Great thread from @scott-delaney.bsky.social highlighting the hypocrisy from Bhattacharya on training future scientists.
We won't have a next generation of scientists if we allow the Trump-Vought-Bhattacharya NIH to continue.
i think public health needs to be asking this whenever this administration and other republican officials talk about restoring trust in our field.
we should've been asking it from the start.
A line graph of new and competitive renewal grants for fiscal years 2015 through 2026. The curve for 2026 lies well below that for previous fiscal years.
The story includes a funding curve graph showing the delay in making new and competitive renewal grants.
2/8
I promise I'm not trying to revive this discussion. Just wanted to highlight how this aligns with my "whose trust?" question. Nobody seems to care about the ways my trust in higher ed has been eroded.
When this happens, my first paragraph is something like:
"I am writing the worst Introduction section ever. It's going to be so bad you can't even believe it. Just endless sentences of bad."
It makes writing a terrible first draft the goal, not something to be afraid of.
The judge stated what we knew, that this administration is illegally destroying healthcare. Their actions go beyond callousness, they are malevolent.
I'm not joking when I say mRNA technology is more important than "AI" and it's a tragedy we're throwing billions into one while our government is aggressively defunding the other.
Looks like great news for CDC. Everyone at CDC who's worked with her over the years says she's fantastic. Wishing Dr. Shuford much success in her new role!
Highlighted in red: "Political interference is inappropriately shaping or interfering in the conduct, management, communication, or use of science for political advantage or such that it undermines impartiality, nonpartisanship, or professional judgement"
"HHS works to promote a culture of scientific integrity by creating an empowering environment for innovation and protecting scientists and the process of science from inappropriate interference. Scientific findings and products must not be suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes and must not be subjected to political interference or inappropriate influence. The responsible and ethical conduct of research and other scientific activities requires an environment that is safe and free from harassment and discrimination" Highlighted in red are "suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes", "subjected to political interference", and "inappropriate influence."
"HHS works to promote a culture of scientific integrity by creating an empowering environment for innovation and protecting scientists and the process of science from inappropriate interference. Scientific findings and products must not be subjected to interference or inappropriate influence and must not be inappropriately suppressed, delayed, or altered. The responsible and ethical conduct of research and other scientific activities requires an environment that is safe and free from harassment and discrimination." Highlighted in green are "subjected to interference or inappropriate influence" and "inappropriately suppressed, delayed, or altered."
Text, with "political" highlighted in red to indicate removal: I. Protecting Scientific Processes Scientific integrity fosters "honest scientific investigation, open discussion, refined understanding, and a firm commitment to evidence" (OSTP 2010). It also enables consideration and documentation of differing scientific opinions. Practices that support scientific integrity may include peer review and open science. Science, and public trust in science, thrives in an environment that prevents political interference and inappropriate influence from impacting scientific data and analyses and their use in decision making. It is the policy of HHS to: 1. Prohibit political interference or other inappropriate influence in the design, proposal, conduct, review, management, evaluation, communication about, and use of scientific activities and scientific information. Prohibit inappropriate restrictions on resources and capacity that limit and reduce the availability of science and scientific products (e.g., manuscripts for scientific journals, presentations for workshops, conferences, and symposia) outside of normal budgetary or priority-setting processes or without scientific, legal, or security justification. 3. Require that leadership and management ensure that covered individuals engaged in scientific activities can conduct their work objectively, free from political interference or other inappropriate influence, and free from retaliation.
HHS just published an update to its Scientific Integrity Policy. Notably, it has removed the concept of political interference, and no longer calls it out as something specifically to be prevented.
www.hhs.gov/sites/defaul... (deletions in red, insertions in green)
i full-heartedly wish dr. schwartz success because her success = cdc's success = a safer and healthier world for all of us
Please share this news about #NIH peer review. If your application isn't discussed, resubmit as early as possible.
New: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect in June 2023, gave workers a right to reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy. But some companies still deny accommodations, causing preventable health complications or forcing pregnant workers into unpaid leave.
also pending senate confirmation. she would likely be confirmed by a large, bipartisan majority, given her strong qualifications and experience in the service. we won’t likely see a better pick from this white house. but i doubt she will be able to perform her duties under rfk jr., as with monarez.
Absolutely stunned that the Society for Epidemiologic Research chose John Ioannidis to deliver the conference keynote in the Year of Our Lord 2026.
As some of you may know... we're down $5m and may or may not ever claw any of it back. So, we're writing new grants.
If anyone would be willing to share a funded application for
- NSF CAREER or NIH DP2 that is 100% dry lab-based
- NSF BIO Capacity: Infrastructure
I will owe you a coffee forever!
i am 10% of the way to where i need to be on this study. if you know of any unions, nonprofits, and other orgs/individuals who would be interested in this, please let me know!
we need all the help we can get with recruitment and i am willing to be mutually beneficial in whatever way i can!
Voting for @spercomms.bsky.social Executive Committee members is now open! sper.org/2026-electio... Cast your ballot by 5/1. #EpiSky
You'll have to visit UNC Chapel Hill, theirs are blue!
The last time I tried to engage with Jay Bhattacharya in dialogue I ended up on administrative leave. 🤷♀️
Making tenure count, for MSNOW I wrote about my employer, The University of Iowa, creating a center for intellectual freedom. It's a reactionary project built on decades of conservative propaganda about higher ed.
Very cool and normal that supporting medical science now disqualifies you from being the CDC Director.
Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees voted Friday to merge the university's two medical schools into one that will be named Michigan State University Medicine.
Humanity did that. Science did that. Publicly-funded research did that. Excellent universities did that. Diversity did that. International cooperation did that.
Artemis II is a perfect example of what we can do at our best.
Welcome home, Integrity crew!
7 big challenges for next CDC director from STAT news
STAT News published an excellent piece on 7 major challenges facing the next CDC director. We're sharing it because we agree with the points.
Check it out and dive into the article for details.
#NationalPublicHealthWeek #NPHW #HHS #PublicHealth
Your periodic reminder that there are FREE stock photos of vaccination (many without needles!) available from SELF Magazine in collab with the American Academy of Pediatrics
www.self.com/story/vaccin...
If we are using taxpayer fairness as a criterion, Black Americans make up ~14% of the population yet receive less than 1% of of NIH funding.
5/5
I know Ashlee and can vouch for her. Please, if you meet the qualifications for her study, please complete her survey. She’s doing important research and she’s great people.
Annals of Epidemiology is excited to announce that we are currently accepting applications for new Editorial Board Members to join our team.
Applicants will need to provide a letter of interest and C.V..
If you are interested, please apply using this form: form.jotform.com/242234487148...
I’ve been warned that by engaging in politics, I might undermine myself as a scientist. Or worse, reduce the trust that people have in me or scientists as a whole.
This latter point is the thesis of a recent article by Byron Hyde: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
I disagree for multiple reasons.
Trump/Vought are planning to eliminate the program that oversees social science funding from the National Science Foundation, and they are not going to wait for Congress to weigh in because they have already shown they believe they have the power of the purse.
bsky.app/profile/lizn...