Struan Grant
18 days ago
Congratulations to the
@amundadottir.bsky.social
team for their
#Gut
paper reporting a large-scale multiomic analysis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Delighted to contribute along with
@adwellspenn.bsky.social
.
@chopresearch.bsky.social
@penngenetics.bsky.social
gut.bmj.com/content/earl...
loading . . .
Large-scale multiomic analysis identifies non-coding somatic driver mutations and nominates ZFP36L2 as a driver gene for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Background The identification and characterisation of somatic cancer driver mutations in the non-coding genome remains challenging. Objective To broadly characterise non-coding driver mutations for p...
https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2025/10/08/gutjnl-2025-335152
0
7
5
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Monica Maalouf, MD
24 days ago
My husband was detained by ICE today Juan MuƱoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away I have had zero contact or updates since
#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov
@durbin.senate.gov
768
26578
14241
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Dr. Sandra Steingraber š³ļøāš
12 months ago
A little thread: Science is defiantly anti-fascist because it pursues truth, is necessarily collaborative, and relies on open communication. And because its falsifiability is incompatible with the cultism, faith-based belief systems, disinformation, and propaganda of Christian nationalism.
31
1206
326
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Struan Grant
24 days ago
Our latest paper, just out in
#GenomeBiology
: "GWAS-informed data integration and non-coding CRISPRi screen illuminate genetic etiology of bone mineral density".
@chopresearch.bsky.social
@penngenetics.bsky.social
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
loading . . .
GWAS-informed data integration and non-coding CRISPRi screen illuminate genetic etiology of bone mineral density - Genome Biology
Background Over 1100 independent signals have been identified with genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for bone mineral density (BMD), a key risk factor for mortality-increasing fragility fractures; however, the effector gene(s) for most remain unknown. Results We execute a CRISPRi screen in human fetal osteoblasts (hFOBs) with single-cell RNA-seq read-out for 89 non-coding elements predicted to regulate osteoblast gene expression at BMD GWAS loci. The BMD relevance of hFOBs is supported by heritability enrichment from stratified LD-score regression involving 98 cell types grouped into 15 tissues. Twenty-three genes show perturbation in the screen, with four (ARID5B, CC2D1B, EIF4G2, and NCOA3) exhibiting consistent effects upon siRNA knockdown on three measures of osteoblast maturation and mineralization. Lastly, additional heritability enrichments, genetic correlations, and multi-trait fine-mapping unexpectedly reveal that many BMD GWAS signals are pleiotropic and likely mediate their effects via non-bone tissues. Conclusions Our results provide a roadmap for how single-cell CRISPRi screens may be applied to the challenging task of resolving effector gene identities at all BMD GWAS loci. Extending our CRISPRi screening approach to other tissues could play a key role in fully elucidating the etiology of BMD.
https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-025-03802-4
3
11
2
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Caroline Bartman
4 months ago
Super excited to share my final postdoc paper from Rabinowitz lab- on how whole-body and tissue metabolism changes in viral infection!
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40581045/
loading . . .
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40581045/
6
109
25
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Kristian G. Andersen
5 months ago
Here's the NIH's proposed budget - from $48 billion to $27 billion. NIAID, current ~$7 billion cut to ~$4.2 billion. The proposed 15% cap on indirect costs remains. Again, these budgets are passed, and our leadership in science, technology, and innovation is gone.
www.hhs.gov/sites/defaul...
add a skeleton here at some point
26
640
404
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Joshua Weitz
5 months ago
How bad will it be? Catastrophic. Proposed cuts to
#NSF
,
#NIH
, and
#NASA
will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come. But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget. Speak up now before it is too late. (inflation adjusted $-s below)
71
2611
1500
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Carl T. Bergstrom
5 months ago
As the parent of a type-I diabetic, I would like to invite the ignorant piece of shit currently directing the FDA to kiss my ass.
483
11052
2380
To my fellow colleagues at institutions denied federal funding by the current administration, will you serve on NIH study section panels when requested??
5 months ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Carl Zimmer
5 months ago
The
@upshot.nytimes.com
has put together a vivid illustration of how the Trump administration has hollowed out American science. Gift link:
nyti.ms/4kBTVql
loading . . .
Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades (Gift Article)
The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.
https://nyti.ms/4kBTVql
3
73
52
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Jon Freeman
5 months ago
šØ A new rule would let career scientists like NSF/NIH program officers be replaced by political appointees Already 14,000+ public comments, deadline is Friday š£ Comments can be short. Courts consider themāand scientists with NSF/NIH experience are especially impactful Speak up!
shorturl.at/WKuBj
25
540
565
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Gc Rox
5 months ago
All of NIH funding to Northwestern University is frozen. This pause includes noncompeting approved funding, new and competing grants with fundable scores. No reimbursements for money already spent have been received since March. This situation is rarely reported so please Please get the word out!
34
2267
1356
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Alt NIH Bluesky š§Ŗ
6 months ago
Check this chart. Purple line: NIH actual budget (as passed by Congress) after 2000. This is in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars. The Trump/Vought proposal for 2026 (yellow) is catastrophic, for US science and medical cures for Americans. That's a massive drop.
7
135
94
This would decimate academic science
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
loading . . .
Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts to US science
Huge reductions, if enacted, could have ācatastrophicā effects on US competitiveness and the scientific pipeline, critics say.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01397-1
6 months ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Struan Grant
6 months ago
@maxdudek.bsky.social
applied a deep learning algorithm to ATAC-seq from 170 livers to measure TF binding at non-coding variants. We show "footprint QTLs" (#fpQTLs) can fine-map causal variants.
@ajhgnews.bsky.social
@penngenetics.bsky.social
@chopresearch.bsky.social
www.cell.com/ajhg/abstrac...
loading . . .
Characterization of non-coding variants associated with transcription-factor binding through ATAC-seq-defined footprint QTLs in liver
Dudek etĀ al. use chromatin accessibility data in liver from 170 human donors to measure transcription factor binding at genetic variants. They observed 809 variants associated with binding. Given bind...
https://www.cell.com/ajhg/abstract/S0002-9297(25)00140-5
3
31
9
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Max Dudek
6 months ago
Our new paper is out today in AJHG! We applied a "footprinting" algorithm to ATAC-seq data from 170 livers to find non-coding variants associated with TF binding. We show that these "footprint QTLs" (#fpQTLs) can fine-map GWAS loci at base-pair resolution.
www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...
loading . . .
Characterization of non-coding variants associated with transcription-factor binding through ATAC-seq-defined footprint QTLs in liver
Dudek etĀ al. use chromatin accessibility data in liver from 170 human donors to measure transcription factor binding at genetic variants. They observed 809 variants associated with binding. Given bind...
https://www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltext/S0002-9297(25)00140-5
1
18
7
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Lena Sun
6 months ago
SCOOP: Internal budget doc reveals extent of Trumpās proposed health cuts. About 1/3 of HHS discretionary budget. Our story w
@carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
@rachelroubein.bsky.social
@joelachenbach.bsky.social
@laurenweberhp.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
loading . . .
Internal budget document reveals extent of Trumpās proposed health cuts
HHS would be asked to absorb a $40 billion cut, about one third of its discretionary budget.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/04/16/hhs-budget-cut-trump/
21
167
133
www.thetransmitter.org/funding/five...
loading . . .
Five things to know if your federal grant is terminated
If you want to appeal the decision, know the rules that govern terminations, as well as the specific rationale given in your notice, science policy experts say.
https://www.thetransmitter.org/funding/five-things-to-know-if-your-federal-grant-is-terminated/
7 months ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Dheepa Sundaram, PhD (she/her)
7 months ago
They are now estimating 2.3 million across the country. Keep it going folks.
#handsoff
#50501protests
125
10520
3192
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Paul Offit
7 months ago
open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
RFK Jr. should apologize to parents for his inaction during this measles epidemic.
loading . . .
Another Child Dies from Measles
RFK Jr. plans to attend the funeral. He should apologize to the parents for his actions during a measles epidemic that likely involves thousands of children.
https://open.substack.com/pub/pauloffit/p/another-child-dies-from-measles?r=272lq3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
14
197
71
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Sherry Pagoto, PhD
8 months ago
New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024. That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved. Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
loading . . .
NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report
National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2025/03/12/nih-grants-fueled-95-billion-in-economic-activity-finds-new-report/
23
2034
1216
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Dr. Becca
8 months ago
I am somehow for the first time ever reviewing for PNAS and their reviewer instructions include this BANGER of a line: "The purpose of peer review is not to demonstrate proficiency in identifying flaws" Print it in eleventy point font and hang it from the hillside. Scream it from the rooftops.
20
731
151
8 months ago
0
1
0
Currently there are many more children with measles (a disease that was thought eradicated in 2000) in this country than trans athletes
8 months ago
2
2
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Science Magazine
8 months ago
A new White House freeze on using government-issued credit cards is the latest shock for federal scientists, potentially affecting everything from conference travel to needed purchases for clinical care or lab work.
scim.ag/4hV9oRb
loading . . .
Trump credit card freeze sparks alarm at health agencies
āCost efficiencyā order could block travel, supplies for labs and patient care
https://scim.ag/4hV9oRb
1
117
47
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Alt NIH Bluesky š§Ŗ
8 months ago
This is a straight ban on purchasing at #NIH ā for cancer trials, treating patients, and developing cures. @chrislhayes.bsky.social Almost all purchases at NIH are made on govt credit cards. Itās clear whatās happening: Trump/Musk are blowing up the govt using devious⦠1/
www.forbes.com/sites...
loading . . .
Trump Places Freeze On Federal Credit Cards In Newest DOGE Executive Order
The order gives the Department of Government Efficiency more power over federal funds and spending practices.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/02/26/trump-places-freeze-on-federal-credit-cards-in-newest-doge-executive-order/
7
212
134
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Jeremy Berg
8 months ago
UPDATE ON FUNDING These are data through 2/21/25. The lag in Reporter really does appear to be about a week. There was a second mini-pause as suspected from internal reports, but grants are being awarded. About 21% new or competitive renewals (compared to 29% in 2017, and 22% in 2021
4
106
50
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Alt NIH Bluesky š§Ŗ
8 months ago
"Memoli had no choice, he insisted: He was following the direction of three HHS officialsāDorothy Fink, then the acting secretary; Heather Flick Melanson, chief of staff; and Hannah Anderson, deputy chief of staff of policyāwho told him, in no uncertain terms, that the pause was to continue..." /1
loading . . .
Inside the Collapse at the NIH
Administration officials pressured the NIH to avoid clear advice from the agencyās own lawyers to restart grant funding now.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/02/nih-grant-freeze-biomedical-research/681853/?gift=4OW_ksNtOXRAREHU203IjoAlHi07ZXTNu8mcd9VAsTg&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
9
151
100
Just learned that our NIH grant application review will be postponed due to cancellation of study section - this chaos is broad reaching and will have long-term impact on productivity, staff, students & scientific progress
8 months ago
0
3
1
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Alt NIH Bluesky š§Ŗ
8 months ago
Luke Farritor has been given access, by NIH civil service leadership, to the NIH business systems. That will allow him to do this to NIH grants, and to purchasing for research and clinical trials. šØ š§Ŗ
add a skeleton here at some point
2
84
35
Yes, but the Trump admin is bypassing this injunction by postponing ~all NIH grant reviews that were scheduled this Jan-Feb
add a skeleton here at some point
8 months ago
0
1
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Mark Copelovitch
8 months ago
The entire business model of American R1 universities is not viable without restoration of federal funding, & every individual institution pretending it can solve this problem alone is also not viable. University presidents need to be speaking out, collectively & loudly about this, in DC, right now.
add a skeleton here at some point
44
2067
761
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Vaughn Cooper
8 months ago
šØPA colleagues: "Senator Fetterman wants to hear from you about how the federal funding freeze is affecting Pennsylvania." "If your project has been impacted, please fill out our constituent impact form:"
forms.office.com/g/mFv2JAPxpC
Get out your Other Support and share that info!
loading . . .
Microsoft Forms
https://forms.office.com/g/mFv2JAPxpC
5
122
137
reposted by
Andrew Wells
NPR
8 months ago
The National Institutes of Health had to stop considering new grant applications, delaying funding for research into diseases ranging from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer's and allergies.
loading . . .
NIH funding freeze stalls applications on $1.5 billion in medical research funds
The National Institutes of Health had to stop considering new grant applications, delaying funding for research into diseases ranging from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer's and allergies.
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/22/nx-s1-5305276/trump-nih-funding-freeze-medical-research
161
3587
1619
Christian nationalists are trying to take over the country, including the NIH
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
loading . . .
Project 2025 is gutting medical funding that helped Russell Vought's own kid
Its architect's daughter has cystic fibrosisāand benefits from a "miracle drug" backed by an agency he's attacking.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/project-2025-vought-medical-funding/
8 months ago
0
0
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
8 months ago
Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.
520
50768
17680
I deactivated my Twitter/X account and deleted the app
8 months ago
0
3
0
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Carl T. Bergstrom
9 months ago
1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%. I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
loading . . .
NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates NOT-OD-25-068. OD
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-068.html
260
7067
5027
reposted by
Andrew Wells
PennMedCSO
9 months ago
Congratulations to Jorge Henao-Mejia (
@pennpathlabmed.bsky.social
) on his election to
@the-asci.bsky.social
! Learn more about Dr. Henao-Mejia & his work hereā”ļø
tinyurl.com/3y2ymdxw
@UPenn_I3H @CHOP_Research
0
8
2
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Jane Liebschutz, MD MPH (she/her)
9 months ago
All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.
590
12329
6188
NIH study sections cancelled
9 months ago
0
0
0
www.science.org/content/arti...
loading . . .
Trump hits NIH with ādevastatingā freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring
Researchers facing
https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-hits-nih-devastating-freezes-meetings-travel-communications-and-hiring
9 months ago
0
2
5
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Daniel P. Moriarity
10 months ago
"A study of federally funded research projects in the United States estimated that principal investigators spend on average about 45% of their time on administrative activities related to applying for and managing projects rather than conducting active research"
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
34
1003
553
reposted by
Andrew Wells
CiƧa Canesso
10 months ago
I am excited to share our study showing how the immune system strikes a delicate balance between tolerating food and defending against helminth infections.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
.
loading . . .
Identification of antigen-presenting cellāT cell interactions driving immune responses to food
The intestinal immune system must concomitantly tolerate food and commensals and protect against pathogens. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) orchestrate these immune responses by presenting luminal ant...
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado5088
2
78
26
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Elisabeth Bik - Perpetrator 5, a fraudulent microbiologist
10 months ago
Infamous paper that popularized unproven COVID-19 treatment finally retracted Study on hydroxychloroquine by Didier Raoult and colleagues gets pulled on ethical and scientific grounds
@cathleenogrady.bsky.social
reports.
www.science.org/content/arti...
loading . . .
Infamous paper that popularized unproven COVID-19 treatment finally retracted
Study on hydroxychloroquine by Didier Raoult and colleagues gets pulled on ethical and scientific grounds
https://www.science.org/content/article/infamous-paper-popularized-unproven-covid-19-treatment-finally-retracted
36
1182
436
reposted by
Andrew Wells
PennMedCSO
11 months ago
TET2 regulates early & late transitions in exhausted CD8+ T cell differentiation & limits CAR T cell function ft. Alexander Dimitri, Gregory Chen, @JoeFraietta (@PennMicro/
@penncancer.bsky.social
), @amylizbaxter (@PennSysPharmATT) & Martha Jordan (@PennPathLabMed)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
0
8
3
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Struan Grant
11 months ago
Late-stage graduate students and junior postdoctoral fellows are invited to attend the 2025 Recruitment Summit for CHOP/Penn Postdoctoral Scholars in Cell Biology and Genomics
careers.chop.edu/us/en/event/...
loading . . .
Recruitment Summit for Postdoctoral Scholars in Cell Biology and Genomics | Childrenās Hospital of Philadelphia
Recruitment Summit for Postdoctoral Scholars in Cell Biology and Genomics in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. null at Childrenās Hospital of Philadelphia
https://careers.chop.edu/us/en/event/673f7db277d2a3507b75d0c9/Recruitment-Summit-for-Postdoctoral-Scholars-in-Cell-Biology-and-Genomics
0
28
32
reposted by
Andrew Wells
Mehdi Hasan
12 months ago
Anyone you see on your timeline right now praising RFK Jr. is a person you never need to take seriously on anything ever again. It is difficult to overstate just how extreme, conspiratorial, and insane RFKās views are, on vaccines, microchips & beyond. Heās Alex Jones in a suit.
909
36841
5540
you reached the end!!
feeds!
log in