Paper accepted! I will never be a jaded academic who doesn’t celebrate each publication. A lot of work goes into them.

Proud mentor moment 🙌 My mentees are shining at #ISPEAnnual2025 with impactful presentations on pharmacoepidemiology and policy-relevant research. Grateful to witness their growth and contributions to the field! 🌟

It was an incredible relief last night that this particular nightmare only lasted about five hours or 0.0189 Scaramuccis. That said, if Russ Vought can insert a footnote somewhere else that kills NIH funding, he will attempt it again. Project 2025 demands it.

This is exhausting. We need EVERYONE to speak up.

This deeply personal piece in @theguardian.com by @alissaquart.bsky.social captures something many of us are feeling but haven’t been able to name: “citizenship insecurity” I’m honored to have my story included. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This deeply personal piece in @theguardian.com by @alissaquart.bsky.social captures something many of us are feeling but haven’t been able to name: “citizenship insecurity” I’m honored to have my story included. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

USASP is currently participating in virtual Hill visits to educate congressional staff about the importance of NIH funding for pain research.🎉 Want to help? Help us make your voices heard. Reach out to your representatives and share why pain research matters to you. Learn more here ⬇

Paying for research but not indirect costs is like hiring a chef but refusing to pay for kitchen/electricity Indirect costs, like lab safety & compliance, are the backbone of research that can save lives. The proposed #NIH 15% cap puts patient care at risk www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...

Join us as we fact check Jay Bhattacharya live tomorrow!

My #NIH K01 grant (dedicated to improving treatment for older adults with #TrigeminalNeuralgia) was terminated today due to new anti-DEI policies. This isn’t about “buzzwords.” It’s about real patients losing out because science is under attack. Regrouping and thinking about next steps…

Maybe a hot take: I think some people who are quick to dismiss GenAI tools are lucky they don't struggle with ADHD or the kind of executive dysfunction that makes answering emails or drafting a form feel like climbing a mountain. ChatGPT helps me find momentum when I’m stuck.

Speaking at the #USASP2025 Advocacy Workshop this Friday! I’ll cover how researchers can influence pain policy through rulemaking, public comments, and agency engagement. 📢Your science belongs in policy rooms too! @usasp.bsky.social @uncpublichealth.bsky.social #PainPolicy #Advocacy #SciComm

Out today in @jama.com, me and @nathancortez.bsky.social examine how the drastic staffing cuts at FDA run counter to FDA's many statutory obligations and the bargains embodied in user fee provisions - and put public health, innovation, and all of us at risk. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Wrapped up our last Intro to #LegalEpi class at @uncpublichealth.bsky.social today and feeling all kinds of grateful 🤍💙 Thanks to my students for the energy, the questions, and the hope you bring to this work. You give me faith in the future of #PublicHealth!

Overall good life advice: document everything in writing.

Honored to participate as member of the planning committee and moderator for @nationalacademies.org workshop on chronic pain management and disability determinations. Using science to advocate for people with living with pain! #advocacy #disability #pain

🚀🚀

Sharing my op-ed discussing the significant health implications of closing the NIH Office of Pain Policy and Planning. ⚠️I discuss how this decision could affect pain management and patient care across the nation. 🗞️Raleigh News & Observer 🗞️Charlotte Observer www.newsobserver.com/opinion/arti...

Sharing my op-ed discussing the significant health implications of closing the NIH Office of Pain Policy and Planning. ⚠️I discuss how this decision could affect pain management and patient care across the nation. 🗞️Raleigh News & Observer 🗞️Charlotte Observer www.newsobserver.com/opinion/arti...

I hope you join us in the upcoming public workshop hosted by NASEM on the Treatment and Management of Chronic Pain and Implications for Disability Determinations 📅 April 17-18, 2025 🔗 Registration link: www.nationalacademies.org/event/43975_...

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE in Pittsboro, N.C. Seat of a rural county — located about 20 to 40 minutes from Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham, where there are other rallies — with a town population of about 4,800. I’ve been here for almost 30 years and never seen anything like this. #HandsOff

Weekly email from NIH listserv where they are supposed to announce funding opportunities… (none)

An important point getting overlooked: When NIH cancels "diversity" grants (e.g., diversity supplements, Fs, Ks, etc), they aren't canceling the grants based on *what* the grant studies. They're cancelling them based on *who* is doing the research. And that disallowed "who" is anyone not white.

BREAKING: We're suing the National Institutes of Health over their politically-motivated purge of research grants. This is an unlawful attack on scientific progress that puts lives at risk.

All staff at the NIH Office of Pain Policy and Planning were let go due to today's cuts. This devastating loss will have significant negative impacts on the health of millions. Pain is the leading cause of disability and the top reason for seeking medical care.

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.

Noticeably silent amid the upheaval at HHS? Big pharma. Every new drug has NIH somewhere in its DNA--and NIH funding supports the training of their workforce. Now they're finding out FDA isn't safe, either. Wrote about how keeping quiet isn't working My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):

More Booker-like action. Less Schumer-like ineffective "leadership"

This is absolutely devastating for public health, for scientific integrity, for innovation, for all Americans. I can't string together more coherent thoughts - just absolutely devastating.

We are in the dark ages

Sharing information about the upcoming Policy Surveillance Institute by the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University: phlr.temple.edu/policy-surve... Highly recommended for those interested in conducting legal mapping studies! #LegalEpi #PHLaw #PublicHealth

Medicaid is the largest source of insurance for addiction treatment. Easily the single greatest policy change to actually make a difference in our overdose crisis has been Medicaid/Medicare guaranteeing coverage for medical treatment of addiction. Any reduction in coverage will lead to more deaths.

99.4% of new drugs approved by the FDA are the product of NIH funded research. Remember this every time you see another headline on the NIH funding cuts. It will directly impact YOU. #ScienceNOTSilence

“The word ‘science’ is in the US Constitution." Bill Nye gives a passionate speech at the #STATBreakthrough Summit.

In a time when science faces significant challenges, celebrating even small wins becomes all the more important. One of my papers has been recognized as one of the top 10 most cited publications in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety for 2023 🎉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Fantastic and important Viewpoint in @jama.com from #PHLaw#LegalEpi scholars @benjaminabarsky.bsky.social et al. on the need to improve methods and transparency of legal measurement in health policy evaluation. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... Some excerpts:

I had a great time catching up with @pittcp3.bsky.social friends and meeting folks at @pittgim.bsky.social. Bubble tea was top notch!

This is one of the most outrageous things the administration has done so far. Cutting off T and F awards (along with other NIH grants) at Columbia University...why? Because they can. This is government terrorism against its own citizens, pure and simple.

How do legal policies shape #PainCare & #PublicHealth? Join @drjuanhc.com on Thursday for a #PittHSRseminar exploring legal epidemiology’s role in advancing equitable pain policy. Register for Zoom or join us in person: www.gim-crhc.pitt.edu/events/hsr-s...

NEW: The NIH has begun terminating grants for active projects studying gender identity, DEI, environmental justice, climate change, among other topics. At least 16 termination letters have already been sent — and hundreds more are coming, people inside NIH tell me. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Including this slide at the start of my lecture tomorrow. Class is about natural experimental study design, but it seems irresponsible to not counter the medical disinformation re: Vitamin A and measles from the DHHS secretary

Ditto

My favorite quote “There are no magic words that can override an executive’s order plain meaning.” Re: the administration arguing that the EO stated “agencies to implement the President’s order to the extent permitted by law.”

Good idea to refresh on your rights as a protester in prep for this Friday's @standupforscience.bsky.social h/t to @jacasiegel.bsky.social for sharing this #academicsky #psychscisky www.aclu.org/know-your-ri...

“Do law, not vibes” 💯

The HHS Secretary is telling people that better nutrition will protect them from measles. This is not an Onion article. This is the top health official in the country spewing disinformation that has and will lead to deadly consequences. Will our health leaders please speak up? #MedSky #EpiSky

As a former NIH K & CDC MARI* awardee whose work focused on Black and Latina cis and trans women w/ or placed @ risk for HIV, what is happening will disproportionately impact those of us who are already underrepresented in research because we tend to be more likely to do health equity research.

Another NIH grant rescinded - The Epidemiology of Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias in Sexual and Gender Minority Older Adults: Identifying Risk and Protective Factors - 1K01AG056669

Can we honestly not get consensus agreement in the U.S. that children should not die of preventable illness???