«(…) our review [of medical cannabis] shows little evidence of efficacy. There is a substantial gap between clinical use and available evidence. It is concerning that the use of these treatments could delay or replace the use of more effective therapies.» www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Congressional Committees with Oversight of NIH
with midterms and 2027 budget percolating, now is the time to write✍️
www.congress.gov/committees
A 20% budget cut atop multiyear funding-induced cuts to research and direct terminations of projects underway will further degrade American leadership in science.
This is early news & not even a proposal or appropriations - precisely the reason to speak out now.
rollcall.com/2026/03/27/s...
The form is short. You can submit anonymously. Even one sentence counts.
"I want NIH to fund the best science based on merit, not politics" is a valid comment.
Deadline: May 16, 2026
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
If you are wondering what words the all-male Congress found so "blasphemous" that they felt compelled to literally scrape them off the monument, they were: ''Woman, first denied a soul, then called mindless, now arisen, declared herself an entity to be reckoned.''
This is very disturbing. It certainly feels like the rumors that the Trump Administration is trying to destroy the NIH from within—partly by having all funding decisions made by Trump appointees—are true. This is a 5-alarm fire for biomedical science in this country.
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
A disaster for the U.S. and the world that will have long term ramifications
Lots going on but don’t lose track of the Trump attacks on biomedical research and cancer cures.
@jeremymberg.bsky.social posted a leaked #NIH memo today. I want to highlight a few scary parts.
They’re about taking power from scientists and experts and giving it to the president’s hacks. 1/ 🧪
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
Thanks for the heads up! I added a reply with the link
👇 Our latest preprint, currently under review, and the first paper from my NIDA K23 study! 🧠
Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government
go.nature.com/47hn0n5
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
In this review, @lucinauddin.bsky.social and Hugh Garavan examine how task and resting-state fMRI can reveal brain-behavior relationships in youth, highlighting current controversies and challenges, outlining solutions, and proposing future directions in developmental neuroscience research.
NEW: $8M for Bradley Hospital’s dedicated mental health professionals to boost research & strengthen services.
This federal grant will help build a new facility to improve pediatric psychiatric research & make it easier to access top-notch services in one centralized, modern facility.
you are a lab head, this affects you; if you are a student, this threatens your future The NIH grant system was already hyper- competitive before Trump. This policy will make it brutal. Without immediate resistance from the research community, this policy will go forward with devastating consequences for US science. What can you do? • Contact your Congressional representatives. It is best to show up in person. Explain and tell them to oppose this forward funding mandate. Share this article if it helps! Tell them to protect NIH funding. • For researchers: Make noise within your institution. Ask your research office what they re doing to push back. Talk to your program officers. Demand transparency. • Tell your local press that Trump is destroying US medical research, and find local activist groups to reach out to. • There are many engaged citizens across the country affected by cancer, or Alzheimer's, that want more information from scientists to help them advocate to their elected officials and to the press. Offer to talk to them, and help them do
this ends with a description of what YOU can do.
Please get involved now.
Everyone can take one of these actions.
We’re heading in to Day 2 of our pre-college summer course at Brown 🧬 🧠 Conducting Research at the Forefront of Science: Mental Health, Policy, and Social Implications of Cannabis Use in the U.S.
It’s always a blast teaching with @sarahathomasphd.bsky.social
Right back at you!! 🪴 💚
So important! Please contact your Republican senators, especially Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), and Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA). 🙏 amplify!
Thank you so much!!
I am hiring a clinical research assistant for a project on adolescent cannabis use that will use MRI 🧠 and behavioral tasks 🎮 More information is available in the link below, and applicants can send a CV and cover letter to me. Please share—thank you!
tinyurl.com/msn8h2ce
Bloomingdale’s at Chestnut Hill
I am hiring a clinical research assistant for a project on adolescent cannabis use that will use MRI 🧠 and behavioral tasks 🎮 More information is available in the link below, and applicants can send a CV and cover letter to me. Please share—thank you!
tinyurl.com/msn8h2ce
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...
The original deadline for comments of May 23 has been extended to June 7 in response to requests from the public for more time to weigh in, an OMB spokesperson told STAT.
4/n
Please comment. The Administration is trying to turn the NIH IC Directors and program staff roles into political appointees that serve at the whim of the President. Imagine if each change in administration brought sweeping changes in professional NIH staff across your favorite ICs.
