UChicagoID × IDWeek 2025 So proud to see our faculty, fellows, and trainees sharing their science, stories, and impact on the national stage @idweek.bsky.social — UChicago is showing up strong! 🔬❤️‍🔥 🦠 #IDWeek2025 #UChicagoID #WeAreID

I wrote about popes, condoms, and the Catholic Church’s long, complicated relationship with sexual health. From abstinence-only messaging during the HIV crisis to quiet progress under Francis. I had fun with this one hope you enjoy reading it. bktitanji.substack.com/p/habemus-pa... #HabemusPapam

My favorite partner in crime at #ACTHIV2025 @jncherabiemd.bsky.social

Digging into the reinstated NIH grants. This story is an evolving doozy. The reinstated grant is an R21 from Seattle Children's Hospital I was very confused when I read the title: "An intervention to promote healthy relationships among transgender and gender expansive youth" 1/n

Excellent thread on what indiscriminate cuts to an already meager national STI budget will do. We will be living with these consequences for the rest of our lifetimes. #IDSky

Really pleased to see this open dialogue about PrEP for HIV use by Black women in Essence. Black women make up 50% of new HIV infections in the U.S. yet PrEP awareness and uptake remain very low in this group. PrEP doesn't only protect gay men, it protects women too! www.essence.com/lifestyle/ta...

Researchers Challenge NIH’s Politically Driven Grant Cancellations @aclum.bsky.social Complaint: www.aclu.org/documents/ap...

The CDC is being gutted and that has real effects on people in my state. We still see new HIV diagnoses each day, if we can’t test and measure data, then people will develop advanced HIV and die. @wired.com @anuhazramd.bsky.social #HIVSky

When we say people will die, this is what we’re talking about. We aren’t being dramatic, public health is one of the biggest returns on investment in terms of health. And it’s been flat funded for 10 years, and now cut by 25%… www.amfar.org/news/cuts-to...

Sudden NIH grant terminations lack economic or ethical considerations. Our ATN-173/HPTN-115 protocol (STI prevention for women) has been rigorously preparing ~2 years to launch in April. What was broken in a day will take months to rebuild. We owe it to adolescents and women to not give up. #IDSky

I concur. People will die. The short sightedness of wrecking HIV research infrastructure in the US and globally cannot be overstated. My friend and colleague @anuhazramd.bsky.social states plainly what many of us know and feel desperately. The public deserves to know as well.

Strong words from my brilliant colleague @anuhazramd.bsky.social concerning the NIH HIV cuts. Read the whole article here #SaveHIVFunding #HIVSky #IDSky @hivma.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/03/25/h...

CDC Division of HIV Prevention is under attack! This is an assault on all progress we have made in the field of HIV Prevention. That means more HIV infections, more complications from HIV, and higher healthcare costs. We must act now! #HIVSky #IDSky #SaveHIVFunding aidsunited.org/action/polic...

Word is out that an announcement about a reorganization of the #CDC will include elimination of the Division of #HIV Prevention and likely other departments. A significant reduction in workforce is also expected. Announcement could be made by Thursday or Friday if not sooner. Details to come.

Always great getting to speak with @medpagetoday.bsky.social about syphilis screening and the amazing work of our friends in Chicago @anuhazramd.bsky.social #STISky #IDSky

Morning - Rise up & resist! Today, let's focus on what we can control. Remembering that our purpose fuels our resilience & resistance. They want us to be fearful; worrying about the future. Bc in fear, we're not living in the moment. We're unable to help now when we're spiraling. #tgif

Appreciative of @hivma.bsky.social and @idsainfo.bsky.social for allowing me to write about the new federal executive orders with respect to sex and gender, and how we may best function as providers while advocating for LGBT+ pts www.idsociety.org/science-spea...

The global South is leading in keeping us all safe. 1.Rwanda &Tanzania contained marburg outbreaks 2.Uganda is fighting Ebola 3. DRC is fighting #mpox Knowledge can flow from the global South to North. With CDC EIS gutted, consider Africa CDC's AES www.globalsouthopportunities.com/2025/02/17/a...

If only we had an effective vaccine that prevents measles, what is now the largest measles outbreak in the State's history in 30 years would be swiftly resolved 🙄. #VACCINATE www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

This is the new banner on HIV prevention webpages. This data is based off years of the highest quality evidence. To say this “this page does not reflect biological reality” because it includes trans people is propaganda from the people who know nothing about biology nor how to properly define sex.

I present to you all the notice that now is displayed on the CDC HIV prevention page. Again - In these times, find a healthcare provider you trust, who follows evidence based practice grounded in science. Follow trusted sources of information.

The HIV epidemic cannot be ended in a state of lawlessness where essential health agencies are gutted and funds are withheld without due cause and without reasonable warning. Read More: prep4all.org/statement-en...

Everyone I know who works in academia right now is incredibly stressed. Please be kind,show some patience, reach out to your friends and colleagues, and offer support 🧡. Educate yourself on what is at stake, find a channel for advocacy you can engage in consistently, and add your voice.

University leadership in U.S. seems to be finally speaking up. That's a good thing, I guess, but we remember their silence regarding attacks on trans folk, DEI, human rights etc. Indirects on grants are important, but I wish it didn't take that to move the people who lead our institutions on issues.

See how much NIH funding is in your state www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...

This change will accomplish one thing - kill medical research in US academic institutions. That's not hyperbole and the best way I can explain this to the lay public. Slashing indirect costs to 15% is a move to destroy the academic enterprise. Pass it on. www.statnews.com/2025/02/07/n...

"The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a huge funder of biomedical research, has cut a $60-million initiative to boost diversity in science education." Everyone obeying in advance never believed in diversity and inclusion to begin with, it was all an act. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Measles outbreaks cost A LOT of money. Societal costs of the 2018 Clark Co, WA outbreak cost society-the taxpayer-$3.4 million ($47 479 per case or $814 per contact). Cost of measles vaccine=$25 per dose ($50 for a 2 shot regimen) + MA/RN to administer. publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...

Trials abandoned due to the stop-work order on USAID-funded research:

A bright spot in current hellscape we are living through — my brilliant mentee presenting his work on ID match rates based on states’ reproductive and/or LGBT restrictions. Data will certainly be only more relevant in the years to come. #WeAreID #IDSky

There is a line in the sand. Healthcare and public health organizations need to collectively hold the line. This is a life or death matter. shorturl.at/O5lsU

Ace Robinson & some of the world's leading experts have developed "Saving Our People: Black Global Response to Shift in USA Health Policy" to help communities navigate health funding cuts. I'm proud to moderate this discussion. Join us on Feb 5 at 2 PM (EST). Details are in the attached picture.

Good start, now build on it

This is a chaotic and frightening time for researchers, but it is likely more terrifying for patients. As an infectious diseases doctor, I want to say that we are still here. We are advocating for you, and care about you: people with HIV, immigrants, transgender folks, and everyone else. #IDsky

What’s stopping @idsainfo.bsky.social from doing this?

This JAMA Clinical Guidelines Synopsis focuses on the recent CDC guidelines on use of doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections. https://ja.ma/41FWRvL

I had a lot of fun riding this one with @anuhazramd.bsky.social , definitely a topic with some controversy, but could be a pivotal move to help reduce the incidence of this (not so) “hidden” syphilis epidemic.

Just released! 💥 #LEN, the twice-yearly injectable #PrEP has the potential to transform the #HIV response, but only if it is rolled out with speed, scale and equity. Read the latest op-ed from AVAC’s ED Mitchell Warren and @jirairratevosian.bsky.social in @devex.com. www.devex.com/news/opinion...

🚨2 ID fellowship spots are open at Rush/Cook County!🚨 🏙️ Train at 2 amazing hospitals in the beautiful city of Chicago! 🦠Unparalleled clinical experience in HIV, transplant, global health ❤️Amazing faculty (I’m biased) 👩‍⚕️: Contact Mariam Aziz: [email protected] 🔁please repost and spread the word!

So incredibly honored to welcome this cohort of new fellows to the field of ID!!! #weareID

Health officials in California have confirmed the first case of mpox clade I in the US. Patient is a returning traveller's who traveled to eastern Africa. This is not unexpected because the world is interconnected and there are ongoing outbreaks of clade I mpox in Africa. apnews.com/article/mpox...

It's been shocking to see some public health experts who know better join in the sane-washing of RFK Jr and try to rationalize his nomination to lead DHHS. There's no universe in which he is an appropriate pick for that position. Pretending he is for some craven proximity to power is sick.