Stacked hands set against a Planet Earth backdrop.

If you can connect people to people, you can depoliticize almost anything.

When I discerned that the social determinants of health were the greatest driver of what my patients were experiencing, I had to go to the state legislature.

“I realized that medicine is the most non-partisan thing in the world,” I told #JointMeeting2026 attendees & moderator @marziehghiasi.com. 🧪

Microscopic view of HIV viral cells glowing orange against a textured blue cellular background.

While the Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Kentucky, I led an HIV clinic serving patients in rural Appalachia. One of the biggest services I was able to offer patients was advocacy for better delivery of both medical and social services.

#JointMeeting2026 #MedSky 🧪

"Ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. will require a multi-sector commitment to achieve broad and equitable access to LAIs for HIV treatment and prevention." [Close-up of HIV virus particles attaching to a cell, illustrating the need for broad access to treatment and prevention in the U.S.]

❤️‍🩹 🧪Long-acting injectables can reduce risk of regimen failure in HIV patients who struggle with daily oral medication. But a Clinical Infectious Diseases report shows barriers to uptake (insurance, admin support, drug costs & access) & proposes policies to address barriers:
https://ow.ly/oH5950YK8V6

Personally, I was interested in social justice and caring about the vulnerable. As a kid, I grew up in foster care. And I saw what society did to those not in power. The reason I went into medicine was to ensure that everyone had the chance to lead a healthy life. ❤️‍🩹

@a-p-s-a.bsky.social #MedSky

Transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (red/yellow) budding and replicating from a segment of a chronically infected H9 cell (blue/teal).

In my own career, this helped me pivot from leading an #HIV clinic and then serving as a dean of medicine to becoming the
@laskerfdn.bsky.social President. Look within yourself to identify your core values, and see how they fit in with the expectations in front of you. #MedSky #SciSky 🧪

Session moderator Marzieh Ghiasi presenting at podium during AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting for physician-scientists with seated speaker Dr. Claire Pomeroy on stage.

🧪 From #JointMeeting2026: As my career advanced, I realized there are different opportunities at different points in your career. You try to match up your goals with the ability to achieve those goals. Sometimes it means you have to change institutions, change jobs. Be open to those opportunities.

An agentic system for rare disease diagnosis with traceable reasoning - Nature DeepRare—a multi-agent system for rare disease differential diagnosis decision support powered by large language models, integrating specialized tools and up-to-date knowledge sources—has the pot...

📖 Read the full @nature.com study:

"About 300 million people live with a rare disease. A study advances diagnosis and demonstrates how LLMs can reshape clinical workflows." [Microscopic view of tissue cells highlighting rare disease diagnosis advancements through AI in clinical workflows.]

🧪“DeepRare” AI diagnoses rare diseases using clinical data, genetic information, & lit searches to propose diagnosis with reasoning. Its top-ranked prediction was correct 64% of the time, outperforming experienced rare-disease physicians using search engines, per Nature: https://ow.ly/93ga50YJVI3

Event flyer for April 19, 2026, at Swissôtel Chicago featuring speakers Claire Pomeroy, MD, MBA, and Mukesh K. Jain, MD, for the AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting.

I'm thrilled to be in Chicago for #JointMeeting2026! Join me on Sunday for a candid conversation with Drs. Mukesh Jain & Marzieh Ghiasi, MD PhD on pivots, setbacks & redefining success in academic medicine. The American Society for Clinical Investigation American Physician Scientists Association🧪

🧪❤️‍🩹 “When I think about what it means to be a physician-scientist, I think of my grandfather... At his core, he believed doctors transcend social order,” says American Physician Scientists Association President Rohini Guin. #JointMeeting2026

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China pledges billion-dollar spending boost for science Funding for national laboratories and important research projects would increase under the government’s plans.

🧪 To advance its science and AI leadership goals, the Chinese government has proposed increasing R&D spending by >7% over the next 5 years, spanning basic, applied, & experimental research. It also announced plans to increase a separate science & tech budget by 10% this year compared w/ 2025. Nature

"The highest rates of schizophrenia diagnoses are among Black individuals and those of mainly African ancestry. Historically, research hasn’t represented that." [Axial brain MRI scan highlighting regions with increased activity in orange, focusing on schizophrenia research disparities.]

Schizophrenia research has focused on European cohorts, limiting insights for Black individuals & those of African ancestry. Using Million Veteran Program data, study in Nature analyzed US individuals of African ancestry, expanding schizophrenia-linked regions by >100 loci: https://ow.ly/bMA350YEBp0

Check out @laskerfdn.bsky.social's monthly newsletter:

Can obesity drugs help treat addiction? 🧪Analysis of >600K US veteran records shows GLP-1 users with pre-existing SUD were less likely to develop SUD complications than non-users, having lower risk of SUD-related death, ER visits, & hospital admissions, per study in The BMJ https://ow.ly/x2eR50YECN9

Single-cell transcriptomic and chromatin dynamics of the human brain in PTSD - Nature A comprehensive analysis of the cell-specific molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying post-traumatic stress disorder in the human prefrontal cortex.

See the full @nature.com study:

Investigating the molecular ‘scars’ of PTSD in the human brain Trauma leaves traces in the brain. A study of alterations in gene regulation in the brains of people with post-traumatic stress disorder offers insights into its biology.

A study published in Nature of brain gene regulation in 111 people with PTSD uncovered genes and pathways associated with glucocorticoid signaling, GABA transmission, and neuroinflammation, and confirmed regulatory mechanisms of PTSD-disrupting SST, FKBP5, ELFN1, MAD1L1, and KCNIP4 genes. #MedSky 🧪

"Mice who consumed a sugary diet early in life had altered learning in adulthood." [Three mice explore colorful stacks of packaged sweets and nuts arranged on a market table.]

🧪🍭A sugary diet early in life rewires mice brains, affecting later learning, per Cell Press study. Sugar-fed mice had weaker posterior cortical responses, delayed/prolonged anterior cortex learning signals, reduced front-back connectivity, & > sensitivity to reward changes:
https://ow.ly/uwAx50YEB9A

Mary Lasker often reminded Congress, “If you think research is expensive, try disease.” ❤️‍🩹

🧪 For #NationalPublicHealthWeek, read an article about the "Empress of all Maladies" Mary Lasker, written by Lasker Foundation President Dr. Claire Pomeroy, via The Hill: https://ow.ly/nRAw50YEEiR

"The brain fires up immune cells when sick people are nearby." [Microscopic view of virus particles in red and orange against a dark blue background.]

Can just seeing a sick person boost your immune system?

🧪A Nature Neuroscience study suggests yes: Subjects who viewed avatars w/ coughs or rashes in VR mirrored immune response to actual infection, w/ higher levels of innate lymphoid cells than those who viewed controls:
https://ow.ly/KwA450YEAQy

"To see how workouts can help gut microbes quell cancer, researchers had mice with cancer run on treadmills." A small mouse on a treadmill in a gym setting with rowing machines.

Workouts can help gut microbes quell cancer in mice, a study published in Cell Press reports. Researchers found that exercise reshapes the gut microbiome in mice and, by increasing microbial production of formate, enhances CD8 T cell-mediated immune function:
https://ow.ly/VMMb50YEAGr

🧪 #MedSky

China leads research in 90% of crucial technologies — a dramatic shift this century The United States tops the remaining areas in an assessment of 74 technologies.

China leads research in 90% of crucial technologies that “significantly enhance, or pose risks to, a country's national interests," per tracker run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. In 2025, China ranked No. 1 in 66 of 74 technologies; the U.S. led the remaining 8. via Nature.

#SciSky 🧪

Love this behind-the-scenes perspective!

"Treatment of mice with purified Turicibacter lipids prevents obesity, demonstrating that bacterial lipids can promote host metabolic health." [Close-up of an obese black mouse with glossy fur.]

🧪Gut bacteria genus Turicibacter helps mice stay lean, per Cell Press study. Gut colonization reduced mice’s triglycerides and weight gain, but a high-fat diet depleted Turicibacter. Reintroducing it slimmed mice down, suggesting a potential obesity intervention for humans: https://ow.ly/s6Hb50YBRfS

Repeated heatwave exposure can age the body as much as smoking or drinking, per a 15-year study in Nature Climate Change. In ~25K people in Taiwan, greater heat exposure was linked to faster organ aging, w/ 0.023–0.031 biological clock years added per 1.3°C: https://ow.ly/VoTp50YBR2a

#SciSky 🧪

Want a younger brain? 🧠

🧪 Speaking multiple languages can protect against accelerated cognitive aging, suggests study in Nature Aging. In 86K adults aged 51–90 in 27 European countries, monolinguals were twice as likely to show faster aging vs. those speaking ≥2 languages: https://ow.ly/bx1S50YBQH5

The rise of ‘nightmare bacteria’: antimicrobial resistance in five charts Data reveal how the global challenge to reduce deaths and infections from drug-resistant bacteria is not going according to plan.

#ICYMI: Antimicrobial resistance is escalating, but diagnostics and treatment are lagging, per two WHO reports. By 2050, antimicrobial resistance could be responsible for 1.91M deaths per year. Mortality is projected to rise by ~70% among people 70 and older. via Nature

#MedSky #SciSky 🧪

Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes | Nature Repetitive head impacts (RHIs) sustained from contact sports are the largest risk factor for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)1–4. Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death and the events that trigger initial hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) deposition remain unclear2. Furthermore, the symptoms endorsed by young individuals are not fully explained by the extent of p-tau deposition2, severely hampering therapeutic interventions. Here we observed a multicellular response prior to the onset of CTE p-tau pathology that correlates with number of years of RHI exposure in young people...

🧠 Insights into CTE: Repeated head trauma drives neuron loss and inflammation. In a study in Nature, individuals under 51 with RHT/early CTE showed SPP1+ microglia, vascular inflammation, astrocytosis, and synaptic changes. TGFB1 may mediate cell cross-talk and p-tau deposition.

#MedSky 🧪

Chronic pain increases depression risk, but neural mechanisms linking persistent pain to affective dysfunction remain unclear. Per new study in Science Magazine, human & rodent data link chronic pain to hippocampus early expansion then atrophy, w microglia as key regulators:https://ow.ly/cYPV50YBOZ0

Close-up of a DNA double helix model representing genetic screening for early disease risk detection in Australia.

🧪 In a study in Nature Health, researchers detected pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in 202 of ~10.7K Australian participants. Of 189 referred for clinical follow-up, 97.9% accepted & 87.3% attended appointments. Findings show feasibility of adult genomic screening: https://ow.ly/9Tvc50YBOFG